Recently I came across a situation in automated test setting which clearly demonstrated how lack of standardized data exchange can drive up cost and cause significant delays.
As it is demonstrated above lack of standardized ATE and test information data exchange among companies and their suppliers and OEMs contributes significant overhead costs to manufactured products. Luckily for these organizations a new XML-based standard for ATE and test information data exchange, known as Automated Test Markup Language (ATML), is emerging with widespread support among test and measurement industry leaders as well as major government programs. With the emerging promise of ATML as a test and measurement industry XML standard, some leading vendors already have begun implementing ATML capabilities into their products and test solutions.
Marketing Monster 2011 in review
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,100 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 3 trips to carry that many people.
Online Stores in India
Many were looking for a list. There are many more, I will update the list frequently.
| Store | Type |
| Yebhi.com | Apparel |
| Myntra.com | Apparel |
| Ebay.in | Auctions |
| Carwale.com | Automobiles |
| Flipkart.com | Books, DVDs, Electronics |
| Tolmol.com | Books, DVDs, Electronics |
| Infibeam.com | Books, DVDs, Electronics |
| Quikr.com | Classifieds |
| Olx.com | Classifieds |
| Sulekha.com | Classifieds |
| Letsbuy.com | Computer, Electronics |
| Naaptol.com | Computer, Electronics |
| Snapdeal.com | Daily deals |
| Dealsandyou.com | Daily deals |
| Fashionandyou.com | Luxury |
| 99acres.com | Real estate |
| Magicbricks.com | Real estate |
| Futurebazaar.com | Superstore |
I will come up with a comparison and an analysis of the segment soon.
Network-based Marketing
Network based marketing
Building a Market Research Machinery for Indian Market
If you are a company planning to come up with new products consistently you have to setup a strong machinery for Market Research. Market Research enables two things-> validates & improves the idea and create a strong sales funnel.
Preparing for the ‘First Job’ interviews
No matter how senior you are in your career, an interview always gives you blues; especially if you are in a situation where you need to change the job. Given that, we can easily assume that for a fresher attending an interview for his first job gives the biggest blues. And first job is a very important event in life which can influence the rest of your life.
Before any interview you should have the belief that you are good enough for the job being offered. You have to believe that you can do a better job than anybody else who is applying for the same job. Once you are confident, the right answers, the right gestures will come to you by default. There was a period in my life where I couldn’t convert any of the interviews I attended. I was worried about another interview which was scheduled and my friend asked me why I should be worried as my resume is much stronger and more suitable for the job than anyone else. I went with the same belief to the interview and I got the job with a coveted private equity firm. On hindsight my resume was not very different from others who had applied for the same job. It was my belief that I am better which helped me get the job. Since then I have never walked out of an interview without a job.
One thing which can win over any panel member is passion for the segment in which the prospective employer operates. I remember being asked in my interview with a leading MNC in internet space, why I want to join them rather than accepting an offer I had from a better paying company which operates in the same field as my last employer and where my engineering degree is more relevant. My answer was I just love what the company does and I spent most of my time reading and tracking what is happening in online space. That answer got me the job.
Another important aspect is to rightly gauge the person who is taking your interview. There is no one size fits all solution for interviews. Your approach should differ from person to person. You should be able to judge that in first 3 minutes of the interview. Some like people who are honest in answers while being very open about your plans might land up in trouble with some. Many like you taking control of the interview while there are panelists for whom interview is like an opportunity to demonstrate their own knowledge.
But you can’t put all the advice into practice without preparation. Getting the right practice at right time is very critical. Equally important is being able to track your own performance across interviews and take necessary steps to improve aspects where you are lacking. Feedback from the right people is also essential. The best place to get feedback from is an alumnus from same industry or organization.
Cold calling; what works in India
Step 1 : Reach the right person. You should sound confident to motivate the person at the other end to transfer the call.
Step 2: Don’t give up till you reach the right person. In most cases it will take you more than a call to reach the right person.
Step 3: Do your background research; use Linkedin/Facebook to find any possible reference or atleast common interest.
Step 4: First sentence in your pitch to the right person should get his attention. It can be a major client, promoter background or number of users so far etc
Step 5: Follow up and deliver on your commitments. It could be a followup mail, a presentation, a demo or a visit. Credibility or dependability is the minimum criteria for a future vendor.
Step 6: Write a follow up mail; introduce your company, summarize your conversation, thank for his time and promise to contact him in a specified time for updates or decision.
Step 7: Please don’t assume that the other person will get annoyed by your perseverance. In most cases he will appreciate your commitment and give you a fair hearing.
