Last week I attended a retail industry social networking event, wherein I met with very interesting people from the retail fraternity and I happened to participate in one discussion with a couple of senior industry stalwarts over cocktails on the role of HR and current hiring trends. This discussion was so insightful & inspired me to pen down my views on current hiring trends which might be helpful for some professionals seeking better opportunities.
Below are a few tips or insights which could prove to be useful for my blog followers and connections on linkedin.com. I had previously written an article on how to make your career fool-proof (check out here: https://bit.ly/2w2ymth)
Resumes are outdated:
We all know that resumes are redundant.
They are full of “action verbs” that don’t mean anything.
The ideal way is to check the candidate’s cover letter. This is where you get to see clear communication instead of a list of skills, verbs, and years of experience.
You hear someone’s actual voice in a cover letter.
Learn how to grow your e-commerce business, click here.
Your college GPAs or Percentages does not matter:
Over 80% of CEOs in the top 500 US companies did not receive their graduate degrees from Ivy League colleges. Instead, they have made their way upwards by constantly upgrading their knowledge and by continuous learning.
Mark Twain once quipped, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education”.
This quote is so relevant in current times.
The third point is very close to my heart and I always propagate the same to my fellow teammates and actually practice it myself (I always conduct role-play sessions with the candidate during the interview session or give an assignment on some topic prior to the interview session).
The point I am trying to make here is that HIRE CANDIDATES WHO ARE GREAT WRITERS.
Why writing skills matter the most?
The writing skill is the most crucial skill that makes the candidate stand apart from the rest.
My rationale for the same belief is mentioned below:
Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking.
Writing gives a direction to the mind & proves to be useful in project planning, strategic thinking, strategy development, and building brands.
Good writers know how to communicate.
Key leadership requirement in any business
With writing comes Empathy.
They can put themselves in someone’s shoes very easily. Empathy is very crucial for managers who manage their team members.
Writing makes your thought process crystal clear
Very important when you are working on strategic goals, you need to have a crystal clear plan or vision.
Good writers know what to omit
Any information which does not contribute to the main communication objectives needs to be omitted that’s the main role of a good leader.
I would end this article with a statement that I firmly believe i.e. “Writing is the new currency for Ideas”.
For interesting strategic insights into the world of Business and Retail, you can also follow me on
Instagram- mohanritesh
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in the beauty, fashion, and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. Ritesh specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, and Franchising & Business Management.
Nowadays, the most trending topic in any networking is about Startup and entrepreneurial ventures.
Recently I attended the middle east retail forum 2019 #mrf2019 wherein I met with wonderful people, retailpreneurs, successful retailers and mall developers. It was a very well organized event, ( i shall write a separate blog on the same soon).
One interesting feature that caught my attention was a panel discussion dedicated to startups, for instance.
It was like a famous series called Shark Tank, wherein the startups would pitch their business proposal to a jury and get shortlisted for the awards or VC fundings.
There were some really good concepts that were really path-breaking, however, most of the entrepreneurs had missed on a few main points, which inspired me to re-purpose my earlier written blog on startups.
There is a wonderful saying “What got you here, won’t take you to next level”, you need to keep enhancing your skills, keep innovating yourself by breaking old habits ( point of caution- innovation is not always product-centric, it can be very personalized, even the way you think can be innovated)
One important point that I would like to convey to entrepreneurs is that the VC fund is something like “Vapour capital” it evaporates as soon as it comes into your business.
Try to follow the basics of business i.e. if you invest USD 1 into your business, you need to generate USD 2, re-invest this again in your business till your business becomes self-sustaining. If you follow the ratio 1:2, you shall never have cash flow issues in your business.
I am putting down the most important tips which would help upcoming retailpreneurs with their projects.
1. Start with your own Pain points:
The easiest and straightforward way to create a great product or service is to make something you want to use yourself.
As you build the project, you would soon figure out whether or not you are making any good.
Case study:
Coach Bill Bowerman felt the need for better lighter running shoes for his team. So he went out to his workshop and poured rubber into the family waffle iron. That’s how Nike’s famous waffle solewas born.
Key learning: “Start with your own pain point” and coming out with the solution, lets you fall in love with what you are making.
This very source provides you inner-motivation and go-getter attitude.
2. Keep customer focus through-out:
Always at the start of any project, keep your customer on focus, imagine what you would like your customer to say about your product or service.
3. Be Action taker:
You should feel an urgency about whatever you are planning to start or to do. If you are building a break-through product or service or even a Me-Too product, JUST DO IT(as Nike says it).
Don’t sit around and waiting for someone to make the difference that you would like to see.
Case study:
The Drudge Report, run by Matt drudge is just one page on the web run by one guy.
