Author name: Shubranshu Singh

James Carville, a political strategist, participating in a TV show had famously said “It’s the economy, stupid!” He should have instead said “It’s about growth, stupid!”. The economy grows when value is created. Every bit of any corporate transition – innovation, enhanced sales, cost containment, quality enhancement, reduction of cycle time, faster adaptation – must lead to growth.     [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Is it simple then? No, it is not. Growth is amongst the most used but also the most misunderstood concepts in business life. I owe it to my training at Hindustan Unilever that I was taught the real value and meaning of targeted growth. I was a summer intern, management trainee, sales manager, customer marketing manager and category head in HUL, and at every stage the focus was on sustained growth. Many seasoned business leaders, economic theorists and market analysts presume that each category will grow in some formulaic correlation to the GDP growth rate. This is a belief that will lead to abandonment of responsibility and eventual collapse. A management that focuses on macro factors alone or thinks of only operational excellence neglects growth. Incremental market gains won’t secure a future for a company. Corporate growth leads to economic growth. Hence it is vital. That’s where the first principle comes in. Growth is imperative but not all growth is good. Only sustainable, margin accretive and capital efficient growth ought to be celebrated. Just because volume surges do not mean all is well. In fact, this may deplete earnings, erode margins, or steal from the future. Secondly growth de-risks business. There is no point rearranging the furniture on the deck of a Titanic! Growth must be based on tightly defined customer needs and unique capabilities and advantages. A growth culture emphasizes the ability to learn and relearn, tool and retool. Growth doesn’t jump from the PowerPoint slide to the shop floor. It demands meticulous attention to costs, quality, product innovation, turnover time, productivity, asset utilization, efficient capital structure, strong brand pull, innovative supply chain and above all, customer satisfaction. These are the ingredients that make the ‘growth masala’. Lastly, I learned that growth needs humility. It needs creativity. Pre-conviction and hubris destroy growth. Those managers who walk in consumer shoes, stay curious, apply imagination and have more emotional energy, win. The biggest retardant is inertia. When successful, the question is “Why fix it if it isn’t broke?”. Then conditions change and the valley of degrowth appears right up ahead. But the road to growth is paved with tombstones of failed projects. Understand the difference between what you make and what the customer needs. Those who are on the needle of the Consumer True North, don’t lose their way to growth. The essence it to ask many questions such as: – “What’s happening in the marketplace?” – “What’s happening in consumer lives?” – “What are the change agents?” – “How are needs being addressed?” – “Can I address these needs, viably?” – “How can I benefit from the resulting opportunities?” – “What are the advantages we need to create?” – “What’s the gap between our present and future?” – “What do we need to de-emphasize vs. re-emphasize?” Before I conclude, you may be thinking I am only stating the obvious and that this is common sense. That’s a fact. But you should remember that in business, common sense is the most precious and the most elusive thing. Growth requires imagination with disciplined execution. The greater the change, the more we need to explore possibilities beyond currently served markets/categories to achieve growth. Wealth creation demands expanding the category and enlarging the market. Those who are invested in the past don’t want to change it. Old reflexes defy the change impulse. Careers, rewards and identities that get fixated to past success don’t allow the growth accelerator to be pressed. Above all, leadership promotes growth by setting a pattern for everyone. It guides how all stakeholders interact and determines which ideas get adopted. Critically, it sinks show boats and promotes those who deliver results. Talk is cheap. Growth is tough. Let growth talk. http://www.businessworld.in/article/Growth-It-Has-To-Be-Understood-Before-It-Is-Achieved/05-03-2021-382960/

The 1980’s witnessed one of the greatest paradigm shifts in economics since the advent of the industrial revolution. The engine of the global economy shifted gears from factories that make products to enterprises that develop platforms. The most valued companies across the world, since the 90’s, are the software giants that created Platforms, which are now the drivers of the Information age. Although platform businesses have always existed in some form or another, the scale of networks now is beyond imagination. For those looking for exponential growth for their business it is important to adapt to the business platform strategies   [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Digital platforms have now become a vital aspect in our daily lives. From your personal computer, your e-wallet to your workstation, everything is connected to platforms. Platform businesses in a broader sense are spaces where multiple markets converge. Industry platforms are used by millions of individuals and thousands of firms to transact their daily business. Google, Amazon, Facebook are all examples of platforms used by people for several purposes. At the core of their transformative impact on global economics is a shift in thinking. From linear product-based thinking to a creation of networks and ecosystems that give value to millions across the world. The appeal of industry platforms –Why they matter? Industry platforms are foundation products or technologies that various firms can be built upon to create new products & services or transactions. They also get added complexity from these increasing connections. The most highly valued companies in the world are Platform Businesses. Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, each, has been valued exceeding a trillion dollars They derive great power from their scalability. Business platforms are broadly categorized into innovative business platforms, transactional business platforms and hybrid business platforms. If you are starting out with a good product then see if you can add value by opening your product to a third-party complementary innovation. This makes your product more versatile and instantly attracts more users thereby transforming it into an innovative business platform. If you are a service provider then there is opportunity to generate value by connecting market sides like any broker. You need to do so without owning assets or even providing the service directly. This is the classical transactional business platform. This is why such platforms, when corporatized, get highest valuations because of low asset ownership and high scalability. Once your business platform begins to grow, you can add elements of the other type of platform to create a hybrid platform. Typically, innovation platforms begin to grow access and distribution with a doubling down on the transaction side whereas the transaction platforms strive to add complements to build innovation advantage. The qualifiers for an Industry Platform: Broking Your platform needs to play the role of matchmaker and bring two interdependent groups together. Amazon is a platform for vendors to meet potential customers. Some pressing need ought to be liberated from some monster barrier. Only then does it qualify to be catapulted into the platform league. Networking Network effect is a self-reinforcing positive feedback loop where potential value of each user increases with an additional user or compliment. Facebook started out as a platform to share memories, interests, and opinions. Many individuals opted to be on Facebook for making these interpersonal connections. These people would often invite their friends and family on Facebook. This is called direct network effect. This attracted vendors and advertisers to Facebook, this is called cross side or indirect network effect. Tackling Contingencies When the presence of one group of targeted users is dependent on the presence of another. The best example of this problem is Airbnb. Airbnb needed hotel listings to attract users and needed users to attract listings. The value for users in using Airbnb exists only if they have large number of listings. So they got owners to list first. Their listings attracted the users. Network effects are bi-associated. It grows through mutual amplification. The key is to rely on your network effects to solve this problem. Throwing money to create one side of the network is as good as throwing the money. To create a winning business platform, you need not make the best product or provide the best service. You need to ensure that your network is good. This means that it should be easily accessible. It should have modularity and expandability. It should target a critical demand-supply shortfall and should be able to attract and sustain large ecosystems or networks. The growth model of your platform should depend on network effect. The rapid expansion of your platform should solve for your dependencies. This is what will ensure you find your niche in the vast internet of things and canalize the vast wealth flowing in the mainstream. http://www.businessworld.in/article/Business-In-The-Platform-World/12-02-2021-376865/

