morningboy.space

morning boy's letters on serious matters and commentary on funny things aplenty

Category: A Mix

  • Showrooms or sham?

    Showrooms can feel unreal. Shams. I have felt that on occasions. Like today.

    Looking for some exercising equipment, I went to this industrial complex where guys are actually found making these equipments. Though these places feel dark and dingy, I felt that's the real thing. That's where things of beauty are often produced. People working hard, workers trying to achieve the theoretical precision of engineers and a beauty like that which comes from the hands of an artist. Under extreme conditions. Hot air, soothe-stained walls…

    I felt I was paying for right thing. I felt I was charged for the right stuff. Showrooms don't show all of this. They only show the finished product. Finished products hide quite a bit – the process, the pain, the real things that go into the product. Showrooms, as we see them, lend credence to incredulity.

    Indeed, showrooms serve a purpose. But sometimes undermine too. Redefine a showroom. Show the whole thing; the real thing. Then see whether people pay willingly or not.

    For her face

    One response to “Showrooms or sham?”

    1. Tushar Jambhekar- tujams Avatar
      Tushar Jambhekar- tujams

      Sirjee I believe this is completely dependant of the type of produce being made in the manufacturing unit.
      You have mentioned about a visit to an execricsing equipment manufacturing unit.I used to handle Medical equipment by GE(say 100 times the cost) and had the oppertunity to visit their factory. Being a high end corporate, there were stringent rules regarding Safety in place. Bright lighting, clean walls, marked trolley movement paths and escape routes, fire fighting equipment all standardised. But I have also seen manufactring units for furniture in Mumbai which stink of varnish and adhesives.
      Both have the same flashy showrooms-coz no one wants to share the darker side. It is always the finished product you pay for. The backend environment conditions depend on how big the company is and does it have an approach towards improving Worker performance through a better environment.

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  • Why don’t we cooperate?

    Cooperation, I find, is tougher than competition. By default, every living individual has to compete. There's no other way. It's cooperation that takes a lot of doing. Cooperation is a choice. Competition isn't. If you choose to escape one competition, you invariably run into another. 

    My Dad's into the natural stones (meant for flooring, wall cladding & construction) business. The market is almost like a perfect competition. Differentiation has been hard to build and market. Every city has a natural stones market and it's so perfectly competitive. But businessmen have survived, probably because of decent margins.

    Businesses into natural stones have faced a stiff competition for many years from marketers of vitrified tiles – often known as flooring tiles (they are available in many types) or marbonite (for artificial marble and artificial granite). Vitrified tiles have many benefits and they are back by marketers with huge marketing budgets and a huge salesforce. They hire professionally qualified people. In contrast, a typical natural stone business might have on an average just about 20 people. Those too not very well qualified. To top that, there's no concept like a marketing budget in their business.

    In my many discussions, people from natural stone business have expressed fears about the bad state of business. Every time, I've posed just one question. Why don't you cooperate with each other, form a joint stock company and take advantage of economies of scale? You could have more people to handle different responsibilities, more money to devote to marketing, could do with lesser inventory, could hire professionally qualified marketing force and so on…

    Every time the discussion falls flat.

    Similar situation can be seen in many many other types of businesses. Grocery retail for example. Perishable goods retail as well. Garment retailing. You can name them one after another. Small shops and vendors go out of business but rarely initiate a process of cooperation among themselves.

    Cooperation need not be practiced only when life is at stake. Cooperation could be one of the biggest strategies for Indian small businesses to survive and flourish. Indeed, effort's needed but the result is a good life. A great life. Great example: Amul (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.), the biggest cooperative movement of Indian business, arguably of the world business. 

    A business program needed on cooperation.

    For her face

    One response to “Why don’t we cooperate?”

