Karthik Bhai.......

Yesterday was one of the most remarkable days I have had in a while! We were to meet around 10 motorcycle customers and have a chat with them about thier preferences and buying behaviour. My biggest insight here was that in the hindi belt of our country, the education levels play a big role in terms of the media mix that can be applied for this category of products. Also, the level of industrial growth vis a vis IT sector growth plays a major role.

We met customers from various income classes, right from bhel puri walas to teachers in udaipur. The remarkable thing here was that lower the education levels, lower was the interaction of these customers with conventional media like newspapers and TV. Key influencers and Word of mouth play a much bigger role in such cases. Also, with a large number of self employed people in these areas, the best medium to effectively communicate and influence them is activities in the marketplace with activities and demos. Almost none of them had any recollection of the communication and even if they did, they did not back thier judgement to make a choice based on such communication.....This has a grave impact on the way companies in such categories go to market with thier products and promotions!

Buzz is the key word , and those who master the art of buzz and build trust effectively will be the eventual winners!

Coming to the interesting part of the day, Our guide for the day was an ex-don in these areas who is under the cover of having turned over a new leaf in the eyes of the police. Initially, he was very quiet but as time went on , he started talking about his escapades and his less than enviable criminal record!.....It was a little scary, but end of the day he was a perfectly nice guy....Bhaigiri is just a way of life, and it was nothing out of the ordinary for people around us. The personality change was so apparent as soon he started talking of the past: "Kyon Bhai....ek dum chakaaas....." with the ostensible accent we all hear only in the movies :-).....

Anyways.....good times....looking for more such experiences....

Thought of the Hour: Education is the only way to liberate the indian hinterlands!