Yet it has a huge impact on the news industry- television, radio talk-show hosts, and newspaper journalists all visit this page daily to find out as to what’s the current stories.
In July 2016, the site garnered 1.47 billion Pageviews, as a result of US Presidential elections
The Drudge Report’s traffic beat out the likes of news sites from Disney Media Networks (which includes ESPN.com and ABCNews.com), Yahoo, Google, Time Warner, and Fox Entertainment Groups.
Key learning:
Make the difference that you would like to see yourself. Drudge’s report came from nowhere and disrupted the old models that had been around for decades.
Learn as to why good writers build great companies, read here.
4. Understand Your core “WHY”:
Great businesses have a point of view and not just a product or service. You have to believe in something. As you get going, keep in mind as to “why” you are doing “what” you are doing.
Frankly speaking, this is the real Mission and Vision statement of the business.
For instance, Big corporates shell out millions of dollars to copywriters to write it, ideally, it should be written by the founder himself because that is his or her vision.
Case study:
Wholefoods(now a part of amazon.com) stands for selling the highest quality natural and organic products available.
Their customers know and understand Wholefoods purpose, they don’t go to their stores asking or looking for potato chips or coke or junk food.
This very “WHY” adds rock-solid positioning for wholefoods and is one of the reasons for their success.
I shall be writing more about entrepreneurship and management leadership stance in my upcoming articles. I hope you would find these tips or pointers useful in your journey.
In case if any of my readers or LinkedIn connections want any help pertaining to their startup ideation, you are more than welcome to reach out to me at riteshmohan@yahoo.com.
(References: Just tell it – Nike’s story- fastcompany.com article; reference book “Rework” by Jason Fried and David Hansson; My learnings from attending Middle east retail forum, thanks to organisers & management of Retail Images group of Publications.)
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 21 years in the retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. Ritesh specializes in Retail management, Product development, Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, Business Management & Empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.
Recently, I was attending a webinar highlighting the importance of “Design thinking” for start-ups. One of the panelists mentioned Jugaad’s philosophy and it inspired me to re-write my previous article on “Jugaad – a frugal & flexible way to innovate” with the context of the current pandemic of Covid19.
As most of you are aware that I always touch upon topics that relate to either Entrepreneurship, Retailing, Brand management & Leadership. I feel, my current topic would help upcoming entrepreneurs to start their ventures in the most economical way.
What is Jugaad?
Jugaadis a Hindi word that loosely translates as “the gutsy art of overcoming harsh constraints by improvising an effective solution using limited resources.”
Jugaad is an antidote to the complexity of India: a country of mind-blowing diversity; pervasive scarcity of all kinds; home to million millionaires (aims to reach by 2020, 1 million millionaires mark)
Jugaad is based on six fundamental pillars:
1. Seek opportunity in adversity
2. Do more with less
3. Think and act flexibly
4. Keep it simple
5. Include the margin
6. Follow your heart.
Jugaad during times of covid19
Looking at the positive side of the pandemic, it has made people more creative.
Check the picture of one of the elevators wherein the toothpick is being used to press the floor buttons in order to avoid surface touches.
To cater to the emergencies of hospitals in terms of beds, an Indian company has designed beds made of cardboard boxes. Watch the video here.
Jugaad innovators innovate faster:
Jugaad innovators don’t use linear, pre-planned, time-consuming R&D processes. Rather, they rely heavily on rapid prototyping techniques — i.e., they collaborate intimately with customers and use their constant feedback to zero in on the most relevant product features.
Jugaad innovators innovate cheaper:
Jugaad innovators are highly resourceful in the face of scarcity. Unlike many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, raising capital is the least of their worries. The practitioners of Jugaad work with what they have got.
Jugaad innovators innovate better:
Jugaad innovators recognize that consumers in emerging markets are low earners, but high yearners.
To explain the concept, I would like to mention a few case studies of Jugaad innovators cum entrepreneurs as to how they have dealt with situations and innovated to make the lives of their customers easier.
Case study 1: Using adversity to own advantage:
Kanak das, a resident of North East Indian state, grew riding his bicycle on roads full of potholes & bumps, rather than complaining, he turned this constraint to his advantage by retrofitting his bicycle with a makeshift device that converts the shocks received from bumpy roads to kinetic energy which accelerates the bicycle…. Allowing his bicycle to run faster on bumpy roads.
Case study 2: Jugaad gave birth to a completely new business:
In 1980, a businessman Mr. Tulsi Tanti set up a textile unit in Surat, sooner he found himself facing the bottlenecks like power shortages.
Alternatively, He compensated by producing power through generators but resulted in very high running costs due to high fuel prices in India.
