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| Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/digital-marketing-online-marketing-1527799/ |
That’s the
latest keyword in the Indian marketing circles. It’s almost touted as a panacea
to all problems that currently exist in getting customers to be loyal. Listed
below are the top 5 reasons why companies feel they should adopt digital.
1. All it needs is a website and a twitter account – Isn’t that what Amazon started with
when they came to India?, asked one CXO with more ‘experience’ than hair on
Jeff Bezos’ head. ‘Look at them now’, he said. Well. Yes. They have a bigger website
and more followers on twitter? Erm. They have multiple twitter handles if one
has to be accurate. But then, what?
2. If Amazon can do it, so can we – Do what precisely? Sell online, when even
face to face meetings with customers doesn’t get them to buy our service/
product? ‘If Amazon is a dukaan, we are no less. Agarwal nahi hai to kya hua,
hum bhi bania hai!”, said one South Indian CXO who had lived most of his life
in Delhi. Ok, so we will display our products online and put out brochures?
Then what? “we will wait for customers to buy, what else?” said the new
recruit, who has no clue of any of our services. While, this was being
discussed, word got around to the finance team that orders would be accepted
only via online purchase route, resulting in a cry of objection. New payment
method means, new procedures, new training and firing of the Babu who had spent
20 years just collecting cheques from customer offices.
3. We can fire our salesforce and court customers in their inbox – “Says who?”, popped up the Sales
Head. “Please note your databases don’t have any customer contacts. We knew a
day would come when you would think of making us redundant. And do you know how
many of our customers even use email?” Oh! Then you can send the mails out to
these customers yourself, pleads the CXO. “And diminish our position from sales
to data entry,” challenges the sales Head. This is when the marketing head pops
up saying , ”the sales team can keep its customers to itself, considering how rarely
they buy our products/ services. We will get you new customers. Savvy. Sophisticated
and with loose purse strings. Inbox kya, we will flood their postbox too and stalk
them on SMS, and mobile App.”
4. It relies on Analytics, not hearsay – Oh! Says the sales head puzzled. But then quickly
recovering asks, “what will it tell you? How much revenue we got? Those numbers
are managed by my team and you are all getting regular updates.” No, laughs the
marketing team. Details like who is targeted, how many pieces of communication
goes out to him/her, what is the response, what more can be done, etc can all
be tracked if we go digital, says the newbie who is fresh out of B-School and sharing
this gyaan.
5. It will listen, not question – Clearly a jab at the sales team, the
CXO makes it a point to bring up the last disagreement between teams. “No such
nuisance with digital. You feed information, the system does its job quietly.
No opposition.” “But”, says the sales head. Before he can continue, he is cut short
by the CXO, “See you started again! Is Amazon hearing so many ifs and buts? No!
that is why they are selling so much.”
6 months after
going digital, this is the conversation in the board room.
Sales Head –
Are you folks happy now? You’ve cut my team size by half and made the other
half send emails to unknown people who never bought anything.
Marketing Head
– Yes, and they are passing comments on Twitter. I don’t know how to respond.
You guys shouldn’t have the sent the mails. Even your email IDs are boring. Why
would I want to buy from Magan Lal? Couldn’t you at least change the ID to
Meghan L?
Finance
Head – How long will this continue? We spent a lot on training and Mr. Babu was
forced into retirement early. That has not gone down well with the Founder. He
feels we have thrown money and projected that we are lavish and are now
attracting criticism. We run the risk of The Bania Unlimited Bank cutting our
credit.
Sales Head –
Arrey, how can I answer that question? I didn’t want to go digital. These folks
(pointing to everyone else in the team) were keen.
Marketing
head – We were short changed by the IT folks who said they would give us good
candidates for analytics. They gave us interns who knew how to use Microsoft Excel.
These chaps gave us a whole bunch of permutations and combinations without
really telling us anything concrete.
(The IT
team is not present to defend themselves)
CXO – What does
Amazon do once they have the website and twitter account?
For a more
serious piece on whether digital marketing is customer centric, read this.
