What Happened to Yahoo!?

Carol Bartz, Yahoo’s erstwhile CEO once famously commented that Yahoo is much more than just a white web page with a box on the top (ominous reference to Google). In the long run it is the same white page with the box that scored more and won the trust of users at large. Neither Yahoo, nor Ms. Bartz could match the services of Google.

The question I have is slightly different from the one that people openly ask nowadays. I ask myself “what happened to Yahoo!?” – The Yahoo I knew has always evoked a sense of nostalgia in me, and many other web users who created their first emails (Yahoo mail) or had their first crush with a stranger (Messenger) using their services. This question first came up in mind when I read Jerry’s announcement about stepping down as CEO, and it popped again when read about Carol’s ouster .

Many web users like me have created their first email IDs and experienced the wonderful experience of instant messaging using services of this great brand. Those were the mid 90’s when half the world wasn’t aware of the now popular concept of social networking. Yet, we used the Yahoo! Messenger and have created, shared and learned to use smileys [ J] and abbreviations (BRB, OMG!, etc.) also which became integral part of our daily communications. No other messenger was as popular or as user friendly as Yahoo Messenger those days. Yet Yahoo! failed to capitalize on its popularity and design its own evolution along with the history of the Internet.

Though I do not want to compare Yahoo with other services, I would like to make some comments in the following posts, on what Yahoo could have done to better the experience of its users.

What is your experience with Yahoo!? What changes would you like to see to their services?

Do please mark your comments below.

The Problems With Customer-Service Systems

CUSTOMER CARE STORIES

Sometimes it is better not to upgrade services that you regularly receive and are happy about. A couple of months ago I received a text message from my bank asking me if I would like to have an upgraded debit card. Since my existing card was a nameless one with a long time ahead before its validity ends, I thought it would be a good idea to have an upgraded one with my name on it; and I chose to respond. The new card was a good one, no doubt: Longer validity and lots of benefits and features associated with it. I was happy that the bank is actually honoring my long standing association with them, till I tried to undertake internet banking with the new card.

So here is the procedure: The bank gives you a login ID for internet banking (I prefer using this mode of payment than using the card directly) and the user logs in to the system and undertakes the transaction. After the user enters the transaction password, the website asks the user to provide some details from the card. The user furnishes the details, the bank verifies it and the transaction is complete. In case an incorrect user name or password is entered for a specific number of times, the user ID gets locked and the user needs to contact the customer care to get it re-activated. You know the drill.

When trying to book a travel ticket, the payment site forwarded me to the bank website where I am supposed to login with my details. I found that the website wasn’t accepting my password, and ultimately my transaction ID got blocked. I knew the drill here too. I called up the customer care and followed the IVR instructions announced on phone, and finally reached a point where I need to enter some information from my card to authentication. To my surprise, despite repeated careful attempts to enter the correct details, the system did not accept my details. Finally giving up on me, the system transferred my call to a customer care executive.

 The executive was quite polite listening patiently to my description of the problem. I know the drill here too. The executive explains the standard procedure and moves the user back to the mechanical IVR menu with a beautiful voice. User follows instructions and furnishes details from the card number and the login ID gets reactivated. Except that in my case it doesn’t accept the details. The call gets automatically forwarded to another executive. Here I explain the whole story to the clueless executive and mention that I had entered the right details. Ultimately as a last hope I spell out the details, letter by letter. He agrees “That’s right, sir. The values you have entered are the correct values as per the system.” Then why is it not accepting the data I enter?

Here I try to explain the executive the possible flaw in the system: man vs. machine. This incident came to mind while I was reading  a similar story this morning from MIT professor and Harvard blogger Robert Plant. My bank’s system too is designed by some team that comprises of human beings like me. It appears that though the bank has started sending away cards with longer lifetimes, the system wasn’t updated to accept cards with validity periods later than 2020 and hence it kept on rejecting the 2021 validity year of my card.

When we design systems in order to ensure smooth handling of customers, we also need to make remind ourselves that the customer is also a human being like us and won’t probably be happy doing things that we ourselves don’t.

Image courtesy: e-commercefacts.com

Thinking Beyond Lok Pal

ON GOVERNANCE

On the 15 of August 2011, the Prime Minister was addressing the nation from the Red Fort as is the tradition during the Independence Day celebrations. As usual the PM addressed several issues that are of concern to the nation while also highlighting the measures his government has already taken or are planning to take and spelled out some figures to indicate the results. The fear of public support and popularity for activists like Anna Hazare who has announced indefinite fast to make the Lok Pal, the much hyped Anti-Corruption Authority more powerful, was also pronounced in this year’s Independence Day speech.

 While I agree with the PM in his statement that the government does not have a “magic wand” that can make all corruption vanish in a moment, I also feel that there should be some measures to check not just corruption, but the implementation of various schemes initiated by the government. I would like to take up issues one by one and gradually suggest fundamental changes in the way we look at governance, in a series of entries under the section “On Governance.”

Gone With the Herd: A Word About "Followers"

I received this question in a social network from a distant friend of mine. I posted my answer to this question in the same network along with others. I thought it would be good to share with my reader friends as well:

Is having 1 million fans the only way to measure social media campaigns? What do you think is the ideal mix to measure any social media campaigns across platforms?