His profit margin was a mere 5% wherein his power & fuel bill used to run up to 45-50% of overall operating costs.
Mr. Tanti immediately moved towards wind power by installing air wind turbines in his unit, resulting in uninterrupted power supply and reduced operating costs. (Also the initial investment of installing wind turbines were recovered in the first year itself from the savings generated from power & fuel costs).
Mr. Tanti realized the power of wind turbines and industry in feeding the power-starved country and its rural villages.
This very thought gave birth to a business whom we have known as “Suzlon wind”.
Today, Suzlon is the world’s fifth-largest wind energy solution provider. The company operates in thirty countries over 6 continents.
Learn how to make your brand stand out from the clutter, read here.
Case study 3: Mitti-cool refrigerator:
Mitti-cool refrigerator
Jugaad innovator Prajapati (resident of Kutch region in Gujarat), post-2001 earthquake wherein his entire village was destroyed.
He noticed that they were left with no source of providing residents with cool water options.
Being a clay artisan himself, he developed the world’s first sustainable, eco-friendly refrigerator “Mitti-cool”.
Mitti means clay, his refrigerator is divided into two chambers, the water from the top chamber seeps through the inner sidewalls, cooling the lower food chamber through evaporation.
The refrigerator is 100% bio gradable, uses zero electricity… an ingenious invention.
Today Prajapati’s Mitti-coolers are available in rural Indian villages and soon it would be exported to the African region.
I hope my article would help in giving directions to business owners and retailers in the Middle Eastern region & would force them to think differently and innovatively with their existing businesses.
In case you want to brainstorm and understand Jugaad concept more holistically, you may reach me on riteshmohan@yahoo.com
(Reference book – Jugaad Innovation by Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu, and Simone Ahuja. I thank & salute the writers for bringing out the most unique feature of our Indian ecosystem so creatively and innovatively)
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development, Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, Business Management & Empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.
Recently, there was a news headline in one of the business dailies in UAE under “Last-mile Logistics headline” about one of the region’s leading e-commerce platform to initiate grocery deliveries to its customers.
The headline got my attention and prompted me to deep dive more about “last-mile logistics” and why it has suddenly become the “blue-eyed” function for major e-commerce players in the region.
I am sure my article and its insights would help my readers and blog followers in understanding the importance of logistics function and how Omni-channel retailers are using it to their advantage.
What is the “last-mile logistics”?
Last-mile logistics refers to the final step of the delivery process from a distribution center or facility to the end-user. Although the name implies, it is the final mile delivery, actual last-mile delivery can range from a few blocks to 50 or 100 miles.
Most often, last-mile logistics involves the use of courier or small package carriers to deliver products to consumers.
Why is it crucial for e-tailers or e-commerce players?
It’s pertinent to understand the logistics process in any e-commerce company.
The Logistics Cycle in e-commerce can be broken down into 5 major components, first-mile delivery, fulfillment, processing/sorting, line haul, and last-mile delivery. (For some lean start-ups, it involves 3-4 components only)
First-mile delivery: This involves picking up goods from the sellers and transporting it to the e-commerce retailer’s fulfillment center or directly to the mother warehouse.
Fulfillment: Post first mile logistics, the next phase that follows is fulfillment, which involves picking and packaging of products once an order is placed on the website and then moving it to the mother warehouse.
Sorting: After fulfillment, the products are sorted on the basis of the final delivery location.
Line-haul: This stage involves connecting the main supply center with the main demand center, via land or air.
Last-mile delivery: This is the last however the most important phase of the logistics cycle. It involves the dispatch and shipping of products from the mother hub and to the delivery hubs, from where they are delivered to the end-customers.
The reason why “Last-mile delivery” becomes critical is due to the fact that the majority of customer complaints in any e-commerce company are pertaining “Late deliveries” which are mainly due to lack of processes in workforce management, no real-time coordination between fulfillment teams and last-mile delivery teams.
Customer returns and the ability of a retailer to quickly process the returns to enrich customer experience is another major challenge faced by e-commerce retailers.
learn about the business model of food delivery apps, click here.
The emergence of new entrants in “last mile logistics”
Companies such as Amazon have already jumped into the fray with its Amazon Prime Air service that it hopes will soon use small drones to deliver packages in 30 minutes or less. Drones, droids, and parcel copters are here to stay.
Future for Last-mile logistics companies:
Companies like Uber eats, Deliveroo has mastered the model of Airbnb but for transportation/logistics.
Technology has allowed these companies to leverage their advantage and offer jobs to anyone with a car or bike. They are able to analyze data and figure out how to do the job for less. They can fill capacity in vehicles that weren’t previously open to them.
