Flipkart � Big Billion Day In the recent history of Indian online shopping nothing

has got more attention than India�s biggest eCommerce site Flipkart�s �Big Billion
Day� campaign. Unfortunately it got limelight for all the wrong reasons (out of
stock, website down, payment failures, erroneous pricing and whole lot of other
issues). In short brilliant online and offline marketing initiatives bought in lot
of potential customers to site only to frustrate them with operational
inefficiencies. However, in the entire mess there are definite bright signs for
Indian online retail. Currently Indian online retail contributes to only 4% of the
total sales giving ample scope for growth. Unlike some of the developed countries
where the basic infrastructures necessary for online retail's success are in
advance state, in India things are slowly falling into place. Some of the numbers
surely support the fact that online retail will play dominant role in the coming
years. In the quest to have rapid growth rate, eCommerce companies in India need to
innovate and come up with new ideas like Flipkart did with the �Big Billion Day�.
Flipkart often considered as the destiny child of India�s eCommerce growth story
had gone all out with their �Big Billion Day� campaign. It was an attempt to create
frenzy to attract new customers online and make the existing customers buy more
making them even more loyal. Unfortunately Flipkart has to live with the setback
and move on to reattempt another mega campaign later and hope to execute it
flawlessly.Rural Marketing in Future of Indian MarketingRural market is the key to
survival in India. Most consumer markets are getting cluttered, thereby slowing
down the growth rates of consumer products. While overall volumes continue to grow
reasonably well, there are too many players eating into each other's market share.
Reducing prices and investing heavily in sales promotion becomes inevitable in the
urban markets. Consequently, operating margins come under pressure and new growth
markets need to be explored. It is here that the rural markets provide an
opportunity, a ray of hope for a marketer. The rural market has been growing
steadily over the past few years and is now even bigger than the urban market. More
than 800 million people live in villages of India. �Go rural� is the marketer�s new
slogan. Indian marketers as well as multinationals, such as Colgate-Palmolive,
Godrej and Hindustan Lever have focused on rural markets.Thus, looking at the
opportunities, which rural markets offer to the marketers, it can be said that the
future is very promising for those who can understand the dynamics of rural markets
and exploit them to their best advantage. Since ancient times, Indian villages had
the concept of village markets popularly known as the village haats. The haats are
basically a gathering of the local buyers and sellers. The barter system was quite
prevalent, which still continues in a number of places even today. Haats are
basically a weekly event, and are central to the village economy. Bottom of the
Pyramid- C.K. Prahalad Bottom of the pyramid (BOP), also called�base of the
pyramid, term in�economics�that refers to the poorest two-thirds of the economic
human pyramid, a group of more than four billion people living in�abject�poverty.
More broadly, BOP refers to a�market-based model of economic development that
promises to simultaneously�alleviate�widespread poverty while providing growth
and�profits�for�multinational corporations�(MNCs).This concept has been
increasingly adopted by firms in different industries (e.g., household goods,
energy).�Alleviating�global poverty was identified as a top priority in the�United
Nations�Millennium Development Goals. Unlike traditional aid-based models
of�economic development, BOP approaches recast poverty as an economic opportunity
for MNCs. The basic argument has three premises: (1) the world�s
poor�constitute�massive growth opportunities and profit potential for MNCs, (2)
MNCs should play a leading�role�in unlocking the economic potential of such
difficult-to-access markets, and (3) bringing the poor into the global economy will
simultaneously generate fortunes for MNCs while solving the problem of global
poverty.Critics of BOP approaches note two crucial challenges, governance
and�sustainability; neither challenge is currently well addressed. Effective
governance mechanisms and bodies are needed to regulate, monitor, and oversee the
development of markets and effective competition (as well as police corruption),
and like MNCs, they must�transcend�national�sovereignties. Raising
the�consumption�levels of the world�s poor dramatically requires radically new
business models and technologies to avoid disastrous impacts on Earth�s�ecosystems;
governance mechanisms are needed to enforce the adoption of radical
resource�efficiency�measures and clean�technologies�across a multinational playing
field. Some researchers have suggested, however, that the effects of�pollution and
other environmental problems worldwide could be lessened by using such
underdeveloped countries as inexpensive testing arenas for environmentally
sustainable technologies.Four billion poor people constitute a staggering market
opportunity, but without buying power (income) and transaction capacity
(credit,�infrastructure, distribution systems, and other institutional frameworks),
the poor are locked into poverty. BOP approaches contend that MNCs in particular
have the incentive (growth opportunities), the financial resources, and the
capabilities (low-cost�mass production, marketing expertise, international
experience) to produce and distribute appropriate affordable products at high
volumes and razor-thin profit margins. Research suggests that successful BOP
endeavours are characterized by�communities�that benefit by obtaining basic
services or growing more�affluent, which precipitates a cycle in which their
purchasing power expands while allowing the businesses that underlie the basic
services to keep growing.Supply Chain Management of Big Basket Big Basket (Online
Grocery Shopping and Online Supermarket in India)�follows�inventory
model�currently. They started from�just in time�model but moved to an inventory
model considering their expansion and large base of consumers. Additionally, they
maintain warehouses to stock products which they purchase from different vendors.