Crossing the mark of 1 million fans in a social media platform is a moment of elation for any campaign manager. It may be having a million “followers” in Twitter, or securing a million “likes” in Facebook or may even be having a million registered users commenting on the organizational blog.

For any given brand, this is a delightful number. But before declaring this result as a successful marketing effort, marketing managers should measure the efficacy of the crowd following the brand:  Not everyone in this fan list is a customer, or would like to be one. In other words there are numerous reasons why people click on a “follow” or a “like” button in your fan page or profile. Broadly there are four classes of fans in social media for an organization:

(a)    Customers who care about the brand and are fans in social media

The ideal customer each brand dies to have. Brands may have lots of loyal customers, but it is not necessary that they all become your fans in social media. Cherish the ones who follow you. Ask their opinions and encourage communication with them about what they like would to see changed in the product/service/concept, and build on it.

(b)   Customers who don’t care about the brand but are fans in social media

How many of us follow our favorite brand of coffee (not the coffee chain, but the domestic coffee powder brand) in social media? Or how many of us even know that they actually do have a social media page? A few considered customers, that’s all. But does it mean that I am not a loyal customer to my favorite brand of coffee? Definitely not. There are thousands of little brands that add value to my daily life, and I am happy with their product/service/concept. I even refer a few of them to friends. But in social media? I don’t think I would be an active fan.

(c)    Non-customers who care about the brand but are fans in social media

Usually the rich and the famous companies/groups have such fans. Not everyone can afford a Ferrari or a Mercedes. But these are popular brands everyone has heard/known about. But they would have a lot of fans in any social media page. People feel good to be seen associated with such big brands.

(d)   Non customers who don’t care about the brand but still are fans in social media

This is the bottom of the pit. Someone introduced you to a particular brand, and you signed up to their fan page. Now you lost in touch with that someone, but still receive email updates about the brand. Or it could be that you found a near-to-impossible offer from a big brand asking you to sign up in the next 24 hours and get unbelievable discounts. You signed up and got your product. But nothing happened after that.

These four categories appear similar to the four columns in a traditional SWOT analysis sheet. When it comes to social space a brand has to engage followers from all four classes in order to ensure that the popularity and visibility of the brand continues to be intact.

Additionally the organization should set up measures to examine how many of these social media followers/fans/likers are actually turning into customers, providing feedbacks on the products/services/offers they receive and cooperate with the organization’s effort to improve the visibility and acceptance of the brand. In short, the organization needs to calculate the growth of people in “Category A,” the list of customers who care for the brand and cooperate in the organization’s effort to improve its brand value. Any improvement in this category directly means that the social media efforts of the organization are moving in the right direction.

Image Courtesy: thecreativepenn.com.

A Day at the Parcel Office

GOOD GOVERNANCE

“I can’t take you in. Actually rickshaws aren’t permitted inside,” cried the driver of the tricycle that was carrying me and the tightly tied up cardboard box to New Delhi Railway station’s Parcel Booking Office. It was my sister’s idea to book the biggest package separately as a parcel on the same train that she is travelling on. I found it ironical that a parcel office doesn’t have carriage trolleys for people to push their packages to the building from the gate, and vehicles (like the tricycle that I hired) aren’t permitted to enter the campus. How am I supposed to present a 35-kilo heavy cardboard box from the office gate to the booking centre a 100 metres away? Surprising.

My brother-in law came to my rescue and together we lifted the box to the booking centre, surpassing the calls of middlemen/agents/touts that swarm every government (especially the Railways) office. Three Hours, two middlemen and numerous babus (clerks) later, the work is done and we all go home. So what’s about the situation? Everything.

India is a populous country, and most of us at some point of our lives board the train to travel long distances. Since we have a large migrant population (within ourselves, living in states/cities outside our natural places of birth or residence) using the services of Indian Railways, the market size is enormous. Add to it the culture of carrying a heap of baggage around, I should say the Indian Railways are sitting on a goldmine of potential business if handled properly. Through numerous Railway Budgets, we see how many new trains are on the go, how expensive the on-bard beverages and food is going to be, etc. But the average customer is not aware about any government effort to make the parcel van services being more supportive or user-friendly.  I would be happier to send my luggage through parcel booking services during my train travels if the government shall assure the following:

(a)    User-friendly office premises and staff

I don’t want to manually lift up a 45-kilo box and walk a 100 meters to get it booked. Also I prefer talking to one or two clerks who actually knows something about the parcels and the possible trains. (They need to have some basic geographic knowledge since they are working with the national carrier.)

(b)   A genuine online booking/tracking facility

The present website for Indian Railways parcel tracking just mentioned the whereabouts of the booking. It didn’t mention which route the packet follows, which day the packet is loaded on the train, and which station did it finally reach.

(c)    A prompt complaint/grievance redressal and enquiry counter

When my sister complained that her package didn’t reach the destination I had to go to the parcel booking office again, to make sure if the package is still left behind in New Delhi railway station unattended.  I had to talk to seven different people to get the assurance that my package has already been sent. I wondered if they have any proper enquiry counter (just like it works with a bank or a telecom office) where you walk in provide the details, and the official confirms the delivery with the necessary inputs.