I feel the future for Last-mile logistics providers is very promising provided they adapt to technology advancements at the earliest & ride the disruption wave.
Case study: Carrefour Valet trolley (home delivery services) available in Dubai.
Hypermarket giants like Carrefour have been fast enough to realize the importance & advantages of last-mile logistics for enhancing their customer experience and also leading to customer retention strategy.
Today in Dubai, Carrefour offers a Valet trolley facility to its customers. Leave your trolley at their store and have your items delivered to your doorstep at your convenience.
The benefit to customers:
Convenient shopping experience without going through hassles of pulling overloaded trolleys to parking lots etc.
My article would definitely help budding entrepreneurs and start-ups who are either venturing into e-commerce or are already an established player. I would be more than glad to share my knowledge and wisdom on “Last-mile logistics” with budding entrepreneurs in case they need any of my assistance to build up their e-commerce model. My connections can reach me on riteshmohan@yahoo.com if they wish to know more about this exciting tool.
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion, and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. Ritesh has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.
Recently, one of my blog followers asked me a question as to what makes Luxury brands so aspirational and different.
This question prompted me to write this article which will give you 4 “Must do’s” to build a luxury brand.
Having worked and being involved in leading the team that produced a luxury concept arising from United Arab Emirates (in beauty & fashion domain), I would like to share my wisdom acquired from my personal experience.
Foremost you need to understand the difference between non-luxury brands and luxury brands.
Most non-luxury brands succeed because they are marketed in terms of the problems they solve. These are their reasons for being. For example – Brand X of t-shirt whisks sweat away to keep you cooler; A Particular sweetener gives you the taste without the calories, brand car X gets more miles to the gallon so you spend less on over-priced gas.
Not so in the business of luxury. No one wears a Burberry trench coat merely to stay warm. No one forks over $200,000 for a Bentley simply to get from point A to point B.
No Luxury products exist for a much less rational reason. Therefore, the marketing of them must be much more emotional.
In short, mass marketing is the business of selling reality. Luxury marketing is the business of selling dreams.
Forget about positioning; luxury is not comparative. Advocate beliefs:
Luxury brands should advocate the beliefs of customers rather than simply rely on brand values. Beliefs go further; they’re more specific and, consequently, more segmenting.
Unlike mass brands, luxury brands should not strive to please everyone, but those customers whose beliefs align with their own.
A good example of this is Ferrari’s belief in high performance. The brand rarely advertises in mass media, but it invests significant amounts in Formula 1 events. It focuses on actions related to its belief to reinforce this tenet in consumers’ minds.
Another good example is Louis Vuitton’s belief in art. Among other collaborations, the fashion house linked up with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama to create a limited edition of products.
In mass markets, brands distribute their investments across several efforts because they want to reach and please the broadest possible spectrum of customers. Instead, luxury brands’ investments are focused on the specific beliefs of the brand, creating a very focused experience for the right customers.
2) Bring a sense of exclusivity and experiential emotive:
A true luxury brand cannot stop their offering at the product itself; they must go beyond that to offer unique services or rituals. This can start with something as simple as attentive salespeople and prompt customer service, but it should really go beyond that to create a consumption “ritual” that allows customers to experience the brand.
Perfume brand Le Labo does this very well. Using the premise that the quality of perfume deteriorates over time, it revolutionized the consumer buying experience by offering a special personal experience: each Le Labo perfume is hand-blended and individually prepared in front of the customer at the moment of purchase. The glass decanter is then dated and the customer’s name is printed on the label. After taking the perfume home, the customer must let it marinate in the fridge for a week before using it. Through this ritual, buying Le Labo perfume becomes more than an exclusive product; it becomes a personal experience.
3) The store becomes the epitome of luxury for discerning customers:
Luxury brands must pay extra special attention to the way they sell and innovate at the point of purchase. Before, it was enough for luxury brands to use brick and mortar stores to sell their products, but they must now aim to design multifunctional, controlled spaces that create brand experiences and communicate brand beliefs.
BMW World in Munich is another example of a temple-like showroom, where consumers can “experience” the brand rather than simply buy the product.
BMW world.
4) Don’t respond to rising demand.
One of the key premise that Luxury brands work on is “Less is more”. Connoisseurs of luxury brands relish a sense of exclusivity that comes along with Luxury products, its emotional gratification that provides a sense of belonging to the elite club.
One of the most famous and highly successful brands that have mastered this point is Hermes. The bags are scarce, sought-after a simply the best, and they have the price tags that go along with all that exclusivity.
Hermes- Kelly Bag
Status… status… status.
