Open the door to Bob

Next time the door is knocked be careful. Take a look and then open the door. Who knows you may have Bob as your guest. Not that Bob wants to exploit the traditional munificent Indian hospitality, but he wants something else. That ‘something’ is really very important for a monster; don’t get scared. The monster in discussion is in business parlance. Makes sense? Okay let me explain the person Bob Mc Donald is the diminutive global head of the FMCG monster Procter & Gamble aka P&G. Bob McDonald is on a visit to various households across India to gauge the perception of these householders about P&G products. So if you are a user of Tide detergent powder or Head and Shoulders shampoo don’t be surprised to open the doors to a strange looking foreigner—he is none other but Bob.

I should say this is a brilliant idea-- an idea which can do wonders for P&G. Indian FMCG segment is nearly a 5000 crore segment and gaining confidence of Indian consumers is no mean task. Specially, in times where customer loyalty is a thing of past and companies are having a tough time to woo customers. Another aspect of this brilliant idea is that instead of just spending on advertisements the company is actually trying to find out how important it is for a customer to have a right kind of product which should match just the customer’s requirement. When the biggest rival Hindustan Unilever is busy making advertisements which not only just makes a caricature of P&G but also wins GRP, P&G’s act is not just a stroke of brilliance but also a great strategy.

Strategically speaking it actually takes care of three very important things of marketing—product, price and promotion. A FMCG company sells mundane products, products which are seemingly trivial but are of great importance in our daily lives. So there is the big question—should every other company go brouhaha over a great product or its only just about promotion? A great product can only be ensured when the company tries to find out what exactly the customers want, what is their perception about the company’s brands, do they actually relate to the brand. This relation is very important. If you can relate to the toothpaste with which you brush your teeth every day, in whatsoever way, be it feeling fresher or getting whiter teeth, I bet you will have a yearning for the product however trivial it is.

Price is the most important factor in the Indian market. To understand the price points you need to understand the consumers better. And needless to say Bob’s visit will ensure that price points better understood in times when inflation is sky high. Today the consumers also understand how difficult it is for the companies to maintain a price point when the input costs have become so high. Finally, as far as the promotion goes…do I have to write anything? The unwritten part is always better understood…

N.B.: I appologise for the use of Jargons like FMCG and GRP. FMCG stands for Fast Moving Consumer Goods. These goods are the goods which are bought regularly from a retailer. So the retailer needs to update the stocks regularly and the goods move very fast from their shelves. Goods like toothpaste, detergents, toilet soap and a plethora of other goods as well fall under this category. While GRP stands for Gross Rating Points. It measures the success of an advertising campaign.