The retail industry in India is growing rapidly. From a country which only had the mom and pop stores, we now have the option to visit spanking malls, shops, supermarkets, stores to purchase almost anything and everything.
The organized retail story in India has a rosy picture but no rose plant exists without thorns. The thorn in Indian’s organized retail sector is customer dissatisfaction.
The advantage of organized retail is more about the convenience and the quality of service extended towards the customer than it is about the uniformity and reasonability of prices.
We all have visited such retail formats at some point of our lives or rather we visit them every now and then. Let us ASK ourselves a question….
How happy is the customer at the end of the day (in terms of service provided)..?? The answers would be that the customer is partially satisfied or not satisfied. It is true that the Indian customer is price sensitive.
But isn’t he paying a price for its reputation? The Indian customer is not only price sensitive but also demands better quality of service. That is the area where most of the companies have failed and are failing. That is the reason for the dissatisfaction.
There can be many causes for this problem: for example,
Inexperience of retail companies.
Not so well trained staff.
Rigidity of the retail companies.
Over confidence.
Lack of funds.
Lack of competition (FDI cap on foreign companies on multi brand formats).
Lack of training institutes.
All these causes are nothing but carelessness on the part of the retail companies. It is time that these companies move up the ladder from “transaction based selling to relationship based selling”.
It is true that customers want value for money products (VFM), but companies which provide customers with superior experience stand out from the crowd. It has been forgotten that customer experience and quality service is also part of the “VALUE” in VFM than just providing moderately priced products and services.
Attracting customers is important but retaining them is even more important!!! Selling the products becomes easier as you already have a relationship with them. A high rate of Customer retention assures sustainable growth in the top-line and it also helps the other brands/businesses of the same company thereby increasing the BRAND VALUE of the company.
“CUSTOMER IS THE KING” and the most important part of each and every business. The retail companies in India should realize the importance of customer experience and provide the customer with quality service. Please learn the best practices from the hospitality industry. Implement the necessary processes and take the retail story of India to the next level. All these steps are important as
“A HAPPY CUSTOMER MEANS ASSURED RETURNS!!!”
Shikhar Vaid
Monday, January 5, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
Dr. Abdul Kalam's Speach
The President of India DR. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 's Speech in Hyderabad .Why is the media here so negative?Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements?We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?We are the first in milk production.We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.We are the second largest producer of wheat.We are the second largest producer of rice.Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck.. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchard and a granary.. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news. In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime.. Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign T.Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology. Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India . For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance. Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.YOU say that our government is inefficient.YOU say that our laws are too old.YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke. The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination. YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits. YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - 'YOURS'. Give him a face - 'YOURS'. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity… In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai . YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah.YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.'YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand .Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston??? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India? In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan.Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England . When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money. Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too…. I am echoing J. F. Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians….. 'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY' Lets do what India needs from us. Forward this mail to each Indian for a change instead of sending Jokes or junk mails. Thank you, Dr. Abdul Kalam
What more should be done to overcome Recession
The world economy nowadays is experiencing economic slowdown. The result of this lead to shutting down of various industries like Lehman brothers, Merrill Lynch etc. The whole of Auto Industry is into loses. Toyota will be in loses for the first time in 71 years. Employees are being laid off everywhere. It is having an impact on Indian economy too. In order to put economy back on the high growth, it is necessary that the Government act swiftly to overcome the structural constraints.
The Government of India has announced a fiscal stimulus package of Rs.20, 000 Crores. The industries are going through tough times and it may well decide to appropriate the savings for itself. Second, equally uncertain is the consumer response to fall in prices. Demand for cars and houses can mitigate a hundred problems; but the consumer may decide to postpone demand expecting a further fall in prices. Or he may even feel that borrowing is not still the best option. Besides the Government, industry, too, needs do its bit to overcome the crisis in the economy. In the automobile sector, huge cuts in prices are announced which is mainly due to the decrease in excise duty by 4%. It will at least clear up a huge stock of inventories and restart work in the factories. The fall in factory production is the highest in the last fifteen years. In addition to this Prices of petrol and diesel were reduced by the Petroleum Ministry not only because the global prices of oil are falling steadily, but also to ensure that it would facilitate generate more demand.
In a crisis of this type, the Government’s priority is to step up spending on infrastructure. RBI is taking efforts to increase the investment rate. Recently it has reduced the CRR, SLR etc.
What more needs to be done?
Huge investments are required in agriculture sector (e.g. irrigation) because 60% of counties population is exposed and dependent on this sector. It is the fact that out of the 60% a majority are in the rural areas which have low income levels. Investment in this sector leads to higher income level in rural areas which will in turn lead to increase in demand. This would lead increase in demand of most of the goods and services.
Another initiative that government can take is speeding up the process of setting up the proposed SEZ’s through out the country (low interest rate, stable steel, cement and oil prices, availability of labor). One of the worst hit is the IT (information technology) sector because of its dependence on the developed markets (US,EUROPE). The profit margins have considerably declined. In order to boost this sector, the government can increase and extend the tax benefits which would in turn attract more investments and FDI.
Shikhar Vaid
The Government of India has announced a fiscal stimulus package of Rs.20, 000 Crores. The industries are going through tough times and it may well decide to appropriate the savings for itself. Second, equally uncertain is the consumer response to fall in prices. Demand for cars and houses can mitigate a hundred problems; but the consumer may decide to postpone demand expecting a further fall in prices. Or he may even feel that borrowing is not still the best option. Besides the Government, industry, too, needs do its bit to overcome the crisis in the economy. In the automobile sector, huge cuts in prices are announced which is mainly due to the decrease in excise duty by 4%. It will at least clear up a huge stock of inventories and restart work in the factories. The fall in factory production is the highest in the last fifteen years. In addition to this Prices of petrol and diesel were reduced by the Petroleum Ministry not only because the global prices of oil are falling steadily, but also to ensure that it would facilitate generate more demand.
In a crisis of this type, the Government’s priority is to step up spending on infrastructure. RBI is taking efforts to increase the investment rate. Recently it has reduced the CRR, SLR etc.
What more needs to be done?
Huge investments are required in agriculture sector (e.g. irrigation) because 60% of counties population is exposed and dependent on this sector. It is the fact that out of the 60% a majority are in the rural areas which have low income levels. Investment in this sector leads to higher income level in rural areas which will in turn lead to increase in demand. This would lead increase in demand of most of the goods and services.
Another initiative that government can take is speeding up the process of setting up the proposed SEZ’s through out the country (low interest rate, stable steel, cement and oil prices, availability of labor). One of the worst hit is the IT (information technology) sector because of its dependence on the developed markets (US,EUROPE). The profit margins have considerably declined. In order to boost this sector, the government can increase and extend the tax benefits which would in turn attract more investments and FDI.
Shikhar Vaid
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