Accenture, a noted a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, in a one-month tie-up with Barista, held a promotional activity, with NetCarrots playing the catalyst. The activity ran across Barista outlets in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune & Bangalore during the month of August. Collaterals included table stickers, standees, puzzle games and posters at the outlets. A contest was also held wherein the customer had to fill up a form and submit the entry into an Accenture dropbox. The declared winner could walk away with an I-Pod shuffle.

Ever thought of stepping into Barista and getting stimulated intellectually? The Economist assured you of that in August, with a one-month promotion at select Barista outlets in Mumbai. Customers who bought an issue of the magazine placed at the outlet were given a free cappuccino. Collaterals included magazines racks, table stickers and posters.

With the constant shift in customer preferences and business climates, the most successful businesses are the ones that adapt themselves to these changes. This process involves clearly defining your customers - who they are and what they want - which comprise your target audience.

Our CEO, Praphul Misra, tackled this topic hands on when he recently attended a workshop on “Strategies that Transform Brands" at his alma mater, IIT Roorkee. The workshop focused on brand transformation and communication at the strategic level. Praphul’s short presentation, titled “Target Audience - Customer?” threw light on the importance of looking beyond customers as target audiences while transforming brands.

Focusing on the ‘last mile’, Praphul used technical formulae (given the audience comprised of techies doing an MBA) to drive home the point; customer satisfaction is a function of channel and employee satisfaction. This is amplified in the retail context where value is a function of quality, price and intangible experience. (We are going to spare you by not using Greek formulae here!)

The Sears (famous department store chain in North America) case was used to exemplify this point where the management was able to link the bottom line of profit to customer satisfaction, which in turn was linked to employee satisfaction.

Similarly, Praphul’s experiences at Hero Honda in the late 90s were called to fore to underscore his argument. In spite of a 50% market share, the management sought to connect the customer through a ‘Rishta Dil Ka’ (which incidentally, was the tag line for their hugely successful Passport Program). It required a humungous effort on the part of leaderships to transform the attitudes of not just the middle management at HQ and regional offices, but also it’s 400+ dealers. The rest, as they say, is history.

Another relevant learning in the forum was how the employees can be made to live the brand only if one is able to manage (reduce) the ‘gaps’ - on one hand, between Expectations, as set up by seemingly harmless communication, and Promise, as decoded from the entire recruitment process (See box below) that includes job description, KRAs etc. and on the other hand, the gaps between Promise and Delivery, as manifested in the work environment (walking the talk).

In geek speak, it was represented as:

Say,
P >   E   =   P < E = D   > P = D < P =	P = Promise, as decoded from recruitment process E = Expectation, as set up by harmless communication D = Delivery, as manifested in work environment

The bottom line - Transformation begins at home; first with the employee, then with the customer.
  

In what can possibly be termed as one of Canada’s most successful loyalty programs, the Canadian Tire Company made the use of coupons with a difference to get new customers, way back in 1950’s. Initially, the Company issued Canadian Tire Money that was given out at Canadian Tire’s gas stations and could be exchanged for discounts on in-store merchandise. With the roaring success of the idea, distribution of Canadian Tire Money was extended to customers of Canadian Tire stores where coupons could be redeemed at gas bars and Canadian Tire retail stores. Indeed, it was ‘buying’ loyalty, but with a difference.

Here’s another loyalty program with a difference. uTango, a loyalty cash rewards program in the US, rewards members upto a million dollars over 30 years for both personal and customer loyalty. You can earn Tango bucks as you shop online across 250 uTango merchants. Once you hit the annual Tango bucks goal, you get annual cash rewards in return for your long-term loyalty. How’s this for ‘true’ loyalty??