To my big relief, my sister called up to confirm that the luggage was indeed delivered at the station (it was 4 grueling days late), and that she is finally happy. I wish such an unpleasant situation doesn’t happen in other people’s lives.
Image courtesy : Bloggers.com

On Enabling Non-Profits to Create Profitable Business

Well, my intention is not to create a paradox about "profitable non-profits," but there is always a feeling deep inside my heart that if one can actually make economic sense out of charitable/CSR activities; one should really try to achieve it as a goal, and orienting his efforts towards that front. The spark that caused such an entry entry into this blog is this very same thought I had when I visited the road-show conducted by an NGO that receives constant support and appreciation from our HR.

This NGO does a great work by supporting the cause of the girl child. They provide support in the educational needs of school going children, and also provide mid-day meal programs, etc. Recently they organized a campaign in the office premises to promote their efforts. They also set up a stall to sell some household items/decoration material, etc. Proceedings from this sale shall be directed towards one of their several programs. I am happy with the response they received from people in the office, but at the same time slightly apprehensive about the valuation system they might have used to price the goods on sale.

May be such thoughts resulted from the pricing exercises I was undertaking with the team, or the recent influence of articles from experts like McKinsey. But honestly, I didn’t like the way items were priced in the stall. Other than that the proceedings of this sale shall be spent towards a bigger cause, there wasn’t a good enough reason to buy those products. I even imagined asking the HR assistant why we can’t take a step forward and sign a contract with them to design our corporate gift items, now that we are sponsoring this organization for a few years now. We can actually take pride in ourselves for being able to support an NGO which fights for a cause. It would also add to our brand value as organization that facilitates its CSR roles and also creates us a certain comfortable reputation among clients when we gift them with items created by the lesser privileged people we support. But would the HR or Corporate Communications buy this idea? May be not.

Why? Because I find no other apparent reason to buy an unfinished gaudy-looking candle measuring a few inches for an uncomfortable price of 50Rupees. Same was the story with the bags on display that had large capacities, but have handles not durable enough to carry the weight of things they are designed to contain. I left the stall with the thought “Is it impossible to design good products with an aim to support charity? Is the cost equation so elastic in a society like ours?”

I was (and still am) of the opinion that unless philanthropic efforts are able to retrieve some value of the funds they receive or put to use, economic instability will remain. Taking a second look at the stall and its offerings, I started thinking what can be done differently than just pumping more money onto such initiatives. It would be great if we could encourage this NGO to create and market products in a presentable and profitable way. I see no wrong in that if it could transfer part of such value created, to the people who actually work on it, and see to it that it enhances their life and that they are not in a position to do anything and everything (like usual businesses do) to retain a corporate sponsor or a reputed client. This notion goes very well with my concept of an ideal non-profit.

Do you think it makes sense of teaching a non-profit how to create and sell products a profitable way? Do please comment.

Image courtesy: Wilson Chin

Technorati Tags: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR),Non-profits,Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO)

SST - The Expandable Indian Business Model for Sustainable Business

It has been here since time immemorial. It was part of our thought process and cultural values. To us it is the way we perceive things as consumers. If we can take forward this concept to better heights as a process of continuous improvement, there is no looking back. I am talking about three beautiful words that mean the way an Indian consumer defines his needs precisely -- Sasta, Sundar, Tikaoo -- meaning cheaper (cost-effective), beautiful (presentable) and reliable (value added). In the days where vernacular terms like "Jugaad" (meaning make-shift arrangement) gets active references from mentionable places such as Harvard, I feel SST also merits equal (if not more) attention.

Sasta – Cost Effective

This is one reason that keeps India a preferred outsourcing location: our products/services are cheaper at cost. In the era of biggies like US threatening to pull the plug on perpetual outsourcing efforts, Sasta is the most preferred way to contain business risks. Many times there is no valid reason why we charge a premium to over products or services if we can extend the assembly-line process to include value-for money components that share our business value.

Sundar – Presentable

That you are marketing a cheaper solution is not a valid reason to hard-sell products of unacceptable look and feel. This applies not only for the hardware (electronics, communication items, fabrics), but also for the software and services. Organizations need to put emphasis not to make their products look cheap and visually repelling. The quality of material used in manufacturing, the design process, all have to keep up with a certain acceptable standards.

Tikaoo - Reliable

Not just in India but customers around the world prefer a reliable product than just something else that serves the purpose. Organizations should emphasize on providing lasting solutions to customers, and at the same time encourage them to provide feedback about what more would they like to see in any given product line. This would help the product define and expand its target audience, and at the same time establish itself as a reliable brand before its target market. This is conventional wisdom for the Indian customer and the Indian way of running business. This is something we all know as customers. However the story does not end with this. SST should not be considered an end by itself but a reliable tool for continuous improvement, instead.

On (Mis-) Communication and Games

The recent HBR blog entry by Peter Bregman caught my attention today. A little different from the typical entries I come across; Peter’s way of narration is interesting.

