What Art Thou Hiding?

IIPM 4Ps Quiz

Now the question is whether you are safe, even if you are maintain the requisite balances? Well, not entirely. To your surprise, you could be losing out on your balances as the banks charge anything ranging from Rs.120 to Rs.1,000 for dormant accounts and more than Rs.600 towards inoperative accounts (no transaction for two years). Now the next thing that might strike you is to close the account. Unfortunately, in that case too you would have to shell out some money in lieu of account closing charges. But then, if you are not sure of your transaction through the account then it is really a good move to bear the brunt once for ever. Not many know the fact that too many transactions (branch banking/ through ATM/ phone banking / internet banking et al) also attract charges. A number of banks have a specified number of banking transaction (through whichever mode that suits you) that comes free of cost per quarter/year. For Standard Chartered, a leading foreign bank, only the first four transactions per month at other bank ATMs are free. And if you exceed the upper limit, you have to pay Rs.75 per transaction. On the other hand, in case of SBI, for every transaction you do at a non-SBI ATM, it attracts a charge of Rs.20 on you. Moreover, a number of banks also impose multi-city charges without any prior intimation. Definitely, these are the practices which once provoked the RBI committee headed by S. S. Tarapore to comment that the banks’ offerings are generally opaque – what is not charged is mentioned, but what is charged is not mentioned – high hidden costs appear rampant and unjustified.


The wide usage of plastic money today makes the customer further prone to hidden costs. A number of banks charge additional fees on regeneration of PIN numbers of ATM or debit card. If a customer wants to make cash settlement of his credit card dues (at the bank branch), one has to necessarily pay anything around Rs.100 over and above the dues. If you intend to make the payments through cheque, but you have none left in passbook, you can get new one provided you pay Rs.2.50 – Rs.5 per leaf. The executives at the bank admit that they discourage customers from coming to the banks and hence they levy the fine. Worst, if you have to make payments from a non-base branch, you have to pay additional fees. State Bank of India for that matter charges Rs.25 for deposits at non-base branch (except for online transfers, customers have to pay a charge for money transferred from an outstation account to their own account). The tech-friendly customers who are happy with the SMS alerts that they receive for every transaction from their banks, are little aware of the additional charges that they bear for it.

Even the banks levy a plethora of hidden costs on their customers. Hardly anyone knows that charges on a home loan includes the cost of phone calls made by the lender to the customer, cost for sending reminder notices, exorbitant fees when a cheque bounces or expenses of a representative visiting the customer. Definitely, there are no free lunches, at least when we are talking about the banking and financial domain. But then, it’s our mistake. We always tend to forget those small yet powerful asterisks (*) while reading the term and conditions, and finally pay for it. So be it home banking, duplicate passbooks, cheque status, inter branch transaction or cash delivery, you actually pay for all these services, the bank never provides you any free-service.

Well, you may or may not accept Raghavan’s definition of banks, but you must pick up his new habit of going through the bank statements. But, please don’t be very friendly with the habit as a physical monthly statement could well cost you anything between Rs.100 to Rs.200; so be satisfied with quarterly hard copy of your statement and monthly e-mail statements.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Shahrukh khan to Host IIPM 4Ps Annual Business and Marketing Quiz
2300 IIPM students get jobs
The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School
Detail of all IIPM branches
1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON

Rashmi Bansal Publisher of JAMMAG magazine caught red-handed, for details click on the following links.

• Hindustan Times Article - Publisher goes underground
• Rashmi Bansal (Editor of JAMMAG)
• Rashmi Bansal (Publisher of JAMMAG)

The companies are focusing more on innovative ways of association with IPL

The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School

Why are the companies focusing more on innovative ways of association with IPL as compared to plain sponsorship deals on-air and on ground? Well, there’s a two-fold reason behind this – the first being that the marketers had enough time to plan beforehand, unlike in the first season.

Secondly there is a lot of pressure on marketers to ensure that they put in their money in the right property, and more importantly in the right manner to reap the maximum possible benefits. Rakesh Singh, CMO, Chennai Superkings explains, “Due to slowdown pressures, the marketers are looking for sales-driven branding associations, as this will help them in tough economic situations.” Undoubtedly, the brands have realised the potential in sales-driven marketing, and hence they are looking at deals which can partly result in actual sales, apart from the obvious benefit of giving high visibility to the brands.