If you’re looking for a bag to tell everyone who sees you that, not only have you arrived, but you’ve arrived with exquisite taste, Hermès will do that every single time
To summarize, I would like to end up with a famous quote by Hubert Givenchy, “Luxury is in each detail”.
I hope the above pointers would help my fellow retailers to develop their brands more luxurious for their discerning customers.
I would be more than glad to share my wisdom and knowledge with my retail fraternity. You can reach me on riteshmohan@yahoo.com
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development and Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Recently I was brainstorming with one of my good friend who is also a retail professional in developing a loyalty program. My inspiration to write this article comes from the feeling that how we (marketers & retailers) tends to get myopic and lose out on overall objective or big picture.
Securing customers’ loyalty goes beyond having a loyalty programme. Winning both Hearts and Minds is a big challenge for today’s Retailers.
I suggested my friend to explore the following areas first to determine whether his company really needs a loyalty program:
Can you build customer’s loyalty using Top of Mind recall?
Can you win customer’s loyalty by providing him/her great in-store experience?
Have you evaluated the cost of acquisition of new customer vs the cost of retaining existing customer? (This ratio would vary from industry to industry, for example in the telecom industry (especially in the Indian subcontinent) the cost of acquiring a new customer is comparatively lower than retaining an existing customer.)
Will your customer pay in advance to become a member of your loyalty club? (Read the case study on this point at the end of this article highlighting this aspect)
If you have answered “Yes” to any above first 3 questions, then work on the same and delay launching any new loyalty program.
The reasons for me making this bold statement are as follows:
Traditional financially driven loyalty schemes can become a financial liability for businesses if not properly planned in initial stages itself. Your initial plan should very well capture the proposed sales expected by loyalty card and expenses that would be accrued to run it smoothly.
Traditional points-based schemes are often not agile enough to meet rapidly changing customer expectations in the same way that ‘connected stores’ and new technologies can engage with consumers.
Today’s customers are exposed to Gigabytes of advertising information daily that they no longer value the reward that is offered in the end (post-purchase). For example, Majority of hypermarket retailers offers approx. 1% of customer’s purchase as loyalty rewards i.e. On spending DHS 2000/-, a customer can expect a reward of DHS 20/- (approx.).
Retailers today are in kind of rat race… “Oh my competitor has a loyalty programme, why should I miss the bandwagon”. They tend to ignore their customer’s shopping habits, their frequency of store visits, their basket size, are they value seekers or discount lovers.
Today’s Retailers need to understand and accept the fact that “Loyalty” is overused, over-exploited concept and does not excite new age shoppers who are much more aware of the products & services and are more demanding. Although the word ‘loyalty’ is often associated with the points and financial incentive schemes that were launched over 30 years ago, these schemes have lost its relevance in current times.
How to be a disruptor then? (Simply by not launching a point-based loyalty card/app)
Loyalty should be about more than just collecting points. If not innovated, your Loyalty club would end up looking like Me-too offering.
Segment your customers, ask your store teams as to what is making their regular customer come back to their stores.
Use technology in making the customer’s purchase cycle Seamless.
Loyalty is often tied to routine, so any innovation that simplifies a routine while enhancing the customer experience is a reward in itself.
Understand from your customers as to what drives loyalty in them for your brand. Is it discounts, happy hours or convenience, customer service, good assortment of large merchandise offerings?
Winning loyalty in the Digital era needs a mix of Personalization, Engagement, and a sense of Exclusivity across all different channels (in-store, website, mobile app, social platforms).
As per a study conducted by Deloitte research when it comes to consumers’ attitudes to loyalty programmes, research shows that personalization and relevance are high on the list of what consumers expect from a loyalty scheme. The study showed 41 percent of consumers agree with “Loyalty schemes help brands know what their customers want and provide them with helpful suggestions and rewards, (e.g. receiving vouchers and coupons on products they buy regularly)”.
Case study: Amazon Prime.
Amazon Prime is an outrageously successful membership program with the stats to prove it:
80 million members
$1,300 average member annual spend vs. $700 non-member
60% of Amazon customers are Prime Members
Amazon Prime, which offers free streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows and, most important, free two-day shipping on most Amazon purchases. The service usually costs $79 annually, though it’s cheaper for college students ($39 annually, after six months free).
Subscribers not only ordered more often but after paying the $79 fee, they started buying things at Amazon that they probably wouldn’t have in the past. Since shipping was always speedy and free, members saved themselves a trip to the store for things like batteries and coffee beans.
Can your loyalty program boost of statistics like Amazon’s Prime. If not, then your loyalty program is on its way to becoming a liability for your business. It’s time to run a timely checklist & overview of your loyalty program.
