Calvin and Hobbes is acknowledged as one of the greatest comic strips of all times.Its creator is Bill Watterson. The last strip was published on New Year’s Eve, 1995. The strip was ended because Watterson was frustrated by the compromises he had to make as a result of the comic’s syndication. Joel Schroder is making a documentary called ‘ Dear Mr. Watterson’. It discusses the influence of the strip on other artists.
Author: Shabbir Chunawalla
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Sales Career : Difficulties
A group of 6690 job seekers was considered for a research to know their preferences for various jobs. The preference for a sales job was 10 per cent only. It was as low as 5 per cent among women.
Depending upon the industry, the attrition rate amongst the first-level sales personnel ranges from 50 per cent to 150 per cent.
What makes a sales job unattractive ? The answer lies in the rejection that a sales person encounters on a daily basis. In door-to-door sales, the doors are slammed on his face. In channel selling, the dealer or shopkeeper shows the unsold inventory, and complains about the incentives and schemes offered. The organisation wants to keep the credit period down. It weighs on the young person. The HQ pressurises a follow-up for the recovery of the amount.
Most meetings are at street corners or there is a stand up meeting in congested space. In this meeting, there is a talk of the missed targets and shortfalls in the numbers to be achieved periodically. It is a tension-filled engagement. The anxious boss spoils the dinner and sleep. Each day is a reminder to the sales person of the inadequacies. Less than 30 per cent salespeople have a happy evening.
Sales supervisors should do ‘joint selling’ but that is very rare. They do not focus on ‘how’ to achieve the targets. They are just pushy. B Schools graduates from the top schools do not accept the selling jobs.
As compared to their office counterparts, the salespeople are at a greater risk of being fired in the first two years.
The variable pay is as high as 50-70 per cent.
Organisations must do a rethink on their attitude to the sales jobs. They should be given time to learn the ropes. If they continue for a couple of years, they will be able to build referrals from captive customers and become productive.There should be patience while building up the sales force.There should be on-the-job-training, especially joint selling. Hand-holding inspires confidence and encourages competence.
The physical environment of selling cannot be changed, but sure, we can change the emotional and support environment.
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New Age Marketing
How we understood a consumer has changed in the last quarter of a century. In the past, marketing was dominated by psychology, which is still relevant. But we understand the consumer now in terms of data. The management and analysis of data is now an important component of marketing. A statistician studied consumers by sampling, mostly a small number of say 100 people. Marketers now observe millions of consumers to draw their conclusions. They require computer science skills. Marketing is influenced by psychology, statistics and economics. Beyond that, it is also influenced by OR and computer science. One more area has acquired importance – sociology. There are groups of customers on Facebook. It is group behaviour and society behaviour which are important
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Aston Martin Cars
These cars are immortalised by James Bond films. They are made in Warwickshire, England. Mahindra and Mahindra is bidding along with an Indian firm to own a piece of iconic brand. Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford founded the company at Gaydon, England in 1913. Martin in Aston Martin comes from his name. The company was closed in 1928 owing to financial troubles, but was revived in 1926 by a group of investors. In 1939, Aston Martin Atom was released. David Brawn acquired the company in 1947, and DB2 model was introduced in the same year. DB5 was launched in 1963. It debuts as Bond’s favourite machine in Goldfinger. The relationship contributes in 11 Bond films thereafter. In 1965, DBS was used in Thunderball. In 1969, it appears in Oh Her Majesty’s Service. In 1972, the ownership of the company changes. In 1975, the company was rescued by a consortium. The owners changed again in the 1980. In 1987, Ford acquires 75 percent stake in Aston Martin. The car appears in Die Another Day. In Casino Royale, it was seen. In Skyfall, DBS returns for its sixth appearance. In 2007, the company has been sold to a consortium of investors—Dar and Adeem. In 2011, 4200 Aston Martin cars have been delivered worldwide.
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Changing Music Industry
Almost a century old HMV group selling music in physical form is crumbling. Music for niche genres, record labels and stores that rely on physical formats face tough times. It is a great time for large concert organisers, mobile device, manufacturers and brands—all of whom are adopting to the new realities of how the music is heard, shared and even created.
Music competes with traditional form of entertainments such as Hindi films and cricket. People are ready to pay good money for a concert.