Last week, I was on a panel discussion on the importance of culture creation by brands and how the pandemic has led to a collective displacement in terms of lifestyles and expectations. A reassessment of value systems will hopefully emerge. It got me thinking about the best way for brands to navigate these changes so that they are closer to their consumers in their their everyday lives. Brands are a part of culture. Some create it, others further it, while others are part of it. All brands create content but not all are able to create social impact and build culture. The ability to create culture is a test for the greatness of a brand.   [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Brands must have consumer orientation. If we understand displacement of the consumer, we will understand the best course for the brand to act as well. This is in part via intuition, in part by active research and a lot of empathy. One only gets there by thinking, feeling and sensing. In an era of displacement, there can be a lot of untested approaches – what I would call ‘yellow flags’. Therefore it is important to guard against puffery, ineffective advertising, unempathetic fluff, vagueness and hollow calls to action. It is equally, if not more important to avoid cynicism. Therefore, in a changing world with displacement, scope is more important than scale. If the brand has value in the lives of consumers when the community is feeling this displacement, eventually it will gain scale and stand to benefit from the business model. Having a history of performance, specialization, an advantage in terms of consumer preference and an ability to change course quickly helps. All these help build meaningful differentiation. At their acclaimed best, brands are cultural systems. In times of flux and change, great brand creation opportunities exist. The actual market offering must make use of cultural content in the formulation of its marketing-mix. Denmark is not the same as India and they are both different from Vietnam. Global brands must fully appreciate the cultural and social transitions to be made. Usually such understanding is systematically excluded from the insights and strategy stages with only a reliance on stereotypes proven by ‘data’. Corporate brand management enforces a top down command-and-control process that seldom has risk appetite for cultural innovation opportunities. It requires too much context and a willingness to punt – both missing as you go up the ladder. In a ‘normal’ world, the same product used to be for everyone. Mental and physical availability was to be achieved using distribution and reaching out to consumers – the first goal was to be famous before being liked and to rise above the cacophony of competing messages. For me my experience at Royal Enfield taught me that this model of essential FMCG style marketing needed to elevate to the 1:1 model and that tech advances are making it possible just like earlier mass media had made the mass marketing model possible. Fundamentally, the 1:1 marketing model is not an enemy of scale. The challenge is how to figure out the full capability of tools and to know when and how to use them. Share of customer lives is as important as the share of the market. This demands a change of thinking from not only differentiating products but also differentiating customers. This brings me to my next point – Once brands reach the most relevant customers, they can connect well with them, motivate them and that is how they garner the ability to influence and lead the community as well. This allows them to build culture and at the same time, this keeps the brand at the top of the mind for consumers. Even as practising marketers, we don’t see it because the economic rationale for brand building has been given way more importance, while it’s sociological impact has been neglected. We believe Royal Enfield has managed to achieve such a cultural status through a premium and engaging experience. So, when there was unprecedented volatility everywhere due to the pandemic, we were no exception. We too experienced collective displacement. Our rides and community activities like marquee rides and much loved events like rider mania, etc. were affected by the pandemic as people stopped stepping out of their homes. However, during these times, our bond with our community has only strengthened. We took steps to make sure the community is together at this difficult time. Our campaigns like ‘Trip Story’, the ‘Art of Motorcycling’ invited the community to stay connected online and thus looked at the allied interests of our community. Consistency and commitment of brands is what creates culture. Those brands that achieve iconic status – are most frequently represented in popular culture and this actively grows the brand halo and leads to mythology for the brand. Brands are markers of trust, quality guarantee and community. Brands stand for a mission. And brands that stand for a culture allow you to experience a way of life or promote a way of life. If done well, every displacement will become manageable. http://www.businessworld.in/article/Brand-Bonding-In-A-Time-Of-Displacement/03-02-2021-373085/