    1. Tushar Jambhekar- tujams Avatar
      Tushar Jambhekar- tujams

      Soni Saab, your idea of cooperation to gain advantage of price and uniting against a common ememy is not somethng new as you have rightly said. Problem in Cooperation is authority.
      One major global example- The allies united against Germany till 1945, but as the individual ideologies came up, the world was split again for the next 50 years.
      Same is the case with NDDC as well. Verghese Kurien is the man and the vision, but then why did Dhara as a brand go under ground till recent. It was built on the same platform as Amul, but the organisation was messed up in individual power plays after late 90’s. (Guess Allen D’Souza of MICOR can share the truth someday)
      Its has also been true in Maharashtra, where Sugar cooperatives came up in 1950. Yes they still function today but they have become fund raising grounds for the Chairperson of the cooperative.(Most of the Maharashtra legislature is full of these Sugar Barons)
      Cooperation and community association to achieve common goals is a powerful way to tackle problems common to all. Even street vendors set minimum prices at times to ensure less competition amongst themselves and a united front against showroom sales. But as we see in coalition politics, a Common Minimum Programme is always a tough cookie to crack.

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  • Lifestyle Minister

    Politicians, cricketers and bollywood stars are the biggest influence in this country.

    If lifestyle is the culprit behind so many ills – obesity, pollution, wastage, AIDS, divorces, etc. – then why not have a Lifestyle Minister. We have ministers for everything but none could be so influential as a lifestyle minister. Not only would people get influenced, but even the fellow politicians might have to toe the line.

    Doctors, economists, scientists, etc. seem remedial in nature. A Lifestyle Minister could be a preventive solution, what say?

    For her face

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  • Organizations of headmasters

    That's what I call those organizations which use fear/humiliation to keep the employees in check.

    I met an ex-colleague yesterday. He shared with me instances when his 'seniors' tried humiliating him. Everything has a reason. Why were they trying to humiliate him? Because he shares his points based on certain books he reads and certain concepts that he's come to understand. Almost every time, the common refrain is that they (seniors) have more experience than him.

    What's experience anyway? What makes experience – as quoted by the person using the word – the only right thing? It's the interpretation of experience is what is termed as 'experience'. Two music-buffs can draw two starkly different experiences standing side by side in a rock concert.

    Is experience a function of age? Is it a function of spending years in a certain area? Partly but not really. It's a function of exploration and number of experiences. It's a function of speed and experimentation. It's a function of initiative and curiosity. Where does age come in all of this? Of course, even if you don't do anything and age your life out simply sitting and observing things, you can be said to have experience. Indeed then experience is all about age (though one still needs eyes, ears and minds open).

    The truth is that if employees choose, these headmasters can easily be given the same treatment. In fact, Internet gives employees so many tools to mass-humiliate the headmasters that the latter could have a real hard time dealing with them.

    Besides, headmasters need to understand that there's stuff beyond what they've seen and read. So they had better take care while instructing.

    For her face

    2 responses to “Organizations of headmasters”

    1. Ninad Avatar
      Ninad

      One of my friends once said: “is it ten years of experience or is it one year of experience ten times?”

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    2. Anonymous Avatar
      Anonymous

      Does it really matter? Will humiliation or fear of possible humiliation then make one change one’s views. If that is the case, then it’s a sad state of affairs.
      If you have certain views, have the courage to stand by them. Of course, listen to everybody, but do and believe what your heart says, as much as possible. What’s so complicated in this ??
      Just as you are entitled to your views, the ‘headmasters’ are entitled to theirs, no matter how contrived the views be. Infact listen to such people more often, maybe you might be able to further refine your thoughts, by listening to contrary views.
      I think we go in this unnecessary quest of wanting to convince everybody around us that what we are thinking is better, or correct. If you are convinced, that’s it then.
      Yes, share your views, and luckily there are unlimited avenues for the same. But don’t carry the burden of convincing one and all. Too heavy !!!!

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  • Fiat’s sending out the right message

    In a post on 23rd Feb '09, I had written what Fiat should do to win back customers. Exactly one month later, the same message gets conveyed :). Am glad. Have a look at the ad below. Now the key would be to sustain this campaign for a considerable time; if the message gets registered deep, Fiat would find itself on (a much better) track. Hope that happens too.