Music has emerged as a branding option. To marketers, it is an opportunity to get the ideal audience. Many brands have tapped the opportunity that live music represents.
The game changer for music industry is the proliferation of internet and cell phones. You can distribute content legally online. Musicians reach a wider audience. This is good for brand managers.
Music associated with brand may not have direct correlation in terms of gains. However, it brings enormous happiness in the life and so people value it and keep company.
There is a continuous shift of music from physical to digital formats. Music industry achieved revenues of Rs. 9 billion in 2011. ( KPMG ). A lot of people are accessing music through cell phones. Mobile devices are preloaded with music. Nokia store allows download of music. Samsung has tied up with Hungama.com to make music available to customers. Micromax has launched Mymicromax.com –- an entertainment portal. Sony is also going the pre-loaded way. Cell phone companies do not remain just passive suppliers of music. They support actively the music festivals.
The rollout of 3G and 4G networks will give a further push to monetise digital music.
Music labels in future will tie up will handset manufacturers.
The CD’s are in danger of going the way of the tape, receding into ‘ a relic of the past’ territory. Music labels, therefore , are relying on cell phone manufacturers to pull them through.
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Business is about Selling
Mark Peterson, Asia-Pacific CEO of media behemoth GroupM considers himself a salesman. He had an early exposure to the science of selling in the mid-80s working in the UK for what is now Clear Channel – an outdoor company selling billboards and bus shelter campaigns to media planners and buying departments. He believes that every business is fundamentally about sales. In GroupM, they are persuading clients to do things differently and that requires selling skills. He remembers David Ogilvy’s dictum; ‘ We sell-or else…’He feels creative agencies live and breathe the sales mantra but the media agencies have moved away from it.In essence, both are selling, in different ways.They sell creative works while we sell media plans
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Vangmayshobha : Literary Marathi Magazine
2013 is the centenary year of M.M.Kelkar who ran single-handedly a Marathi literary magazine Vangmayshobha for 55 years non-stop. Kirloskar came before Vangmayshobha and Hans and Vasant around the same time. Even then Vangmayshobha has carved out a special place in the literary world. Kelkar started the publishing business in 1937 under the name of Manohar Granthmala, and Vangmayshobha was launchad in 1939. In initial years, the Kelkar family contributed a great deal to the magazine—his uncle N.C.Kelkar, Prof. D.K.Kelkar and mother Geerijabai Kelkar. Many other literary giants joined these family members and enriched the journey of Vangmayshobha. In the initial years, it had N.C.Phadke, S.M. Mate, G.B. Nirantar, V.M. Joshi. Later V.S. Khandekar and P.D. Bhave too contributed. S. N. Navre, S. G. Malashe, Vasundhara Patwardhan, Madhu Mangesh Karnik, Sadanand Rege too contributed. G. A. Kulkarni too wrote for it. Vangmayshobha published several genres of literature—debates, discussions, interviews, political write-ups, fiction, book reviews, short stories, novels, poetry, women’s issues etc. Kelkar published Lokmanya Tilak’s article defining Hindutva from Chitramayjagat and N. C. Kelkar’s 1902 article on Israel in Vangmayashobha in 1948. Reprints of a great heritage, Kelkar invited many thinkers to write about socio-political issues. Its poetry section was enriched by Kavi Yashvant, Sopandev, Vinda Karandikar, Mangesh Padgaonkar and Dutta Halsagikar. Manmohan Natu’s Radha Tujha Sail Ambada poem charmed everyone.
Kaksparsha, which was adopted to a movie, was published in Vangmayshobha. The writer of this story is Usha Datar. Between 1956 and 1964, Kelkar paid honorarium to the authors according to his capacity. To Kelkar, Vangmayshobha was a sort of laboratory to create literature.
Kelkar avoided erotica and police investigation stories. He was very careful about proof reading. Kelkar’s autobiography Swabhavala Aushadh Nahi Ani Deva Pundhe Gati Nahi was liked by the readers.
Kelkar edited Vangmayshobha till 1992. When he started, he was 26. When he left, he was 79. In 1980s and 1990s, DD and movies competed with magazines to attract the audience, but Kelkar survived against these rivals. He roped in many cartoonists. He allowed artists like Dalal and Mulgaonkar to showcase their talents. Vangmayashobha’s covers were designed by artists like Padma Sahastrubuddhe, Vasant Sahastrabuddhe and Ashok Dombare.
