Category: branding

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“Somebody belongs somewhere”

“Somebody belongs somewhere”.

What? Say that again.

In this day & age, we are still seeing inequalities of all kinds in employment. Recently, a fast-food major, tweeted something that was not in good taste. I was shocked to see that.

So, you will do anything to get clicks. Right?

Utterly wrong. And so cheap.

Does anyone in these companies think before starting such a campaign?

In this internet age, brands can kill themselves in a matter of few seconds. With wrong judgement. With poorly written copy. With arrogance. With position of power. While underestimating the power of the medium that they use, to run the very same campaigns.

How great brands get wiped out? Think about it.

Customers will forgive you for anything that you had committed. What they won’t forgive is this: How bad you made them feel while dealing with you. For ex, that tweet by this fast-food major made them lose all the women as their customers, in a matter of seconds. Did I say they tweeted on International Women’s day? Yes, they did.

Arrogance: In one-word, if I have to sum it up all, this is that.

I look at it as an opportunity for all small & upcoming brands to make a name for themselves.

Personally, as a shopper, I will buy from smaller brands or brands that treats it’s customers like God. It’s a win-win.

What do you think?

#marketing #b2c #b2b #sales #campaign #adcopy

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My favourite apps are getting acquired!

The latest in this list is Bigbasket. They got bought over by Tata.

Last month, Urban Ladder was bought over by Reliance.

Slack was bought by Salesforce for $ 27.7 Bn.

Slideshare was bought long time ago by LinkedIn.

And, LinkedIn was then bought over by Microsoft.

“Taxi For Sure” was acquired long ago by OLA.

Maybe, I have an eye / taste for good products & services.

I am in the wrong trade, I guess.

Maybe, I should become an Investor / #Mergers & #Acquisitions Consultant.

A senior friend was working with an Indian CRM product company.

He quit that company & joined Siebel.

Then, Oracle bought Siebel.

He quit Siebel & joined Agile Software.

Oracle then bought Agile Software. What? Yes, they did!

I think Oracle was following him wherever he went. 🙂

He should have become the Head of Acquisitions at Oracle.

Because, he had an eye for excellence. And he was riding the wave.

What #apps are you using?

Your favourite apps like Instagram, Whatsapp were acquired by Facebook long ago.

There is talk of #SuperApp doing the rounds.

Choose your apps wisely.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Unless, your name is Tata.

#b2c #story #brands #marketshare

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Narrow the focus!

A delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, unusual, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessen originated in Germany during the 18th century & spread to the US in the mid-19th century. [Wikipedia]

17 year old Frederick Adrian DeLuca borrowed $1,000 from family friend Dr. Peter Buck during the year 1965 to start something on his own. Dr.Buck suggested the idea to help DeLuca make money for college to study medicine. DeLuca’s plan was to begin a “fast-food venture that provided a healthful, less fattening bill of fare”. He named it as “Pete’s Submarines,” which sounded like “Pizza Marines”, so they changed the name to “Pete’s Subway.” Eventually in 1968, it was shortened to simply “Subway” as it is known today. They reached 1000 stores in 1987 & 1100 in 1993 when McDonalds had 800 stores that year. In 2018, the company had 43,700 franchisees worldwide. [Wikipedia]

DeLuca decided to focus on one type of sandwich, “the submarine sandwich” when other delicatessens sold a hundred different things from soups & salads to chips, muffins, doughnuts, cookies, ice cream, beer, coffee, tea not to forget the newspapers, cigarettes & lottery tickets.

Today, Subway sells more than just the submarine sandwich. They carry salads, breakfast, sides & drinks to signature wraps. But they are still remembered for the subs. And they are present in a number of countries – from Antigua and Barbuda to Virgin Islands.

When you narrow the focus, you become a specialist in that domain and your customers remember you for that “one thing”.

#Happy Selling!!

b2c #b2b #marketing #sales #brandidentity

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LinkedIn Top Voices 2020: India

LinkedIn Top Voices 2020: India is out. In case you missed it, you can view it here:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-top-voices-2020-india-abhigyan-chand/

In a world where people, ask you to double tap for a surprise or copy paste others’ stories or narrate stories about how they gave a job to the most deserving candidate or ask you to click on these icons – “like” or “celebrate” or “support”, if you like working from home or office or both, here is a list of people who genuinely drive engagement on their posts with their insights and tips in their domain.

If you are not following them, you should, depending on your interests.

LinkedIn has released Top Voices 2020 in various categories:

  1. Data Science and AI
  2. Design
  3. Education
  4. Entrepreneurship and Small Business
  5. Equity in the Workplace
  6. Finance and Economy
  7. Frontline Health Care
  8. Frontline Retail
  9. Job Search and Careers
  10. Marketing and Advertising
  11. Sales
  12. Sports
  13. Technology

Also, LinkedIn has released lists region wise.

Here is the complete list: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-top-voices-2020-meet-professionals-driving-todays-roth/?published=t

#HappyLearning

#HappySelling!!

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Cold call by an Edu Tech Co.,

I received a call from an education technology company recently. The lady who called said that she is calling from an xyz company. She then went on to say that we had made an inquiry regarding their coding classes. I said “we didn’t”. She insisted we did and asked me to check.

I patiently told her that we had enrolled our son into one of their programs at our apartment few years ago. Told her we didn’t like it after one or two classes and hence opted out immediately and that we had a tough time getting back the money paid. It was such a bad experience. But we never made any inquiry ever after. Told her that maybe they have the name & mobile number from that campaign.