The blog post has a nicely narrated, simple message. I remember a similar situation I was in a few days ago with a close friend of mine who lives and works in South America. It was the World Cup season, and like all true South Americans she was also quite excited about the matches. I should admit that I'm not a very big fan of football or cricket (the most popular sport here in India), though I don't mind watching the World Cups. I cheered for Brazil (I really wished they'd win. I simply like the way they play the game, just that) while my friend cheered for Argentina. No matter who won or lost, we always ended up saying "may soccer win." Such was the spirit.

So when one day suddenly Brazil was kicked out of the tournament by aggressive rivals, I felt wounded though I am not such a passionate footballer. In a way for me, this was the end of FIFA World Cup 2010. While talking after the game, I said "This season is over for me. I see no reason why I should continue watching the World Cup." I wasn't sure that my response would make her feel bad. Though she doesn't like Brazil very much, she cheered with me (May great soccer always win!) and can't stand that I feel down because my favourite team lost the tournament. Little did I realise that a simple comment from me could hurt so much. After apologizing and setting the path straight, I decided to sit back and cheer for Argentina in the following days to support my friend and keep her spirits high. Argentina too couldn't make it, so we happily ended up in the same boat. May great soccer always win.

As Peter puts it vividly, it is significant to be clear of and to communicate well on what's in one's mind. The severity of the situation is inversely proportional to the distance between the people in conversation. So I make it a point to mention clearly in cases where I differ in opinion, and also suggest alternative options. This concept is equally significant in managing teams especially so, when the leader and the teams are in different locations. When I was reading Peter's recent post, I missed the key words "at least" in the first run. Later when Peter went on explaining about it, I felt the gravity of the situation. These are words that most of us miss. In Peter’s case these two words contained the entire message. If the team requests or demands attention, hold back your temptation to react and reflect on the root cause. Also ask the team what's going on. Clarify the picture before you jump into a conclusion.

Luckily for me, this year's Wimbledon was quite in between the World Cup matches. I admit I am passionate about tennis, and head-over heels when it comes to Wimbledon. I feel so happy that this year I taught my friend a little about tennis, and she seems quite interested.

On good bosses

Today morning I was reading the follow-up to "12 Things Good Bosses Believe" by Robert Sutton in HBR blogs. He points out how big bosses not just keep their "big hairy audacious goals (BHAGs)" known to everyone in the team, but also break them down to objectives for daily activities that gradually aggregate to reach the organizational goal. While I was reading his blog, a recent commercial by a low-cost airline flashed in my mind.

This commercial was about the airline providing its services on time and thereby aiming to do wonders. I felt amused at first. I still think if I'm the only one who didn't have a good experience with this company. Most if not all the flights I had with this particular airline was late, though only one did keep me waiting too much. However my focus right now is on this particular commercial on air and not their commitment to deliver their promises. I found this commercial really interesting, not as a television campaign explaining bored housewives how the airline is helping India become a developed economy tomorrow, but rather as an internal motivation tool for the airline's employees on how they can actually make this transformation happen.

This typical 15 second commercial has the listed all key elements that require the airline to deliver its services on time. This campaign would be designed by a team with a good boss, I'm sure. Also if the airline enhances its internal processes with the same spirit imbibed in this campaign, there is hardly any stopping them. However, what I'm not sure is how much emphasis the airline has on delivering "on time" services: whether it is a strategic objective for the next few years, or a mission statement that draws its roots on the everyday aspects of the carrier at large.

Your Website Is a Marketing Tool: Design It Positive

Recent visits to several web sites - that of customers, prospects, vendors, and the like - made me rethink the reason why companies need to have a web-presence. During the DotCom boom of the 90's it was a popular fad among companies to have an "online presence of our own." Having a web site is considered indispensable even today. However how many of us make sure that our website attracts, engages and retains traffic that is key to our businesses? I'm not sure. Here are a few steps I feel could add value to your business as a practical marketing tool.

Identify your visitor

The key question here is "who is your visitor?" Is she a customer (valid mostly for portals and B2C businesses) or a partner? (valid for B2B businesses). A more convenient way is to define why someone would visit your business website. It could be an old customer catching up for updates, or a fresh prospect interested in a partnership to support your newly created business vertical. All these visitors have well defined purposes for their visits, and your site should be able to provide concise and updated information about your business to address these needs. On the other hand, the customer of a B2C business may just be interested in your company's history, or just curious to know what are your upcoming products or even may be looking to your offices are located in her city, in case they need to contact you.

It would be advisable to monitor the number of clicks you get in a particular time period, say a week or a month in order to have an idea of how frequent do you get visits.

Create an experience

Have a flashy website running on the latest technology or most updated browser? Chances are that your customer may not be able to see information that you want to detail for them. I keep a fairly updated version of my browser, armed with the supporting technologies (JRE or Flash player plug-in). Even then I get messages (though not frequently) asking me to install a higher version of Java or a different version of .Net or Flash when I visit some web sites. My limited user rights in the office computer don’t let me download and install a latest version of Java, and I don't have the time/patience/convenience to wait till evening when the IT guy comes and does it for me. So the message is straight: keep it simple, not limited to specified browser(s), and easy to use. Make it visually appealing by providing simple but eye-catching images, readable fonts, and a comprehensive narration of text.