Their vendors include big firms like P&G, HUL etc. along with small mandi vendors
and kirana shops. Moreover, procurement totally depends on type of products and
from where they have to be sourced. To maintain margins, generally it is preferred
to procure items from farmers directly. The whole chain starts at early morning and
they have proper team who benchmarks different prices, so that procurement could be
done efficiently considering cost and time.Running a big chain in such a business
is very difficult, so Big Basket has tied up with local grocery stores to serve
consumers as soon as possible, which is called as�hyper local strategy. They are
working on�express delivery�so that they can deliver products in as much as less
time possible�like rice, lentils, cooking oil (basic items) etc. in 60 minutes.
Acquisition of�DELYVER�(strong two wheeler network)�was done for the same purpose.
Major points of supply chain process of Big Basket:1. After getting materials from
their vendors, it is stored in warehouses (warehouses cater to cities within KMs
range of 250�300) where packing of items is done.2. Refrigerated vans are placed in
different regions from where order is delivered to customers or now they have
storage facilities by name of dark storage where they store materials before
dispatching to customers.�Dark storage�facilities get a direct feed from
warehouses.To order on Big Basket, just follow: Browse, select and pay. It deals in
staples, vegetables, meat and fish to gourmet and ready-to-eat food, household
goods and personal care items now. Use of data analytics is helping them to avoid
wastage as items are perishable. Big Basket processes�35000+ orders�every day and
operates in�23+ cities�nation-wide.Currently, they are operating�25
warehouses�and�63 storage facilities. With a customer base of�three million,
company is targeting revenues of�Rs 1800 crores�in FY17.Holistic Marketing Holistic
marketing is a�business marketing philosophy�which considers business and all its
parts as one single entity and gives a shared purpose to every activity and person
related to that business.A business is just like a human body: it has different
parts, but it�s only able to function properly when all those parts work together
towards the same objective. Holistic marketing concept enforces this
interrelatedness and believes that a broad and integrated perspective is essential
to attain best results.Components of Holistic MarketingHolistic marketing focuses
on marketing strategies designed to market the brand to every person related to it,
be it employees, existing customers or potential customers, and communicating it in
a unified manner while keeping in mind the societal responsibility of the business.
Relationship MarketingThe�relationship marketing�aspect of holistic marketing
philosophy focuses on a long-term customer relationship and engagement rather than
short-term goals like customer acquisition and individual sales. This strategy
focuses on targeting marketing activities on existing customers to create a strong,
emotional, and everlasting customer connections. These connections further help the
business in getting repeated sales, free word of mouth marketing and more leads.
