Accused of being competitive when you are actually a perfectionist......
Accused of being sarcastic when you are giving straight answers.....
Accused of being opportunistic when you are being accommodating....
Accused of being heavy headed when you are not bothering anyone....
Accused of being unhappy when you are lost in thoughts.....
Accused of being aggressive when you are making a very valid point....
Accused of being unfit when its clear there isn't a worthy replacement....
What the hell.....
It's a crazy crazy world with crazy crazy expectations....
Perception varies....
It's better to be hated for what I'm, than to be loved for what I'm not ......thank you Andre Gide for this insightful thought..... :)
Mar 17, 2010
Mar 13, 2010
A Shopping Fiasco
I'm a lady notorious for her shopping speed in a Super market... Yes... You heard it right and to be honest... I'm proud to claim so....
Super market is a place where many a marketing principles work in sync. Kotler, Collins, Porter... to name a few.... have taught me enough during my management days, about how to lure precarious customers to a targeted product. A customer will walk into the shop with a predetermined list. If the store is incapable of adding anything to this customers list, then its a waste of business space. "Attention-Interest-Desire-Action or AIDA", it is not tough to make someone go through the above cycle and make them reach the wallet for a few extra currencies.
What happens when the buyer herself is aware of these tactics? That's me... I know the game and I see to it that not a penny more is spent while I shop.
A windy Saturday evening..... The requirements were crystal clear. A few stationary items, some snacks and diary products. Hardly 2 minutes to pick everything... So I thought. Confident that his wife wouldn't overshoot time and budget, my husband decided to take me to one of the most extensively spaced super markets in the city (or was he testing me... I doubt now???)I have been there many times and knew exactly where to find what... Things simplified all the more...
A phone call from an old friend, husband over another call, a trolley cart, fewer than expected crowd, plush looking shelves and lots of eye catchy products packaged and placed elaborately.... Variables were in perfect tandem...
A lotion that has a special sunscreen formula.... I get tanned very badly;
A foot cream with some herbal properties.... I have a dry feet;
A liquid hand wash in a new fragrance.... Useful after cleaning and cooking;
A three in one scrubber.... Forgot for what but I remembered some use for all the three at that point;
Cleaning towels with buy 2 get one free offer.... It's an offer after all;
A shoe polish with some shiny add-on.... Come on its an add on... wouldn't want to miss this;
Instant mix curry product, veg as well as non veg dishes.... For an emergency;
Cans of soft drinks in various flavors.... Suited for different mood;
Snacks for morning, afternoon, evening, late night, travel, emergencies.... One can never be sure what the taste buds prefer at a given point;
Fabric paints.... I need resources for pursuing my hobbies as well;
Magazines on business, politics, comics & automobile books for my husband.... Of course, how can I forget his simple luxuries.
Seeing me coming out with an overflowing cart, my husband asked with a smile, "So many free gifts?" Who said "Pen is mightier than sword"... The real culprit is "Tongue"... But what can I say to a man who asks a simple question with a smile on his face and absolutely no aggression of any manner, even when you know what that question means and what that smile means??? I managed a weak smile thinking about all the tall claims I have been making over the years as a speed shopper...
On our way back while he was singing aloud some funny song, I was thinking about the endless lectures on shelf design in Super Markets... Most of the principles were followed in that shop.
- All the products I picked were placed at a height of 4-6 feet from ground;
- Some of them came in small packets making me think that I could experiment without much monetary loss;
- The ingredients and formulas were appealing and I could relate to the specified use;
- The beauty products made me think of the advertisements and the models it featured. I got greedy :)
- Cleaning products were followed by skin care products followed by food items. Connection is obvious.
- It was month beginning. Hence I wasn't much keen on thinking about my shrinking wallet.
It was too heavy to think anymore. Ego was hurt. Henceforth, I officially stripped myself of being a "Speed Shopper".
Sales tells us - Customer is the King... But the truth is, customer should be made to think he is a king even though he is actually made a jackass in the process.