    Fiat Ad for service

    For her face

    2 responses to “Fiat’s sending out the right message”

    1. Tushar Jambhekar- tujams Avatar
      Tushar Jambhekar- tujams

      I believe its for the first time a Car Company is trying to impress using its After sales service as the peg for driving Car sales.
      The problem are a few problems that this communication will not be able to address, considering FIAT cars are not typically an entry segment.
      1. Service is usually an aspect taken for granted.
      2. Its deliverables are something that build an impression through exerience.
      3. Sadly, of all the offered services, none is actually unique or a differetiator.
      Is this enough to get customers????
      Just to clarify where I’m comming from, If the same was SBI with maximum ATMs and Branches, security in terms of being a Government entity and now I’m talking of improved services through helplines, computerised systems and Credit Card offers… How much of customers can you acquire from HDFC, ICICI, Citibank?? (Would be Hyundai, Tata and maruti in the case of FIAT)

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    2. Siddharth Soni Avatar
      Siddharth Soni

      While I get your point, here’s my reading of the situation, which I’ve mentioned in my earlier post as well.
      People have always acknowledged Fiat’s products. Products per se have never been the problem for prospects. The reason they stay away from Fiat, even if they like Fiat cars more than the competitive offerings, is the lack of good service.
      Talking about services (coz they have actually improved) will resolve a big part of the problem of convincing prospective customers.

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  • About smiles and skills

    Service is always a combination of smiles and skills. Which gives us broadly four types of service quality:

    1. One rendered with smiles and skills
    2. One rendered with smiles but without skills
    3. One rendered with skills but without smiles
    4. One rendered without skills and without smiles

    The thing is, smiles could be more important than skills on most
    occasions. It simply tells you that if nothing else the person is
    motivated to serve you whatever the situation. If motivation's there,
    skills can be learnt.

    Would you pay for smiles? You pay
    handsomely for smiles when you travel by air. Then, why don't we pay
    handsomely for other services where smiles are required more often (coz
    you need those services more often)? Is it the economics of volume
    which stops organizations from charging for smiles?

    Or, is it
    just that organizations can undercut (by faking smiles or offering them
    for free) those which are charging for smiles? I think it's tough for
    the former to continue faking smiles. Until then, those charging for
    smiles had better be patient.

    For her face

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  • Indica Vista shouldn’t & doesn’t CHANGE EVERYTHING

    Tata-indica-vista

    The commercials say CHANGES EVERYTHING. How come? The car's called
    Indica Vista. Firstly, the name is the same apart from the addition of
    Vista. The design is inspired (in fact, is an improvement of) by the
    original Indica design. And it still offers the same thing that Indica
    offered: Space.

    What's the need to CHANGE EVERYTHING? Perhaps
    the folks at Tata do not want to keep Indica attached to taxis. Perhaps
    they are not happy with the perception of Indica as it stands now –
    that of a spacious but inexpensive small car. But the ironically they
    are using the same name: Indica (perhaps to leverage the name). So how
    does it CHANGE EVERYTHING? At least not the perception of brand Indica.

    But,
    what if it does? What if the consumers do come to believe CHANGES
    EVERYTHING? Yes, of course the price has gone up. The design has become
    better but then perhaps it's not really that great when compared to
    other brands in the segment. The argument can go on. But what Tata
    might end up losing the strong positioning of MORE CAR PER CAR. Yes,
    that's what Indica is. That's what sold Indica in spite of all the
    problems.

    On Indian roads, size of the car really matters. Small
    cars won't lose favour for a long long time to come. But with that the
    requirement for adequate space is also not going to go away. MORE CAR
    PER CAR is what made Indica, is what gave Tata a foothold in the India
    car market. Invaluable and lasting position!

    Tata had better not change anything. Simply make the same thing better.