Vangmayshobha created a virtual literary treasure in 55 years of its existence. Kelkar wanted to publish select issues for the benefit of the readers but his wish never got fulfilled. He assigned the editorial responsibility to his younger son in 1992. In the changed circumstances, he published the last obituary issue on the death of Kelkar ( 5th Nov1994 ). Thereafter, Vangmayashobha was closed down. The surviving family members of Kelkar have digitised all the volumes of Vansmayshobha between 1939 and 1992. They are available on bookganga.com. This is a real tribute to M. M, Kelkar.
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Marathi Journalism : A Note
In yester years, newspapers had two departments—editorial and composing. In editorials, there was predominantly Brahmin manpower. The compositors were Brahmins, Maratha, Dalit and OBCs. Nana Saheb Parulekar from Sakal worked for seven to eight years under Babasaheb Ghorpade, who was a Maratha. It was paragmatic and influenced the Brahminic journalism of Kesari and Gyanprakash. Sakal was popular amongst the common masses. Nanasaheb was Gandhian, but was dressed in western clothes as he was US-returned. There were two journalists who favoured the masses—N.B.Parulekar and Baba Saheb Ambedkar. They were both in the Columbia university in junior-senior positions. The domination of Brahmins in Marathi journalism was curtailed due to their efforts. Though journalism was Brahmin dominated, the allied professions had the depressed classes, e.g. there were Marathas in printing. There was non-Brahman journalism due to the efforts of Chhatrapati Shahu and Sayajirao. However, this was not influential enough to attract readership and hence advertising. IT entered in printing and journalism, and that opened the doors to non-Brahmin talents. There was wide-spread talents in all castes. Globalisation also helped the professionalisation of journalism. There was a flow of people into the AV medium of DD. In rural Maharashtra, there was an upsurge of fortnightlies, magazines, dailies. That is because of the ease with which a publication can be run on the strength of available technology. This rural journalism is mostly non-Brahmin.
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Wisden
Wisden is the Bible of cricket. It is published annually from England for the last 149 years. It completes 150 years now. It provides the valuable statistics. The first test match was played in 1877 on 15, 16, 17 and 19 March. Wisden was first published in 1864. It pre-dates the first test. It was previously called Wisden Cricketer’s Almanac. They used to write ‘ cricketer’s ‘ for the first four years, but from 5 th year, they used to write Cricketers’. Initially, apart from cricketer, they used to write about other sports. Its cover page was in Salmon pink colour but in 1938, it was converted into the yellow colour. To begin with , it carried 112 pages but now carries up to 1500 pages. The centenary issue was published in 1963. The annual has been started by a cricketer—Jone Wisden. The first editor was W.H. Crossford. Wisden in its 150 years life has been edited by 17 editors. The longest editorial tenure was that of Sydney Pardon. He remained an editor for 35 years. It selects Top Five Cricketers every year. This is going on from 1927.They formed an expert committee to select the Top Five for the Century. In 2004, they started selecting ‘Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World.’ The first one to receive this honour was Richy Ponting. Sehwag was selected consecutively in 2008 and 2009 for this honour. They arranged Wisden Trophy Match on completing 100 years. Wisden’s ownership too changed during course of time – Robert Maxwell to McDonald, Sir Paul Getty and Bloomsberry.
Wisden’s editorials are important. Wisden collaborates with ESPN for online statistics.
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Customer Loyalty : Customer Lifetime Value – CLV
Customer loyalty was valued as a very useful metric to assess the value of a customer some fourteen fifteen years ago. Loyalty was defined in terms of time, amount and frequency of a customer in shopping with an organisation. However, it ignores whether such engagement is profitable. V. Kumar and his associates ( Georgia State University ) came up with a new metric to value the customer. It is related to profit generation through a customer in future. They collected transaction database of the customers buying. They also calculated the spending the company does on these customers e.g. say direct marketing costs. They then calculated the gross margin for each product sold. These three pieces of data collectivity led them to a Customer Lifetime Value ( CLV ) metric. Many companies adopted this metric. One telecom company got rid of 1000 unprofitable customers. Those were calling call centres frequently, and each such call cost the company dear. And their total spend on telecom service was lower than the amount the company spent on them. Such customers can go to a competitor, but in that case the competitor too will become unprofitable.