I would end my article with a quote from Sir Terry Leahy: “The true source of loyalty is to create benefits for people.”
My article is my attempt to help retailers who are either planning to launch their loyalty program or looking forward to fine-tuning their existing program. I would be glad to share my wisdom with any of the retailers who believe in having an innovative loyalty program which can put them in a different league altogether.
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development and Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.
“Is your social media strategy working for your brand?”
We all know that social media marketing is a force that one cannot ignore. The new media requires a new strategy and mindset to leverage it.
Loser’s mindset
The most common mindset in today’s retail companies pertaining to social media is to hire a social media resource (headcount) to their existing marketing team & this would get them to top of mind recall in their targeted customer’s minds.
Few premises for the above belief in many retail companies:
Social media is easy to handle and does not require great efforts nor any specialized skillset resource.
Putting posts about their services and offers is all they mean with “content”. Flashy artworks, offers/promotions, and beautiful product shots are all they know about content management.
They fail to identify, social media channels as a source of revenue and customer engagement.
Basically there is a lack of strategy to handle this new form of media.
With the popularity of Instagram Stories, Facebook Live, and messenger apps have fundamentally changed how retailers interact with consumers online.
Simply posting photos or updates to a branded social profile won’t cut it anymore.
Need some Strategy for reconsidering your social media?
Here are a few retailers that have winning social media strategies:
Case 1: Birchbox
Birchbox uses Facebook Live to share great content and engage with fans. The cosmetics brand regularly runs Facebook Live videos in which members of the company share news, give away prizes, and answer questions.
According to MarketingDive, Birchbox’s top-performing stream “lasted 40 minutes and had an average view time of 10 minutes among the nearly 50,000 viewers who participated live.”
Strategy delivering result:
Birchbox sees the live video as a two-way street. It helps Birchbox engage with target audiences in real-time, but it also allows consumers to interact with the brand. The retailer approaches live streams as Q&A opportunities with audiences where Birchbox can market the products included in their monthly subscription boxes and educate audiences about the brand.
While some Middle Eastern retailers might still be wondering whether to consider live video as part of their strategy, Birchbox (the online beauty retailer) has been bullish from the start and is an early adopter of Facebook’s new live video feature.
Case 2: Born Originals
German fashion brand Born Originals has a large and engaged Instagram following.
For the benefit of my readers, Born Originals creates customized sneakers and leather goods.
Born Originals also makes good use of Instagram Stories. Their account is filled with gorgeous photos from the company and their customers alike.
I hope my article would help in giving directions to business owners and retailers in the Middle Eastern region & would force them to think differently and innovatively with their existing businesses.
Learn how food delivery apps like swiggy, zomato makes their money, click here.
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development, Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, Business Management & Empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.
Do you know what is the biggest challenge in today’s digital era for businesses? Here it is, we have access to gigabytes of information at our fingertips yet we fail to see or identify or decode this information/data into useful insights for our businesses.
Zara, the Spanish fashion retailer has been fast to decode the importance of Phygital experience in their stores.
Zara is attempting to elevate the customer experience with a technology-enhanced concept store in London’s Westfield Stratford shopping center. The store focuses on a service where shoppers can try on the clothes they like in store, pay for them online and have the clothes delivered to their homes.
Inditex SA, the Spanish company that owns Zara brand, calls it an example of the technologies it will implement around the world.
Key features of Zara’s Phygital experience are:
Use of robotic arm to retrieve online orders and deliver to customers in-store (Buy online pick up in store):
The new flagship store uses an optical barcode reader system which scans the QR or PIN codes that customers receive when they place an order online. Behind the scenes at the automated online collection pick-up point, a robotic arm then collects trays and organizes the packages optimally based on their sizes, smoothly delivering orders for customers to collect in seconds. Customers can collect online orders made in store on the same day if placed before 2 pm, or the next day if placed after 2 pm.
2. Use of Interactive Mirrors based on AI and AR technology:
In addition, the new store also features interactive mirrors equipped with RFID technology which is able to detect what garment a customer is holding and offer more information on the item as well as multiple choices of what a complete outfit may look like. In store employees will work with iPads and be able to advise customers on product selections or accept payments on the spot.
3. Use of RFID in merchandise inventory planning:
Every garment is fitted with a radio-frequency identification tag. The technology lets Zara check a store’s inventory in two hours, a process that used to take about three days.
4. Digital payment options:
Customers can choose to pay using their mobile phones via the Zara app or the Inditex’s Group app, InWallet.
5. Self-service checkouts:
Shoppers can buy clothes without talking to anyone. Self-service checkouts on floors let customers pay with their mobile phones or credit cards.