Step 8: Even if a customer is not interested as of now, follow up after a specific period, say 4 months.
Step 9: Convince him for a sales visit even if he is not interested in our product. If that is not possible, send him at least a demo or presentation. Also share with him a form or link where he can register his requirement during his free time.
Step 10: Talk only if the customer is not talking. Most customers would want to discuss their problems once you can demonstrate your credibility as a consultant or expert in your area.
Book Review: The Habit of Winning by Prakash Iyer
When I heard of the book for the first time, I didn’t think much of it as the name was not very impressive. ‘Habit’, ‘Winning’ being some of the most abused words not only by authors but also by bloggers and email marketers. But when I started reading I realized that the author has much to offer given the depth and breadth of his experience. The examples he quoted in the Introduction was not only fresh but very relevant. In the first chapter author had me when he mentioned about how stories help you register your message in hearts of people. What made it more interesting was that he was using examples which were more relevant for Indian audience.
Many of the interviews the author has quoted in the book, especially from the field of cricket, even I have been a witness of, but I was amazed by author’s ability to capture them, dissect them and to create valuable lessons out of those. The story about Climbing the Mountain made me seriously think about some of the things I have been doing. The author through his stories was able to convey his thoughts in a very convincing manner.
Somewhere in the middle stories became more predictable and stories less intriguing. Especially the story of the Starfish reminded me of many similar books I have read before. Too many stories and too many chapters or sub-chapters was distracting at times especially it became difficult to structure my own thoughts arising while reading the book. But author was able to recoup my attention every time with some very refreshing content. The author’s narration of the importance of getting bad news conveyed across organization as quickly as possible to take corrective action was a new perspective for me. When the author derived 10 lessons of management and team work from Dahi Handi festival in Mumbai my respect for him increased multifold.
Fresh thoughts and concepts was the theme throughout the book except some parts where it became a little monotonous. He has captured some of the most enriching experiences of his successful career in the book and will be a good guide for people who are in the beginning stages of corporate career. It is also a good read for people who are bored of reading western authors. It could disappoint you if you are expecting narration of incidents from author’s own life given he had a long and illustrious career.
This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!
Top Ten Marketing Efforts 2010-11
1. Anna Hazare – I don’t have to explain. He is a rockstar in publicity.
2. Steve Jobs- Tribute to the master, he was awesome.
3. Baba Ramdev – His efforts mostly backfired.
4. Rahul Gandhi – Though he chooses to remain off limelight, media doesn’t want to leave him alone.
5. Yuvraj Singh- He was God during World Cup.
6. Raja- The dark lord.
7. Shah Rukh- Though his movie failed in wooing critics it was watched.
8. Mark Zuckerberg- Though his name was not much in news, the concept of “Mark Zuckerburg aka Rich Young Techies” was always in news.
9. Aishwarya Rai – Pregnancy was her only chance to be remembered.
10. Sachin Tendulkar – Though it now seems his 100th ton will never happen, he still gives enough for the media to celebrate.
PS: The list is India specific.
Why do I like Steve Jobs
Recently a friend of mine asked whether I could write an epilogue to his book on Steve Jobs. I could think of only one reason why he wants me to do it. He wanted a different perspective. Because I was always a critic of Apple and its products and I didn’t have any particular liking for Steve Jobs. We used to have long debates on why being an non- Appler ( Apple product users) is better than being Apple user and vice-versa. But in the last few months, before his resignation and subsequent demise, for some strange reason I had developed a liking for him. Today if you ask me, my respect for Steve Jobs is much more than most of the others entrepreneurs I admire.
Why I didn’t like Apple products
I never used Apple products not because they didn’t meet my quality requirements. As a product most of them are excellent. But except iPhone (actually for us in India that exception is not really valid) use of Apple products meant inability to use many applications out there. Also I don’t prefer to pay a premium for quality. My philosophy is, if your product has high quality good for you, because you can make more money by selling more. I won’t pay you more for that. Secretly I also believed that Apple product users used them to show that they are different from others and obviuosly I believed that I don’t need assistance from any product to prove myself. Another hypothesis I had was that Applers buy them at a premium because they are devotees of Steve Jobs himself. I know that some of these beliefs are absurd and others don’t make any sense.
Then why do I like Steve Jobs
The simplest answer will be ‘for his speech at Stanford’. But I will rather give you a complex answer. I like him for Pixar. I like him for his launch presentations. But I like him most for the fact that because of his company and its products today I can convert any of my obscure ideas to an application and try to sell it across the globe. Yes, I love him because directly or indirectly he is responsible for the App market. And his company made programming look cool than geeky, so now I have some very intelligent programmers ready to program for me.