Create the need for the product, capture the imagination of the customers with advertisements and carefully designed packages, make it available at the right time, at the right place.... The AIDA I mentioned in the beginning is useful not just for sales but in day to day life... Some of us use them effectively without knowing it. Yet, awareness didn't stop me from falling head over toe on a windy Saturday evening... :(
To conclude..... CAVEAT EMPTOR... Let the Buyer Beware..... Now that I have destroyed my reputation, I'm working silently to reclaim it.
Super market is a place where many a marketing principles work in sync. Kotler, Collins, Porter... to name a few.... have taught me enough during my management days, about how to lure precarious customers to a targeted product. A customer will walk into the shop with a predetermined list. If the store is incapable of adding anything to this customers list, then its a waste of business space. "Attention-Interest-Desire-Action or AIDA", it is not tough to make someone go through the above cycle and make them reach the wallet for a few extra currencies.
What happens when the buyer herself is aware of these tactics? That's me... I know the game and I see to it that not a penny more is spent while I shop.
A windy Saturday evening..... The requirements were crystal clear. A few stationary items, some snacks and diary products. Hardly 2 minutes to pick everything... So I thought. Confident that his wife wouldn't overshoot time and budget, my husband decided to take me to one of the most extensively spaced super markets in the city (or was he testing me... I doubt now???)I have been there many times and knew exactly where to find what... Things simplified all the more...
A phone call from an old friend, husband over another call, a trolley cart, fewer than expected crowd, plush looking shelves and lots of eye catchy products packaged and placed elaborately.... Variables were in perfect tandem...
A lotion that has a special sunscreen formula.... I get tanned very badly;
A foot cream with some herbal properties.... I have a dry feet;
A liquid hand wash in a new fragrance.... Useful after cleaning and cooking;
A three in one scrubber.... Forgot for what but I remembered some use for all the three at that point;
Cleaning towels with buy 2 get one free offer.... It's an offer after all;
A shoe polish with some shiny add-on.... Come on its an add on... wouldn't want to miss this;
Instant mix curry product, veg as well as non veg dishes.... For an emergency;
Cans of soft drinks in various flavors.... Suited for different mood;
Snacks for morning, afternoon, evening, late night, travel, emergencies.... One can never be sure what the taste buds prefer at a given point;
Fabric paints.... I need resources for pursuing my hobbies as well;
Magazines on business, politics, comics & automobile books for my husband.... Of course, how can I forget his simple luxuries.
Seeing me coming out with an overflowing cart, my husband asked with a smile, "So many free gifts?" Who said "Pen is mightier than sword"... The real culprit is "Tongue"... But what can I say to a man who asks a simple question with a smile on his face and absolutely no aggression of any manner, even when you know what that question means and what that smile means??? I managed a weak smile thinking about all the tall claims I have been making over the years as a speed shopper...
On our way back while he was singing aloud some funny song, I was thinking about the endless lectures on shelf design in Super Markets... Most of the principles were followed in that shop.
- All the products I picked were placed at a height of 4-6 feet from ground;
- Some of them came in small packets making me think that I could experiment without much monetary loss;
- The ingredients and formulas were appealing and I could relate to the specified use;
- The beauty products made me think of the advertisements and the models it featured. I got greedy :)
- Cleaning products were followed by skin care products followed by food items. Connection is obvious.
- It was month beginning. Hence I wasn't much keen on thinking about my shrinking wallet.
It was too heavy to think anymore. Ego was hurt. Henceforth, I officially stripped myself of being a "Speed Shopper".
Sales tells us - Customer is the King... But the truth is, customer should be made to think he is a king even though he is actually made a jackass in the process.
Create the need for the product, capture the imagination of the customers with advertisements and carefully designed packages, make it available at the right time, at the right place.... The AIDA I mentioned in the beginning is useful not just for sales but in day to day life... Some of us use them effectively without knowing it. Yet, awareness didn't stop me from falling head over toe on a windy Saturday evening... :(
To conclude..... CAVEAT EMPTOR... Let the Buyer Beware..... Now that I have destroyed my reputation, I'm working silently to reclaim it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)