Business is Marketing

Give me a red, and a blue, and yes a green, maybe a white too, and let’s not leave black behind! Because the rules of competition are very clear; and there’s no space for shades of grey... Presenting, a thoroughly ‘coloured’ perspective on market leadership! Colour my world Whenever you think of a colour, do you feel something? Or whenever you feel something, do you think of a colour? Confused? Let’s put it this way... When you think of ‘purity’, which colour do you think of? Probably white. When you think of ‘passion’, which colour do you think of? Probably red. When you think of ‘peace’, which colour do you think of? Probably white. When you think of ‘cool’, which colour do you think of? Probably blue. When you think of ‘freshness’, which colour do you think of? Probably green. Not just feelings, our association with colours has extended to products too.Try this... If it has to be a detergent, which colour should it be? Blue! If it has to be a lemon soap, which colour should it be? G

Guess what the famed ruthless MNCs fear in India? 500 bhelpuri hawkers, 5,000 dabbawalas, 40,000 illiterate papad makers, and of course, 1 ubiquitous brand called Banta! Rest assured... There are two stunningly successful businesses in Mumbai. One is run by 5,000 people and makes roughly Rs.25 crore a month. The other provides employment to some 500 people and has net sales of more than Rs.5 lakh everyday. The first one has been ranked by Forbes magazine at par with Motorola and General Electric on the basis of the highly prized Six Sigma rating for quality assurance. It is a business that is probably as complex as FedEx. The only difference being, this one is run with uneducated staff, without telephones, computers or even delivery trucks. Both the above-mentioned businesses are run by simple, almost illiterate people, yet they have made many multinationals gasp at their efficiency. If you haven’t yet grasped it; I’m talking about the ‘dabbawalas’ and the hawkers who sell ‘bhelpuri’ o