Provide your visitors some memorabilia

People like it when they get something freely downloadable. It may be wallpaper, a desktop calendar or an international time clock, a screen saver, anything. This could serve as an advertising tool that people actually like downloading and watching. And yes, if you are a B2B organization that provides professional software and you intend to provide a sample or a demo version, please provide a good one: something that is hassle-free for the end user. If you invest in your website to attract visitors, it is also possible that you can engage your visitors (ideal for B2C businesses) with online thematic games. This would add to the user's knowledge of the theme, may it be a technology platform or even your specific range of products.

Ask them to come back/contact

Encourage users to contact you or come back to you. Ask for their feedback, what they think of the website, and what they like to see in the next range of products of your company. Assure (and equally make sure as well) that the information they share with you shall be kept confident, and shall not be used against them (as in cold calling). Unhide your face from your partners and customers. Give a physical address, a valid phone number and email which someone responsible actually reads and responds as the case is. I personally don't feel interested in a company that hides itself behind a web form, asking me to provide my details, and what I'd like to know with a comment saying "we will get back to you." In more than 50% cases, no one got back to me, and in fact I have observed a significant increase in the spam emails, text messages (this is a happening trend in India, believe me!) or maybe even hard-selling calls from unrelated companies. Make sure this doesn't happen to your customers.

And in case someone comes back, do respond to their queries, and do it soon! Respect the time and privacy of the customer and chances are high that they value your brand. Make sure you do this even in cases you feel that they may not do business with you soon.

Repeat the cycle

If all the above happens in a positive note, there is reason to cheer: it is proof that you have expanded your brand visibility. The next step is to maintain the tempo of interaction and keep gaining more value-added customers. The key is to maintain this value you've earned and make sure that you return the same value to the customer. Repeat this process with a narrower focus, since you know more about the ones to come back to you. They truly care for your brand, and they are the market you were looking to serve.

The Crime of Wrongly Prevention

I have heard that the pen is mightier than the sword. I never knew that shares are mightier than missiles. If you can open the URL mentioned above, you’ll understand exactly what I’m saying.

The emerging importance of national economics as the least common denominator of social development

Uproar in the parliament over reservations, and recently over the inclusion of caste as a category of population classification of population, beyond religion, region and economic status. Add to it an ailing national air carrier, a puzzled government unable to identify what’s lacking in its dreams of taking the nation to the next level, and the easiest and most popular answer of “we are like this only.” All this while millions of people in this vibrant country setting goals and standards for themselves and striving hard to deliver on their promises to take us to the next level. Mine is just a little effort to connect the dots: a tiny step to remind ourselves that something can be done. Something that is uncomfortable, yet supportive in moving to the next level. We need to focus on national economics as the basic common denominator in our journey to social development. Here are some possible steps:

• Caste-based reservations should go

Decades ago, while the founding fathers of this great nation recognized the need of social development of the underprivileged citizens, little have they thought that reservations/quotas could be a weapon of choice for politicians in their hunger for power. Since the main purpose it seeks is to uplift a downtrodden community to invite its contribution to the nation building process. And such a support need not be there forever. Instead, it should be a one-time process providing the individual/family an opportunity to grow, and reach a position from where he/she/they can take it forward themselves. There should also be a mechanism in place to monitor the benefit of this reservation provided to this individual/family and the way he/she/they have grown economically.

• Mechanism to measure productivity of governmental/public sector workforce needs to be implemented

Each government employee should have a set of tangible goals/targets that is measurable in terms of the value added to the departmental/divisional/PSU-level goals set by the government, as usually done in the promises inside the Parliament. At least the annual increments and bonuses of these employees need to be made proportionate to the employee’s achievement of these goals.

• Government needs to continue implementing its austerity measures

Any action from the government’s side on minimizing expenses for unimportant issues, are welcome. Please continue doing that.

• Scrap “sports quotas” before they infect sportsmanship

Let’s start separating government departments from sportsmen. It is important that the government should support sportsmen and athletes. But let this be undertaken through authorities like the Indian Olympic Association or the Sports Authority of India, or any such organization specifically designed to undertake developmental activities in sports and athletics. It is always better to grow sportsmen independently. But for the government departments, it is important to stick to their mission statements (if they have such statements) and not spend on sports quotas, especially if the department/PSU is not in good economic health.

Simple, but strong solid steps can guide India towards economic development and fulfill the dream of becoming a developed nation.

Creativity and the Buffalo: Customizing Social Media Presence for Organizational Benefits

While having a casual conversation the other day, my friend was upset to tell me that instant messaging (IM) services over the Web is going to be blocked in her office. My friend, a senior editor at a leading newspaper used IM services to communicate with her team of journalists working across the nation. With the Presidential elections in Bolivia round the corner she was doing double-shifts and coping up with the live coverage of campaigns, practically trying to square the circle. Add to this the dilemma of losing the connectivity with ground staff members who report her with the latest updates. And during our conversation she asked me if I have an argument supporting the use of IMs in office, as part of official communications. Well, I definitely have a few. And this post is not just about making the productive use of IMs and innovative means of marketing communications, but also about using social media as one of the most powerful tools of corporate business development and brand value addition.