    For her face

    One response to “Indica Vista shouldn’t & doesn’t CHANGE EVERYTHING”

    1. Tushar Jambhekar- tujams Avatar
      Tushar Jambhekar- tujams

      I completely agree- There is enough reason to come out with a new name.
      Tata Motors has been doing a lot with Indica all long its life cycle. The monocoque design with its distinct tail lamps has been the identity of Indica.
      The first Indica’s in 1999 had terrible handling and suspension problems. So when they were eliminated, the new version called V2 had to be launched. The next was the introduction of the Turbo Diesel verstion and the Petrol Version called Xeta. The taxi version was Indicab with no power windows and less styling in terms of its interiors and tail lamps. But there was nothing done to its shape significant enough to move from Indica as a name.
      Now in 2008, you have changed the shape (the hood has a higher curvature), made the interiors more roomy, shifted the instrument panel to the centre of the dash board, I guess there has been much done with the new model to have a new name. If it really is changing everyhing; why not the name???
      Though it might seem like the old wine in a new bottle to most, it is a different car to drive. More than losing the imagery of ‘More car per car”, this is dragging the new car again into the Indica image. Coz no one actualy cares if its an Indica Xeta, GLE or Vista.

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  • T20 is to Test Match what Viagra is to Valium

    Cricket's greats are worried about the future of test matches. Ricky Ponting notably. Of course, if you've dedicated your game to a certain format of the game and have made records therein, you can't not get worried about that format getting obsolete. For without the format how will your greatness be remembered? :)

    On a serious note, the decline in popularity of test matches should've been predicted at least 15 years ago; I could be wrong though. If medium is the massage, then clearly one can see what kind of massage people have always longed for. Besides adopting the skills-of-the-street for the big screen has always been a great formula to gain popularity among masses. Dancing, singing, biking, T20 are all examples of the same. That way the screen becomes of the masses, for the masses and to some extent, by the masses.

    Does that mean test matches will stay out of favour perenially? Not really, like there are phases in people's lives, in products' lives, in brands' lives, sports also go through phases. The format of test match isn't finding a conducive environment (at least from a mass interest point of view) around the world. Young, ambitious, fast-moving partying Indians understand the values of T20 but will take some time to grasp those of test matches. India being the financial and popularity capital of world cricket, the perception of young Indians will determine how long the test match format languishes before making a comeback.

    So worriers shouldn't worry about realities. Worriers had better pay attention to perceptions and play it for the crowd. :)

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  • Want to sell cars but without offering test drives!

    Talk about recession. Auto Industry, one of the mainstays of the economy, is suffering. Sales numbers as reported every alternate day in the newspapers, are declining.

    But even in these times, there are some who buy, right? These are the ones who are the optimistic ones.They spread cheer. They spread hope. In the process, they create new buyers.

    Am planning to buy a hatchback. So went for test-drives at all the prominent showrooms.

    Maruti Suzuki for A-star. Didn't like the car but great responsiveness of the folks out there.

    Tata-Fiat for Palio Stile. Leave aside the test-drive, couldn't find a Palio in sight. And I was explained that since they've just launched Fiat Linea, the focus has shifted on that car – they'll refocus on Palio in a month or two!

    Chevrolet for U-VA. Liked the car. The showroom was empty but the guys ensured a good look at the car and a good test-drive.

    Hyundai for Getz Prime. Nice showroom filled with shining cars. But the owner had taken home the car meant for test-drive. And then I was asked to come back on Monday evening for the test-drive. The showroom's located in one of the most cramped areas – as far as the traffic goes – of Mumbai.

    How is it that these auto companies think about selling their products in these times?

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  • Walk when you can’t run

    I hurt my knee in a small accident – fell from my bike – two weeks back. Not really serious but serious enough to make me stiff for a few days.

    I can bend my knee easily now. Last Sunday I went for a walk. Walked a good 3.5kms.