Retailers will need to connect decades-old fundamentals & processes with the newest front-end user interfaces. The Spanish brand Zara is one of the few fast fashion brands who has embraced technology and leading its brand’s evolution into the digital world.
Food for thought for Middle Eastern retailers:
Are we getting ready to embrace the fast-changing consumer’s shopping trends? Are we fast enough to embrace the change in our retail environment?
I shall conclude my article with these two thought-provoking questions to my readers and retail fraternity members to share their opinions by leaving a comment below and let the world learn from their wisdom.
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development and Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.
Recently I was a part of a group (mostly comprising of business owners) and we were discussing the importance of marketing & sales in our businesses and how we can improve this function in order to generate more top line sales.
During the group discussion, lots of good points were tabled by each and every member and one such point was on 4 P’s of marketing which is founding principle of marketing (Kotler’s) which has now evolved to 4 A’s mainly
Acceptability
Accessibility
Affordability
Availability
I feel since the terminology has changed but the basic principles still remain valid. One of the important points that come under Acceptability is Consumer Behavior.
Even before SMEs or entrepreneur ventures out to launch or introduce a service they need to ensure whether there exists a market for their product or services. What does their targeted customers or audience perceives their product and services?
Entrepreneurs often forget the importance of consumer behavior and get engrossed in other 4 Ps of marketing.
It is the customer who is the core of the organization and all tasks (activities or product or services) should either make difference to his life by making his life easier. We call this approach as Customer centric approach. Evaluate your promotional ideas or campaigns, if they are adding value to your customer, or they are just another piece of boring advertising.
Consumer behavior decision examines the “processes, especially any particular triggers that compel consumers to buy a certain product.” This is vital for entrepreneurial ventures.
Case study: Gillette launch in India.
When international giant brand Gillette entered the Indian market, way back in 1984, they brought their best sellers from US market which was primarily twin blade razor with a plastic tab on top, which enables easy removal of hairs which used to get stuck between twin blades. They did comprehensive research on this product at MIT University amongst a group of Indian students who were studying there.
The outcome was Gillette’s twin-blade product in India bombarded, they recognized that their best product failed to compel & satisfy Indian users. People who bought the razors were not satisfied with the shaving outcome.
Gillette team analyzed the core behavior of their customers and found that their best razor had failed to deliver to Indian customer’s satisfaction due to:
Indians tend to have rough or hard skin and hence the beard hair needed more precision shaving products.
India as a country always had issues with running tap water, the majority of the people used stored water in a bowl (popularly known as Mug) for carrying out their shaving regime, due to this their key USP of the plastic tab between the blades had failed since it required running tap water.
Indian water is hard water compared with western countries wherein the water is soft, which failed to deliver a good shaving experience.
Once Gillette understood this consumer segment, the company created a new customized product. Gillette Guard, the first product created just for the Indian market, was introduced in October 2010. It was priced at just Rs15 per razor. At Rs 5 for a refill cartridge, Gillette Guard met customer expectations on safety and ease of use.
In Business terminology, we call this as “reverse innovation” i.e. to develop a product that would satisfy the needs of the lower income customer.
They tweaked their communication with some more aspirations around the brand by asking the targeted customers; Are clean-shaven men more successful? Did the nation prefer clean-shaven celebrities? And the big one: do women prefer clean-shaven men? The media picked up the campaign and brand got significant reach in the minimal time span. Today, Gillette India is one of category leader in shaving products sector.
Learnings for start-ups:
Above case study tells us the importance of Reverse Innovation. In today’s technological advance systems, it’s easy to create a product or a service but it is very difficult to find a customer who would pay for your product or services. Hence understanding consumer behavior is of utmost importance even before venturing out with any kind of start-ups.
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development and Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Technology emerging as the savior for Beauty retail
Background:
As per figures released by Euromonitor International, Beauty retail or Beauty is one of the most promising sectors for the future growth of the retail segment & is valued at USD 9 billion in the Middle East alone.
Our generation is really blessed in terms of technology that we have at our disposal, especially computing devices in the form of smartphones.
My inspiration to write this article comes from a recently concluded webinar wherein I was on a panel discussion with industry leaders and I spoke on the topic of finding a competitive advantage amid cluttered & oversaturated beauty sector.
Making technology initiative – the core of the Beauty retail business.
With the emergence of Pandemic, covid19, the entire world of business has changed.
we are no longer in the world wherein we all had a good time, meeting our customers physically (physical interaction) and getting to know their preferences and behaviors.
The world is now embracing covid19 and adapting itself to live along with it.
The road to recovery is now slow and challenging.
Here comes our biggest friend i.e. Mobile and Web.
Both have the power to transform our current business model and the way we interact with our customers currently.