Neither did she listen to that story, nor did she feel sorry for that bad experience. Instead, she went on saying that we had made an inquiry, but that wasn’t true. I normally encourage such cold callers. But, I had to disconnect this call since she yelled at me. Yes, she did.

I am lost. To what extent will these edutech companies go to get customers?

They are doing more damage by making such calls.

My advise to them:

  1. Teach your sales people before you teach others.
  2. Listening is an art. Learn that first.
  3. Be professional.
  4. Don’t yell at customers, even if they are wrong.
  5. Try and give a good customer experience.
  6. Turn a bad experience into a good one.
  7. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to delight your customers.

#HappySelling!!

#b2c #sales #coldcall

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Be Inspired! But don’t copy!

My #content was stolen. [Why am I not happy about it?]

By a Director, Solutions and Services of a computer hardware company that’s also into Doc imaging. The Director is based in California & handles the marketing for the company.

I first received a #LinkedIn request from this person. I accepted. Then after a while, this copying happened.

I am not a guru on #PersonalBranding. But that didn’t stop me from sharing what I knew on the subject.

The first three points I wrote:

  1. How do you want to be perceived?
  2. What should people remember when they think of you?
  3. What do you stand for?

And the Director wrote:

How do you want people to perceive you?

How do you want to be remembered?

What do you want your name to be synonymous with?

———

What a clever lift?

Escaping Google’s punishment. 🙂

Quotes:

  1. “I don’t worry about people “copying” me. Their next move can’t happen until I make mine.” -Germany Kent
  2. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” – Oscar Wilde

My advice to this person:

  1. Please be yourself.
  2. Don’t try to be me.
  3. You can’t be me.
  4. Find the real meaning of “copywriting”.

What’s more: This person is writing a book on Personal Branding that is likely to be published soon on #Amazon.

Happy Creating!!

#HappySelling #beinspired

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How to Master The Art of Video Prospecting!!

Some of you had expressed interest earlier in learning more about using #Videos in #Sales.

I just attended a Live Masterclass titled “How To Master The Art Of Video #Prospecting” by Morgan J Ingram.

He is the man to go to for Videos. I believe he has so far made over 10k videos. Follow him, ask him, take his classes, do whatever. He is too good. I highly recommend him.

Interviews with Reva Pellerin (she/her) & Ellie Twigger added value.

Videos are going to take a big chunk of your interactions with customers, going forward.

If you can’t be there in person, then videos are the next best thing.

What’s more? Videos can be saved & played over & over again.

If you are like me, looking at starting off with videos, now’s the time to do that.

1. Duration of 90 seconds or thereabouts should be fine.
2. Smile.
3. Be Happy. We can see that in your video & no one wants to see a sad face ever.
4. Ensure good lighting.
5. Look at the camera. [Not at yourself. Don’t care about your shirt etc. I didn’t mean you can wear a crumpled shirt. You get it!]
6. Just be human.
7. Just one idea per #video.

When the replay of the webinar becomes available, I will share it with you all here.

Stay tuned. [for the tips & tricks as I go along].

#HappyCreating!!
#HappySelling!!

#videoprospecting

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New Sales Playbook post Covid-19!!

Covid-19 has altered the business landscape. Forever.

Sales playbook that we used so far does not work anymore.

Post Covid-19, I don’t think we are going to return to the previous style of functioning.

Right now, customers expect us to #bemorehuman.

Some food for thought:

  1. Do we care for our customers? Genuinely?
  2. Do we understand their feelings?
  3. Are we treating them like humans?
  4. Are we helping them solve some real problems?
  5. Are we making them feel special?
  6. How are our products going to help them during this pandemic specifically?
  7. Or, are we selling our product like we used to, by talking about our “product” & the “benefits”?
  8. Are we making the right connection between the buyer & our brand during this pandemic?
  9. If yes, what are we doing to achieve that?
  10. Are we helping them smile during these difficult times.

If the answer is a resounding “YES” to at least 7 / 10 questions above, we will sail through this period safely.

If not, it is time for us to take a re-look at our Strategies. Did I say “strategies”? I am sorry. That’s not the word right now.

….re-look at the way we connect with the buyers – would be more appropriate.

#HappyConnecting!!

#HappySelling!!

#covid19 #sales #business #newsalesplaybook #care4customers

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Personal Branding!

#JeffBezos says: “Branding is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

Whether you are an individual / a business, branding is important.

Some pointers to get you thinking:

1. How do you want to be perceived?

2. What should people remember when they think of you?

3. What do you stand for?

4. Do you make others successful?

5. Do you make lives simple, easy & interesting?

6. What should one expect when they deal with you?

7. How do you make people feel when they interact / do business with you?

8. Do you inspire confidence in others?

9. Do you keep up your words?

10. Do you have a purpose or do you solve a problem?

I’ve had many bosses but I want to talk about just two of them now. One was mellifluous, made great presentations in sales conferences. I like him.

The other wasn’t that stylish / sophisticated. But, nevertheless, he made everyone laugh during his presentations.

The second boss treated everyone well. He mingled with everyone. Spent time with all of us after office. I love him.

See the difference.

How you make people feel seems to be very important.

If you like this post, please click like or clap so that I am encouraged to share more such stories with you. Also, I will know that I am adding value here on #LinkedIn with my #stories.

#HappySelling

#branding #personalbranding #sales #identity #marketing