Strategic Thought Transformation - The IIPM Think Tank

E X E C U T I V E S U M M EA R YI E S
Extend the corporate hierarchy in a Marketing Database 44
This paper by Sudip Chakraborty, Principal, Inductis, talks about how to leverage data to enable more targeted marketing to
businesses. in this paper the author proposes an extension to traditional corporate hierarchies used in many marketing databases
& shows how you can actually implement this by leveraging internal & external data, matching and data integration rules and
technology.
Paper extract: Companies have been deploying single view databases based on traditional corporate hierarchies provided by data
vendors such as D&B and Experian for several years. These hierarchies typically indicate legal relationships between companies,
e.g. branches and subsidiaries. This information can be very effective for marketing especially for cross-selling. Other data sources
are also available such as DDM (DUNS Decision Makers), EHA (Executive Home Address) from D&B and BOL (Business Owner List)
from Experian that provide information about decision makers.
India’s Mobile Revolution 50
The paper talks about how the mobile market in India has undergone a transformation. Till a few years back, mobile usage was
concentrated only in the metros but todays has penetrated literally every nook and corner of the country.
Paper extract: Though the road has not always been easy, Indian telecom sector is often perceived as the ‘poster-boy’ of the
New Economic Policy (NEP). Market-oriented reforms have provided a powerful boost in the telecom sector, not least because of
the influence of India’s booming technology sector whose success depends on a sophisticated communications infrastructure. In
China, the mobile revolution was triggered by the great reforms of Deng Xiao Ping in the early 1980s. In India, the seeds of the
transformation derive from Rajiv Gandhi’s reforms in the 1980s. The new era was initiated by the great reforms of the Narasimha
Rao Congress government in the early 1990s.
BEST PRACTICE
A guiding mantra in quality nirvana
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The paper talks about how the Japanese philosophy of Total Quality Management (TQM) is used by organisations to improve
their processes, thereby increase efficiency and to finally optimize the results.
Paper extract: Every organization undertakes various improvement activities, so as to enhance its business success. In many
cases, it is experienced that in spite of sustained improvement efforts, its impact on the business results (measured in terms of
financial and non-financial performance, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction) is insignificant. Continuous Quality
Improvement (CQI) is a process improvement effort to increase efficiency, effectiveness and to optimize the final results, which
if converted to monetary terms should yield profit. The techniques of CQI are many in numbers and each business has to select
suitable techniques that are suitable to the nature of products or services offered by them to the customers. However, the word
‘continuous’ is very important because interrupted or accidental improvements will not result in sustaining growth in profits
of business. If we think of the Japanese corporates, the approach towards total quality management initiated during 1950’s in
designing component and manufacturing, ensured that the produtcs manufactured were defect free, with no rejections. Total
Quality Management is therefore becoming competitive globally.
CASE STUDY
Nirma : Proud to be a ‘local’
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The case underlines the true fighting spirit behind the think tanks at Nirma and how besides being a small-sized player, it has stood up to the
test where other giant shave wilted. This case discusses its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and of course the threats!
Paper extract: After attaining major success in the detergent powder market, Nirma expanded its basket of brands offered and gave something
new to its customers. They launched the Nirma detergent cake in 1985, which surprisingly came after a real long sixteen years after its
first product was launched! This move worked wonders for Nirma and elevated its image in the consumers’ mind, thereby enabling it to erode
its competitors’ market shares. These marketing and branding strategies made it hard to breathe for its colossal competitors and even successfully
disturbed the advertisement budget for Hindustan Lever Limited (India’s largest FMCG Company), which then adopted an offensive
arketing strategy with the introduction of the low-priced Wheel – a brand meant to cater to the lower-middle class and economy segment.
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STRATEGIC INNOVATORS
An IIPM Intelligence Unit Publication