The Corporate Blog as a Newsletter

The other day our team was having an internal discussion about reinstating an extinct practice of sending custom-made newsletters dedicated to our business vertical, and it became almost decided that we restart this practice the old level of enthusiasm and vigor. But ultimately who will bell the cat? So it went cold again. For companies who have a dedicated marketing communications division up and running, and are interested to adding value to the organization on a practical standpoint, this practice can add value.

Any company with an efficient Corporate Communications division can create and maintain a corporate blog. Instead of a PDF newsletter that only a few people actually read, organizations can encourage customers/vendors and partners to make use of the blog to keep them updated and help them improve their products/services/support, etc. Web 2.0 promotes the use of increased human interaction on all issues, thereby helping organizations send and receive feedback from their customers/partners.

Chirps and Tweets from the C-Suite

Employees across the organization would really like to know what their leaders are thinking. About areas of immediate attention, about long-term growth, about expansion, about, well...anything. A 140-character tweet from the CEO once in a while can keep the ball rolling by sharing ideas, sending/receiving feedback etc. Organizations that adapt to such models find increased responses from employees due to the empowered feeling they have when they receive a direct message from the CEO.

IMs As an Effective Communication Tool

Several of my clients in the Asia-Pacific region mention their MSN user names or Skype identities as part of their signature in official emails. It has been a great help to me when I used to communicate with clients from home. It saves hefty international calling charges while allowing me to peacefully explain the situation to clients, especially in cases where there is a technical feedback or a mismatch in delivery deadlines, etc. It also lets me empower my customers by updating them in advance before an event (such as a critical delivery) occurs. IMs have also helped me communicate with my team members while one of us is working from home or traveling abroad.

Official Fan Pages in a Social Network

Presence of a discussion group or a fan page in the name of an organization would help enhance its visibility across the worldwide web. Organizations that serve individual customers directly (B2C model) can let customers interact with the company and provide their support. There are customers who take pride in being your customer. Identify them, and invite them to participate in such forums. Also that is the place where you actually measure how much well ranked your organization is in the "Best Employer" or the "Best Service Provider" category.

My friend is contended now that her hard work paid off, and the organization has chosen to retain one common standard IM service as an official provider (nothing official about it), to bring in uniformity across the board. Recently, a marketing Guru asked me how connected my organizational leaders are through social networks. I hesitated a little before mentioning that social networks are blocked across the organization here. "What!!?" came the prompt reply. "Which century are you living in?". Well, I have to ask the organization's 007s about this.

Lessons from this year's Wimbledon

This year' Wimbledon has seen many records broken and new created. But certain matches brought me some insights into management skills. The other day I was watching the semi final match between Dinara Safina and Venus Williams. For a former World. No. 1, Ms. Williams played a non-sensitive, cool and plain game which unfortunately was not the same for Ms. Safina. I saw the lady desperate, tired and feeling her leadership challenged when facing a former World No. 1. Venus also was wearing a knee-cap, probably due to an injury. Even if Dinara did play some soft games (let me assume for the sake of simple ethics), but when it almost came over her head, why didn't she make use of the situation? In fact I'm much surprised by the way Venus pushed Dinara to chase the ball around the court, despite her discomfort/injury. And a World No. 1 has to concede her game in just two straight sets, less than an hour? That's pathetic. I just did some soul-searching about this: why did Dinara have to lose?

I took a different view later: what made Venus win? Apart from just what I saw on screen, I just checked the statistics of the game again, and have some clear answers. Venus has only 1 unforced error in her account compared to Dinara's 16. Also Dinara wasn't able to convert any of her break points to success (0%) as compared to Venus' five (100%). These are just some of the key numbers. Also watching them play, I found Venus more calm and composed with a non-sensitive face (no anger, no desperation, just plain looks) compared to Dinara whose looks reveals that she's dying hard to defend her No.1 status. This desperation and anxiety made her make more mistakes than expected. And honestly, that's what made Venus reach her target easily.

On Sunday, the scene was reversed in the Men's singles, though with some remarkable differences. It was Federer who had more errors to his account. And the crowd cheered much for Andy Roddick. It was a great match. Except for the break point conversions and the number of aces served, the statistics of both players look similar. But on screen it seemed to me as if Federer has almost lost the match, the same way it happened last year. And to me personally, it was a little uncomfortable to see Federer making no conscious effort to break Roddick's serves. Add to it the small blunders he did with his forehand and the tiny little pick-ups he did which made Roddick leap too much and fall down many times, the match was spectacular but with no imminent direction. Where the match was heading was a wild guess. A marathon match of four hours and a half must have been boring, except for these errors and spectacular shots.

Here also I asked the same question. What made Federer win this near impossible match? Well, I also don't have any direct and clear answers to this question. My twitter box was filled with comments from different people expressing of desperation, relief and disbelief about the outcome of the match, a few minutes after the conclusion. Lots of people feel that the match was perfectly in Roddick's hands, but destiny had it otherwise. But the length of the match...I feel it might be Federer's strategy to keep it going on and on especially given the fact that Roddick is "not used to playing five-setters" according to the TV commentator. And the last few sets (12 onwards) I felt a change in Federer's plight. Suddenly he became more aware, his moves more aggressive and thoughtful. In fact when I see him cheer himself after winning a set, for a moment I was surprised. But there wasn't any trace of desperation in Federer's face. It seems that he was only aware of what he's doing. These are certain traits for today's managers.