My article is my attempt to highlight initiatives of such beauty brands in adopting technology as an integral part of their overall strategy and how to find a niche for new aspiring entrants into the cluttered world of beauty.
As consumers embrace technology in their everyday lives, notably through the increasing use of smartphones, the boundaries between the virtual and real-world become increasingly blurred.
Who is driving this digital growth transformation for the brands?
Consumer’s preferences have gone under transformation during lock-downs which has resulted in giving rise to contact-less transactions using eCommerce.
Although discretionary spending has reduced post covid19, the market has witnessed a consumer behavioral shift towards safe, sustainable, and reliable products.
Purchase behavior is shifting from Specialty stores to specialized eCommerce platforms.
Technology playing its role
Skincare:
Demand for high-tech treatments at home has given rise to a range of electronic devices whose claims range from improving the efficacy of skincare products to replicating anti-aging treatments in salons.
Skincare diagnostic tools, from DNA testing to skin analysis, YouTube videos, and diagnostic applications, are all adding to consumers’ experience, both in-store and online, thus affecting purchase decisions.
Diagnostic tools have had a technology make-over and now come in the form of online questionnaires, apps, or in-store devices.
From Sephora’s skincare IQ to Harrods’ Ioma machine, consumers’ desire for customizing their skincare is stronger than in any other category.
Digital apps like OKU (an at-home device and app that analyses skin condition),
L’Oréal’s Make-Up Genius and Klara (an app that sends pictures of consumers’ skin to dermatologists) aim to offer professional skincare analysis in the comfort of consumers’ homes.
Technology in beauty cosmetics playing an integral role in payment processing
Sephora’s latest cooperation with Apple to combine Apple Pay with the Sephora app and create a Sephora Wallet.
Learn how lipstick is being used as an economic indicator, click here.
Customer engagement and Omnichannel experience
One such retailer that transformed its customer engagement and Omnichannel experience is Ulta Beauty, America’s largest beauty specialty store.
Its Connected Beauty vision has allowed Ulta to seamlessly manage real-time inventory across 20,000 products and 800 stores as well as serve customers with in-depth, personalized recommendations, crowd sourced reviews and how-to-videos.
The brand’s Beauty tip workshops actually encourage shoppers to play with products before making any purchases.
Ulta Beauty has taken their loyalty program to a different level by launching a social media platform specifically designed for loyalty members to talk to each other about products and have beauty-focused discussions.
Another brand that is spearheading technology-driven beauty engagement is SEPHORA.
In principle, Sephora’s success comes in part from the retailer’s reputation for always having the newest and best brands.
Both Sephora and Ulta have “really managed to crack what experience in beauty is.” “Experience & technology” is the core of their strategy.
Check out Sephora’s virtual artist cheek try on an app.
New Emerging trend in the Beauty Retail – Organic cosmetics or vegan beauty.
The global vegan cosmetics market size is projected to reach USD 20.8 billion by 2025. (global estimate).
It is growing at a rate of 7% currently (pre-covid).
Increasing concerns regarding health & safety, consumer awareness about the use of animal-tested products, and rising importance is given to environmentally viable products that are likely to stir up the demand for vegan cosmetics.
Beauty Retail – Brands investing in scientific research
Brands like Beauty without Cruelty, MU London organics, and Bare Blossom are investing heavily in research activities.
Using ingredients that are plant-based.
Using more fruit based ingredients instead of synthetic dyes.
The sustainability component in packaging like Use of glass containers and recycled paper, no plastic containers etc.
Steps that a beauty retail entrepreneurs or an aspiring retailer need to take to enter the market
-Using smart branding and carefully designed packaging, innovative brands are able to differentiate themselves from their competition;
– Focus the product USP on Vegan & organic ingredients in sync with governmental regulations and industry certifications.
-Using Stories To Stand Out And Get Ahead In The Beauty Industry
-Create your own audience, doesn’t matter how niche that audience is.
-Adapt the Omnichannel approach – sell online as well as a tie-up with some good distributor or retailer for on-ground presence.
They connect you digitally to the consumers who want to sample your product.
Later, you can follow up with that consumer and turn them into customers and evangelists for your brand.
-Keep pivoting your business by looking at various emerging niches in the segment.
Brand Sweat, provide beauty products to women who enjoy being active and don’t want their look to be compromised
Conclusion:
We are moving towards a reality where consumers can easily get anything, anytime, anywhere.
Retailers that do not take the essential first step to differentiate themselves through innovative customer engagement risk becoming irrelevant – forever.
Watch the video which summarizes the role of Artificial Intelligence in beauty retail
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 22 years in the retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion, and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development, Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, Business Management & Empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.