Integrated MarketingIntegrated marketing is an approach to create a unified and
seamless experience for consumer to interact with the brand by designing and
directing all communication (advertising, sales
promotion, direct marketing, public relations, and digital marketing) in such a
way so that all work together as a unified force and centers around a strong and
focused brand image.Internal MarketingThere are two types of customers to every
business: internal and external. While focusing on external customers should be a
top priority for every business, internal customers should not be left unnoticed as
these internal customers (employees) play a vital role in marketing the brand and
products to the external customers of the business.Internal Marketing treats
employees and staffs as internal customers who must be convinced of a company�s
vision and worth just as aggressively as external customers. It also involves
crafting processes which make them understand their role in the marketing process.
Socially responsible marketingThe�socially responsible marketing�aspect of the
holistic marketing concept involves a broader concern of the society at large. It
requires the business to follow certain business ethics and focuses on partnerships
with philanthropic and community organisations. A business is considered as a part
of the society and is required to repay the same.Socially responsible marketing
encourage a positive impact on company�s stakeholders.STP Model Today,
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) is a familiar strategic approach in
Modern Marketing. It is one of the most commonly applied marketing models in
practice. In our poll asking about the�most popular marketing model�it is the
second most popular, only beaten by the venerable SWOT / TOWs matrix. This
popularity is relatively recent since previously, marketing approaches were based
more around products rather than customers.�In the 1950s, for example, the main
marketing strategy was 'product differentiation'.In addition, STP focuses on
commercial effectiveness, selecting the most valuable segments for a business and
then developing a marketing mix and product positioning strategy for each segment.
Marketing Strategy of Reliance JIO Marketing Mix of Reliance Jio analyses the
brand/company which covers 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) and explains the
Reliance Jio marketing strategy. The article elaborates the pricing, advertising &
distribution strategies used by the company.Product:Reliance Jio is a leading
telecom operator in India, which has disrupted the Indian market with its services.
Jio has rolled out a number of products & services in its marketing mix for the
benefit of the Indian population including the roll out of Internet services to
promote Internet penetration within the country and promote the digitization
initiatives followed. JioPhone is one of the most popular service rolled out by
Jio, wherein the first affordable 4G phone has been launched by Reliance which is
powered by Kai Operating System.Price:At the outset, in an attempt to promote
Internet usage within the country and to make the availability of Internet to
people from all walks of life, Reliance Jio undertook the initiative of providing
SIMs free of cost to any individual against their Aadhar number and unique mobile
number identity. It was estimated that Jio was successful in selling up to 14 lakh
SIM cards to individuals within the first few days of its launch.Place:Reliance Jio
has a strong presence in the Indian subcontinent because of the extremely well
developed infrastructure that the firm offers. The network is available across all
the twenty two telecom sectors in the country which include regions all across
India. All states and major cities are covered. It has a reach in about 18000
cities and across more than two lakh villages within the country.Promotion:Jio has
partnered with a number of organizations and agencies like The BT group, Millicom,
Orange S.A. In September 2016, it even signed a pact with BSNL for intra-circle
roaming services to be offered in partnership with one another. Jio has also signed
up for a partnership with Samsung for rolling out LTE Advanced Pro and 5G in the
country.�The brand ambassadors for the brand promotion are the most iconic stars of
the Bollywood film fraternity: Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan.Consumer is a
KING. Justify.�Customer is King� is an age-old business mantra highlighting the
importance of customers (and would-be customers) in every business. Traditionally,
this rule usually needs a company�s promise to provide good customer services. �But
with the current evolution on work and business settings coupled with technological
advancement, �customer is king� means more than just good customer service.1. You
have to give them the best.��Customers will still want the same thing�the best
value for their money. This is what you have to give them.2. You should know their
power.�The major idea of the mantra still holds true, you should never offend your
customers because it will mean serious loss for your business.�3. You don�t tell
them what to do.�A king does not want to be told what to do.� It is he who demands,
not the other way around. �This is exactly how customers are. Marketers should
realize that the �buy this�, �get this� or �Like this� could only go so far.4. You
make things easy for them.�People would want to save time, money and energy as much
as possible. That is why; as a marketer, you have to make sure you�re accessible to
your customers.5. You let them call the shots.�This is not to say that you let them
handle your business. Of course, that�s wrong. What I mean to say with this instead
is that sometimes, you could let your customers dictate what they want or how they
want it.