    Today, in the morning, I woke up eagerly to go running. I reached the track where I run usually. But after taking a few steps, I realized my knee's not ready to take the load.

    So again I walked a good 4kms. Feels good. When you can't run, it's good walking too.

    For her face

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  • Why sleep?

    The other day, I was feeling really sleepy at office. In fact, for a few days before that as well I used to feel sleepy and particularly at the same time – a little after lunch around 3.

    Troubled by the fact that I was feeling sleepy at office, I simply googled 'why sleep' and I came across some information that was quite useful in understanding better the dynamics of sleeping.

    In the evening, going back home with a colleague of mine, I discussed with him what I found. He was amazed, not with what I told him about sleeping, but by the fact that I could think of googling 'why sleep' when I was feeling sleepy :).

    That's what internet does to you. It helps you being curious. It encourages the curious in ways which might seem weird at first but ultimately enhances our understanding of our own selves.

    As a result of that 'why sleep' search, I don't get troubled when I feel sleepy, even if at office. I don't blame my job for my sleepiness. I simply acknowledge it as one of the needs of my body – like breathing, drinking, going to toilet and so on. Acknowledging it eases the pressure on me to work when my body isn't willing. In stead, I simply let go and take a break or a short nap even and work later even after office hours. I've realized that way work happens comfortably and of better quality.

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  • dowatulov or lowatudo

    Do what you love or love what you do. Is that how it goes?

    This 'or' is a big problem. It makes the statement sound great but it obscures what really needs to be understood.

    'Or' is important at the moment when there's a decision to be made. It concerns itself with that moment. 'Work' is often not a matter of moment. 'Work' is really some work. It spans time. Have I made the point? It spans time. Which means it's a matter of time.

    Of course, it should always be that you do what you love. If you are doing that, great. If not, then life doesn't get over.

    It's not necessary for one to take a decision one way or another and then just forget everything. Appreciate the situation, and then determine to bring about a situation where you are in a position to leave everything and do what you love. That needs some planning. That needs some goal-setting. That needs some juggling.

    So the task for you right now is to determine what is it that you love, whether you are doing it already or not, whether you would love doing only that and nothing else… You get the point.

    Once these questions are answered, then save a bit out of what you get out of your current work, juggle with time, invest time and money in your improving skills, invest time and money in updating your knowledge, invest time in asking for help, invest time in talking to experts… When you eventually become confident of sailing out into the oceans, do what you love and nothing else.

    It's about patiently bringing a balance in the way you spend time now to relish in the imbalance (when you do only that what you love) of tomorrow.

    For her face

    One response to “dowatulov or lowatudo”

    1. Anonymous Avatar
      Anonymous

      Just replace the OR with AND and everything would work out fine.
      Even when time is involved, doing the work which brings out the best of the potentials (Yes the potential of each individual for doing different works is different and hence, ‘best of the potentials’) is very important and so is the excitement and joy involved with doing the work.

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  • The story of the silent grand-father

    There's this kid who lives in the city. He's got a good life. He's got a rich grand-father – who lives far away in a village – who supports him. The kid doesn't know it; he lives with his father and thinks it's his father who's doing it all for him.

    The kid, in fact, doesn't really know where his grand-father is and what he does. Besides, this kid doesn't see much of his father as well. But he does live a good life, or so he thinks. Pretty happy.

    With passage of time, things change. The grand-father falls ill. Forgets sending money to his son – the father of the kid. The kid doesn't realize but his good life suddenly starts falling apart. His father gets ill too.

    The kid doesn't quite know how to take care of his father. The father can't go to the village. Grand-father can't take care of himself. Father can't take care of the kid. Three generations are in peril.

    The kid = I, you, my friend

    The father = my area, my neighborhood

    The grand-father = Amazon

    Amazon's in danger. You, I and our neighborhood are in danger. Here's the real story.

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  • Diving into Godel Escher & Bach

    I have a habit of reading too many books at the same time. Sometimes when I look at my bookshelf, I see that I am reading 8-9 at the same time.