Be aware of the situation and make the best use of it. Safina couldn't take advantage of Williams' limited mobility. Williams used it to her full ability in forcing Safina around the ball in court in different directions. Federer knew that Roddick isn't much used to five-setter matches. So he made a match virtually equivalent of an eight-setter. Otherwise, there's no hope that he can counter Roddick's efforts to overpower him.

Don't give up hope. There's always light at the end of the tunnel. In Federer's case this was true. It seemed that he almost lost the match. But he found a hairline opportunity and made full use of it and therefore was able to conclude a successful match. Safina lost her cool, was not mentally at peace with herself. This added to the errors she made and no wonder Williams made full use of this opportunity to jump into yet another Wimbledon finals. Overall this year's tournament was exciting as it used to be every year.

Photo credit: Reuters

On Resolving Conflicts - 1.0

One of my annual goals as Senior Executive – Sales is to keep the product catalogue of the company web site update. How it became so is a story. Efforts for creating a micro site – a website within another website, began much earlier before the new financial year started, with the VP – Marketing Strategy also contributing to the cause. This micro site shall supposedly contain the product menu and catalogue (with info on what we have ready on the platter to offer clients within a quicker turnaround time). This catalogue is linked to a Goole interface in order to give users a sense of familiarity while they browse for solutions of their choice – I should commend my boss on this wonderful idea. So we got it approved by the top management, and sought assistance from the Corporate Communications team (who reports to the VP - MS), who are the stakeholders for all official efforts of advertising and brand development.

Corp. Comm. undertook the initial steps in identifying the right resources for web designing, approval flew down from the software division. The web designer happens to be a friend of mine. Since both of us have spent considerable time with the company, we had several opportunities to interact with each other and explore each other’s creative sides. So the efforts went on the right direction. So by the break of the New Year (I mean financial year), our micro site was on beta phase. So when the software team came up asking for a test drive, they were directed to us. We were asked to provide inputs on the same. Given that I was comparably new on my assignment and therefore relatively free to do creative pursuits, I chose to do the testing part – a decision I’d regret months later. I had this habit of documenting my thoughts, preferably in a structured manner so that it makes me easy to reproduce it at short notice. So when the Corp. Comm. representatives turned up unannounced, only I had a documented set of responses that were to be handed out. Since the markets were doing simply great, we had a list of great projects in the pipeline, and therefore naturally other account managers were busy with their clients. We almost didn’t anticipate the outbreak of another Great Depression to infect our business the following month.

It took a couple of weeks’ time for both teams to return with their comments. A few of my observations were looked upon as impractical and unnecessary. Others appeared to be fine with the developers. However my boss supported my views, and asked both stakeholders to do the needful. This initiated a Cold War-like situation between the teams. However I managed to coax my friend to look into the situation, and act upon the other observations, which he feels, can be implemented. He promised to look into the matter and get back to me with a tentative time-frame. Since the New Year had just only begun, the Company was in the Annual goal-setting process, and therefore any non-value added comments like mine were hushed down. Of course, for every marketing team, what matters is the size of the cake they have to win – how large is the target sum, what’s the increase in percentage, etc. Big questions. With the recession eating up our clients’ economies (we were spared till then, not knowing what was in store for us), it even seemed a little cruel to raise the bar halfway more. So here our story begins.

It’s natural, mind you, to look at every trivial business activity with caution when you’re bitten by the recession bug. So now that we were all (along with our clients from the respective geographies) on the same boat, the flow of dollars was turning low. It was becoming increasingly difficult to survive in office. My friend the developer didn’t return with his comments till then and I was forced to ask him what’s taking him so long. There was a lukewarm reply mentioning that the project was over for his team, and he has other important tasks to take care of. This has kicked up a row now. The situation has grown out of hand. A few mail exchanges were made but no action followed. Adding to my worries was the fact that one of my largest clients was declared bankrupt, and I had to hurry to retrieve the payment of the project which I considered my birthday gift from them (yes, I received the purchase order for the said project on my birthday). Given my friendly relation with the developer, my boss also felt if can set things straight. Anyway, the best way for my boss was to set this task assigned to me as part of my individual goals for the financial year.

So when the war was on a high rage, it was added to my annual goals that I need to oversee developments and see to it that the site was updated and running fine. Obviously with both the Corp. comm. team and the software team up against us on a non-cooperation movement, it was difficult for me to provide a comprehensive reply whenever this question of “And Manu, what’s the status of the website? Get it done sooner man” rose up. In such situations, what is important is that you need to initiate to get both parties to talk. That’s what I’ve learned from governments around the world – the way they all deal with insurgents. At least this will make both parties understand what the other has to say. Else you’ll get killed by what I call the Middleman’s Dilemma Syndrome. So we got to talk, and finally things changed. Thanks to my homework, I also found the origins of why the entire catalogue can’t be on display as my boss wants. I had all the necessary corrections applied to what we internally call Metadata. So here are my solutions to the problem:

• Verify the Metadata with the Google interface. Since I have a good relation with the data librarian, it wasn’t that difficult to get the job done.
• Update the database that runs behind the catalogue in the way the software team wants it. Though it’s nice to make suggestions, I prefer to put myself in his shoes and look at the task before forwarding a demand.
• Initiate discussions with Corp. Comm. after you have made an agreement with the software team. That’s the best way to convince them that since the user and developer are both in agreement with the KRAs; the Corp. Comm. only needs to get the site up and running.

