A couple of weeks back I had the opportunity of talking to one of the marketing personal of a company manufacturing consumer durable. He was worried as market share of his company is nose-diving over a period of time particularly after arrival of foreign players. No doubt his product is good. But it is the pricing of the products of foreign companies, which has proved to be a nagging headache. Secondly they are dealing with consumer durable; hence the durability aspect of the product has to be looked into. The concerned marketing person to whom I was talking to was of opinion that the products offered by foreign companies are not durable and those products are definitely going to mal-function after period of four to five years. But in a competitive market a time period of four to five years is very crucial and price war may totally wipe out a company in that intervening period. In other words by the time it is proved that the product of a company is bad, it has already thrown its competitor out of the market by resorting to price war and semi-durable product. So what is the alternative available for a local company manufacturing a durable product whose price is on higher side in comparison to a foreign manufacturer whose product is certainly inferior, but the inferiority is yet to be proved, and has lower price tag? Secondly the foreign manufacturer is backing its products with misleading high advertising and publicity gloss. Well, it is certainly a problem.
But myself, only having a superficial swim over the issue told to the marketing person very casually, may be perfunctorily, "What is the problem? If others are bringing down the cost by compromising the quality, you also do the same". The reply arrived before I completed my perfunctory utterance. Oh, my God, I was not expecting an answer so sudden and so realistic from the marketing man. He looked straight to me and said, "It is shear foolishness for an Indian company operating only in India to cut down the quality. If the foreign operators fail, they can always go back to the countries of their origin. But where shall the Indian company go if they fail in India?"
Really a catch-22 situation. Either way it is problematic. But what is the solution? Customer education and awareness? Who will do that? Whose responsibility is that? Hmnn! I remember a story narrated to me by my Grand father way back 1972 when I was ten years old. I have forgotten in what context he narrated that story to me. But I find relevance here to narrate that. Here goes the story. DO NOT BE WORRIED. I AM NOT ASSUMING YOU AS MY GRAND CHILDREN WHEN I NARRATE THAT. BUT LISTEN (OOPHH! READ) IT CAREFULLY.
Once upon a time in a sleepy village of India, villagers opened a school. None of the residents of the village had any formal education. Teachers were rare commodity in those days. In lot of difficulty they could locate a suitable person from nearby village to teach in their village's school. So the teaching started in the school. Villagers were happy about the fact that their children were getting education. They paid lavishly to the teacher and every day as the teacher returned home after teaching, he was invariably presented with some gifts by the villagers. Sometimes it might be fresh vegetables or a tender country chicken or fresh fishes from river. But he was presented with something everyday. The teacher's wife was very happy with those every day's gifts brought by her husband. Naturally, she was feeling proud of her husband.
One good/bad quality with ladies that they can exaggerate the things with lot of ease. Gents fumbled in that matter. They are no match to ladies in this regard. In fact gents are no match to ladies in any show business involving tongue. Ladies have versatile tongues. Now let us come back to the story.
Everyday, after teacher goes to the school, his wife used to make a nice propaganda amongst the neighboring ladies about the capabilities of her husband like how knowledgeable and learned her husband is and how he earns everyday nice gifts for her in form of costly dress materials and ornaments. This created lot of jealousy in the mind of neighboring women.
And all of us know when wife becomes jealous and envious who becomes victim. Again husband. By over night, from good-for-something he is promoted to good-for-nothing. Now comes the time to prove.
Hence one of the good-for-nothing husbands of the village promised to his wife that he, despite his no education, can also be a good teacher and wins gifts for his wife. Tall claim! But he needs to prove. He went to the neighboring village and claimed he is a better teacher than the present one. But villagers were unwilling to buy his words. But the man kept on persuading everyday. Ultimately the villagers thought of giving a chance to the new man. They asked the old teacher to take rest for couple of days till they test out the new person. The new person, now the teacher on test, knew that villagers are not educated to take a test of him. He can resort to gimmick (read marketing gimmick) to befool the villagers.
Next day, the new teacher came to the school and asked the children to read, as loudly as possible, whatever was taught by the earlier teacher. Children read loudly and their voices reached every nook and corner of the village. Villagers were impressed. Ah! The new teacher is teaching well. Day by day as test days moved on, the voice of the children became louder and louder. No doubt, villagers concluded, the new teacher is certainly better. Hence the new teacher is hired and old teacher is fired.
Days moved on, the good-for-something designated as good-for-nothing suddenly became good-for-anything and everything. He managed the show successfully and now he too brings gifts everyday. Fresh vegetables, tender chicken, fresh fishes. Sorry! Read new ladies' dress and ornaments.
The old teacher was puzzled! How an uneducated man is able to teach? He went to the school and discovered the truth. Students are only reciting loudly the old stuffs. The new teacher is dozing under a tree near the school.
He went inside the class room , wrote a message in the board for the new teacher and left quietly.
HOW LONG THIS SHALL LAST?
After sometimes the new teacher came inside the class and his instinct told him that there is a message for him in the board. Cleaver as he is, he immediately called a student and asked him, "Here is a test for you. Read what is written in the board." The boy read it. Then the teacher asked the boy to write below that question.
THIS SHALL LAST AS LONG AS MIND IS BLIND.
BE SURE, THAT WILL KEEP YOU ALWAYS BEHIND.
He then asked the students to read it loudly. The crescendo reached the villagers. They were happy. The new teacher has taught a new poem.
Now my friends let us analyze the story in the context of plight of that company manufacturing a quality consumer durable. But like the old knowledgeable teacher, it will be soon thrown out of the market as our mind is blind. Whom to blame? What is the solution? Misleading advertisements and publicities? Partially true. But how to control that? Who will control that? What is the effect of that control if mind remains blind? How long shall we keep a good product behind? Shall we keep it behind till it vanishes? What is fair competition? How to maintain and sustain a fair competition? Quality monitoring is a must to maintain a fair competition. Who will monitor the quality? What is methodology? Is accelerated test an answer? Shall the quality comparison and price comparison of a particular product available in various countries help? For example the product "x" of company "y" available in country "z" should be compared with that of "x" of company "y"available in country "w" before it is publicized as a good product in country "z" based on experience of country "w". The climatic variation and price variation should also be considered. Otherwise a cash-cow shall eat away an ordinary-cow. Unfair competition shall definitely lead to monopolistic situation in long run. Examples are many. What happened to Indian soft drinks market? For that matter what happened to lock, toy, shoe, motor pump market? Who rules there?
In India we are indifferent and insensible to many things. We need to shed our lay back attitude. We take shelter behind the saying "TRUTH SHALL PREVAIL. QUALITY WILL SPEAK". Yes, it is true that the truth shall speak. But by the time truth prevails, another truth shall emerge: the quality shall not survive to speak; it would have been eaten away in the price war, say unfair competition. THINK.
Think, my non-Indian friends too. What is happening in my country today, you might have experienced that or going to experience that.
PRICE WAR IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN ANY OTHER FORMS OF WAR.
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