    One year back, I ordered Godel, Escher & Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. Of course my inspiration were the many reviews submitted by readers on Amazon.com. When I got the book, I managed to read some 50-odd pages before I decided that I couldn't read it further.

    After an year or so, I've reopened it. In the last 3 days I've managed to read some 130-odd pages. I've understood quite a bit of what the author wants to say. Instead, far more than what I could manage in my earlier attempt. At the same time, however, I want to add that this time I've kept aside all other books and engagements to concentrate on this one. And that has really helped. I don't give up when I find something difficult to understand. I've reread quite a few paragraphs when I've been in trouble. Sat with a pen and paper to work with the author wherever asked to. As a result of this, I feel quite satisfied with my progress till now. I'm glad I could match the rigor of the book with the intensity of my concentration and application.

    Important tasks, ideas, books, people, hobbies require single-minded focus lasting considerable time. Prepare yourself and dive deep.

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  • Missing the trauma?

    Emotions are the furniture that fill the mind. And extreme emotions are the unmovable-type furniture.

    What good is the house where there's nothing to sit on. You always need a chair to sit on. Trauma has a way of engaging you, to the extent that when it's gone you feel that you are missing something. If that's the only furniture available, you'll sit on that.

    So what, do you keep sitting? In matters of mind it's tough to fathom what goes away and how. How do you replace the furniture?

    One of the things that can be done is take a new house, a bigger house, rented or owned. Get in more furniture to sit on, to sleep on. Shut the old furniture in one of the rooms and dispose it off – in bits or whole – as opportunities arise over time.

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  • “Less, but better.” & 10 design principles

    In my search for some quaint earrings, I reached a site called smugdesigns.com. And the first page read a quote from Dieter Rams which led me to google about this man. And guess what I got.

    Three words which I'm trying to live my life by but could never articulate in the same manner. Always came up with too many words or some higher order metaphor.

    Simple words but they don't just come. Perhaps I still have to simplify things within.

    "Less, but better."

    LE1 Loudspeaker

    And here are his 10 design principles:

    Good design is innovative.
    Good design makes a product useful.
    Good design is aesthetic.
    Good design helps us to understand a product.
    Good design is unobtrusive.
    Good design is honest.
    Good design is durable.
    Good design is consequent to the last detail.
    Good design is concerned with the environment.
    Good design is as little design as possible.
    Back to purity, back to simplicity.

    Think about applying the same to marketing :). So much better. Indeed, design is a part of marketing.

    Does it interest you? Read more about Rams on 37signals & designmuseum.

    Picture courtesy: http://www.designmuseum.org

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    One response to ““Less, but better.” & 10 design principles”

    1. Crimson Feet Avatar
      Crimson Feet

      awesome!… makes so much sense!!

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  • What’s vision?

    Foreseeing problems, in simple words.

    Notwithstanding the economic downturn off late, India is growing. With a population crossing 1.1 billion, companies from across the globe are rushing to set base in India. Many already have.

    India's geographical area is just 40% of China's or US's or Australia's. China's population stands around 1.4 billion, US's 250 million, Australia's 25 million.

    Do we realize the practical implications just because of this one single factor called space?

    Mumbai is India's financial capital. If India grows the first signs can be seen in Mumbai. The best of cars get brandished in this city. But, we can vouch Mumbai is the most terrible place to relish car-driving.

    It isn't just Mumbai; practically every Indian city showing any signs of growth faces the same problems: Traffic, congestion, pollution, wastage of time, wastage of resources, etc. And what are we talking about? Are all people comfortably placed economically? Forget it. At least half a billion haven't even tasted a drop of progress yet. What if these people also dream of owning cars in the next decade or so?

    Just because you wear the same jeans that the folks wear in the US doesn't mean you are walking on the same terrain. Our alleys are smaller, narrower. And we've to live in these alleys till time immemorial.