Finally we have the site up and running. Well, almost up and running.

Ode to the New Linea Ad

The other day I was watching the ad of Fiat Linea with the punchline "Admiration guaranteed." On the first look, I too fell for the car. For people like me, automobiles are object d'art, as much as they are machines. So of course, the first response goes to the good looks. But the story doesn't end there. There is much more to a car than just the looks. I admit the fact that the Linea ad could have been much better. I was pondering over the comments of Brijesh in the Mint blog recently. I feel that since the product in question is an automobile, and since we hear thousands of questions being posed at almost every automobile reviewer in auto shows aired by different TV channels, the word "admiration" should comprise of much more meaning than just meagre good looks. Additional features like mileage, cruise control, making way on difficult conditions, whichever could be the USP, the brand manager could have cashed in more on these features. I've heard good things about the Linea from some automobile review sites in the Web. So there is no doubt that the product might have a good stand among its competitors. Though I would refrain from making such vociferus comments like Brijesh did, that the ad was a total waste, I feel it would have been a much better ad. In its present form, yes, the campaign is nice and simple to watch, but misses out to convey the message which is critical for advertisement campaigns as opposed to entertainer movies.

Innovation: An Article That Inspired Me

Don’t Look Back by ZDNet's Andrew Keen -- How to innovate? That was both the spoken and unspoken question on everyone's minds at the Wall Street Journal's memorable D Conference this week in Carlsbad. How can we radically improve the experience and value of interacting with one's digital device? What is the next chapter in the evolution of information and entertainment technology?

Knowledge Unlimited 2007! Performance uncovered.

We're winners again! Second best doesn't matter, performers are always performers. Kult 2007 was the last organization-wide event I got to represent my group. I'm moving to new vistas from early May.

Transitions: Why?

When is the right time to move on? Rather, what is the optimum time for a stay, or tenure? Some say, it should be somewhere near the industry average: you’ve to keep pace with the industry to feel “happening”. Another popular notion simply states, there’s no such concept as the “optimum tenure”. They feel one can stay as much as one feels comfortable with his/her work and/or working conditions: simply stay put till you find a serious situation contradictory to your norms of a comfortable working atmosphere.

Of late, I’ve been reading some articles published by management consultants of note. There were quite some comments for chief executives and incumbents for the top position. The motto of a corporate chieftain should be to instill change. This comment was parallel to something one of my mentors told me sometime in 2002: “You have to make an impact wherever you go.” After a second serious thought on the matter, I feel that infusing change is the basis of existence of every executive, no matter whatever his position is.

It becomes inevitable for a leader to bring change owing to some reasons. First, it is necessary for every leader to show the impact of his presence in the position, after a short period of his joining. It therefore, reinstates the spirit of new-ness: new leader, new style. Second, since every new executive brings in his/her own set of thoughts and beliefs (the essence of individuality), and the most visible of these individualities would, undoubtedly, be that of the leader himself. It therefore, becomes necessary for the leader to project his individuality. In addition, independent thinking and vision is something that differentiates a leader from others.

Changing tracks, parting ways

Managing change is a painful process, especially so when you are part of it and have a major role in developing it in a constructive way.

Recently I handed over one of my most-favored projects to a close friend, with whom I love to retain a love-hate professional relation. Thus what I wrote in the paragraph above proved to be true in my case the hard way. Like every honest individual, I also do admit that my first reaction was to resist the initial pangs of transition...losing a project that I developed and managed myself walking through all the hard ways sitting through late nights and pre-dawns, the team that I grew up (I still treat them like my kids) from a couple of nerds to masters of their art, an appreciating client who constructively acknowledges all amendments I make and provide me ample room to exercise my creativity...it was painful to let go everything in a couple of hours.

It is equally true that I’ve to develop other pilot projects also (yes from the roots…that’s where I like to exercise creativity and employ my management prowess) and take care of higher challenges yet to come in the New Year. It, therefore, is natural for my boss who does not hesitate to call me an asset of the division to ask me to concentrate on higher challenges. But letting go of the sweet old things in such a short span was more painful than I expected.

Equally painful is the case when I still keep receiving mails from the same old client who accidentally or not, updates me with changes at her end. Gradually I began imbibing the ease with which one handles a newly gained client: promptness and commitment. With increasing level of confidence inspired in the new client, I began reinventing the wheel developing another project that is all set to change the face of my department, add a new meaning to our activity…we’re now knowledge engineers.

I’m delighted to be the flag-bearer of change and a trendsetter for business processes and practices in the division. Change is the law of nature, and had it not be, I’d be stuck in a traffic-jam caused by a stray dinosaur.