    Indian government shouldn't have allowed cars bigger than 4 metres in the country. This should've been done way back in 70s or 80s or even earlier. That would be vision. Is it late now?

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    One response to “What’s vision?”

    1. Anonymous Avatar
      Anonymous

      For that matter, the bigger danger is being posed by Nano and its clones, as of now. It’s not even electric, runs on conventional fuel, out there to further choke our roads. Focus on providing and improving public transport instead, like the world- class Delhi Metro. That’s vision executed.

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  • GLOBAL WARMING is a weak name

    I met with a small accident riding my bike in the morning. Not very far my residence. Since I got a little hurt in the knee, I decided to take my car to the hospital. It was 11am and it was hot. And it's only 2nd March. Getting into the car took some doing. It was hotter than what I can ever recall.

    Back from the hospital, getting back into the car was tougher.

    This is my feeling. Next few years could see a lot of burning. Yes, the sun might burn us literally.

    If words have made people take up a cause, then GLOBAL WARMING is a very very weak euphemism. What a mild name for, what seems to me, the gravest trouble of our times.

    One reason why people haven't bothered much to take action against GLOBAL WARMING perhaps is the positive associations with the word 'warm' in general life. Warm hug, warm water bath, pleasantly warm, warm smile…

    Time to rename. GLOBAL HEATING. Try and stop it here before we cease to exist to rename it GLOBAL BURNING.

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  • Be authentic (not arrogant) to be No.1

    Cricket websites

    Cricketnirvana.com advertises heavily. The commercial says, "India's No.1 Cricket Website". A look at the graph above might indicate otherwise. No.1? On what basis, one might ask. The commercial doesn't help you understand the basis of the claim. Sheer arrogance, right?

    How do you think that a product that is based on a medium as powerful as the Internet be marketed through a weaker medium like TV? The medium that Internet is, and a tall claim as that, easily prompts a curious soul to one to find out the truth.

    And after finding out the truth, one feels oneself closer to the real No.1 that one was always aware of. Without advertising, of course!

    If you are not No.1 and you are advertising claiming to be No.1, you are being arrogant. Internet rewards humility, doesn't it?

    For her face

    One response to “Be authentic (not arrogant) to be No.1”

    1. Tushar Jambhekar- tujams Avatar
      Tushar Jambhekar- tujams

      To understand why cricketnirvana does that, you need to understand who is the owner of the website.
      Nimbus- the owner of Neo Sports and Neo Cricket are an arrogant bunch who thanx to their exclusive agreement with BCCI have managed high TRP’s for NEO Cricket and came out with the claim that they were India’s numero uno Cricket channel.(justified by TAM)
      Now definiftely an India match has higher viewership in India, than an Aussie Ranger Cup on Star Cricket. But who cares for the whole truth. Who cares if I telecast only 5 balls in an over, fill up 2/3rd of the screen with ads and eliminate commentry religiously for every over change. This is like being No 1. in a License Raj.
      Its this arrogance that NEO has taken across to its website. Besides, with no universal measurement techniques for online traffic, every website can choose anything the feel (visitors,impressions,page through,pop-ups) as a basis.
      They wish to be a self procliamed King rather han being a King accepted by the subjects…

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  • Market your restaurants like this

    I live in Powai, Mumbai. There are quite a few restaurants in this area. There are two that belong to the same group – Utsav & Mantra.

    Located within a radius of .5 kms of each other, both are doing well. Both offer the same cuisine. And the taste at both the places is simply amazing.

    So what's the point? The point is that there's only one difference. Utsav doesn't serve alcoholic drinks, Mantra does. Accordingly, the ambience is a little different. The ambience needs to suit the mood. People are in a different mood when they want to have alcoholic drinks.

    If the difference is minute but a critical one, then the same product with a little bit of tweaking can be offered under two distinct brands and marketed very distinctly. That's what has been done with Utsav & Mantra. The best part is that it's been done by the same group. And therefore, it hasn't lost out to competition.

    For her face

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