Even TV channels are looking at cashing in on the IPL popularity creatively. Star Vijay has tied up with CSK and launched two TV shows: CSK Junior and CSK cheerleaders. NDTV Imagine will be launching a reality show ‘Knights and Angels’ to select cheerleaders for SRK’s Knight Riders in the hope of getting some eyeballs hooked on to the channel. The teams are finding such associations quite beneficial. As CSK’s Singh points out, “We are getting tremendous visibility because of such shows and will also get paid for it; it makes perfect sense for us.” In fact CSK has decided not to launch any TVCs to promote the team this season and is looking to market the team through more such innovative associations. And it’s not just CSK; most of the teams are in talks for such deals. But these haven’t been finalised yet. Vidur Naik, Marketing Manager, Delhi Daredevils told this magazine, “Coke will create a lot of awareness on our behalf in their communication strategy around the second season.” And as Coke has recently picked Gautam Gambhir, an opener for DD, it clearly indicates that he will also be used for creating awareness about the Daredevils.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Detail of all IIPM branches
1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Rashmi Bansal Publisher of JAMMAG magazine caught red-handed, for details click on the following links.

• Hindustan Times Article - Publisher goes underground
• Rashmi Bansal (Editor of JAMMAG)
• Rashmi Bansal (Publisher of JAMMAG)

Focus on your consumers

The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School

If the monetary crunch is hitting your company badly and you are thinking of compromising on the quality of your products & services (just an iota mind you!), you’d better take a sleeping pill instead – and not wake up unless the slowdown storm has passed. Because if you reduce quality, your consumer will never forgive you – even after the economy stabilises. As per Millward Brown, a reduction in quality may go unnoticed for a while, but will certainly give competitors an edge that they may exploit later.

The trick is in prudently slashing all unnecessary production costs and bringing in efficiencies of scale as domestic coffee retailer Café Coffee Day (CCD) has discovered to its benefit. Says Bidisha Nagaraj, President-Marketing, CCD: “On the back of the economic slowdown, we are tightening our supply chain to minimise our expense and maximise our output.” Even their expansion plans are well on track despite the current crisis. Variants like Music cafes, Highway cafes, Garden cafes, Lounge cafes and premium offering – Coffee Day Square – are already a reality, giving CCD great reach across varied consumer segments, as also giving wings to their plan of opening 1,000 cafes by end-2009.

Apart from brand extensions, CCD is also proactively evolving its menu. Amidst all the brouhaha about the consumer’s evaporating ability to make purchases, CCD has launched its new menu to ostensibly shadow individual guest sentiments. For example, caffeine input is more in morning coffees like Morning Glory and First Light; Solar Eclipse and Summer Breeze are the afternoon coffees to minimise fatigue; and you can end the day with a delicious dessert drink called the Sunset Brew. Explains Nagaraj: “Experience is what has kept people coming back to our cafes. ‘Shadows’ will go a long way in providing that experience and thereby maintaining and increasing our customer base.” A smashing 360 degree approach to entice the consumer out of their present predicament!

On the other hand, arch rival Barista seems to be stuck in a quagmire of sorts. Faced with a cash crunch and changes in management control (European coffee chain Lavazza bought out Barista recently), the coffee retailer has not been able to innovate either with extensions or positioning. No prizes for guessing which of the two coffee chains is emerging stronger. V. Ramachandran, Director-Marketing, LG India, is bent on pursuing a similar strategy: “Along with premium market we will focus on rural market, which seems to be very strong presently because slowdown had no impact on this market.”

After burger & french fries, brand McDonald’s has started offering its breakfast menu (including parathas, muffins and hash browns) to consumers since January this year. The thought once again germinates from a desire in McD’s to expand its consumer base. Interestingly, the breakfast menu is McD’s most successful initiative in many countries globally, but it took them all of 12 years and a slowdown-hit economy, to actually launch it in India. But for McD’s, marketing in a slowdown is not merely about tapping into diverse consumer segments. The focus is also on keeping its ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ communication consistent; which brings us to the next survival tactic...

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Rashmi Bansal Publisher of JAMMAG magazine caught red-handed, for details click on the following links.

• Hindustan Times Article - Publisher goes underground
• Rashmi Bansal (Editor of JAMMAG)
• Rashmi Bansal (Publisher of JAMMAG)

BIG can mean Bold, Innovative and Grand. BIG can also mean Boastful, Insecure and Grandiose.

By the end of 2009, the verdict will probably be out on the BIG ambitions of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani. The crash of the Indian markets and the global meltdown couldn’t have come at a worse time for ADAG. But analysts say that he might stumble, only to soar again...

Such setbacks could have derailed entrepreneurs with less steel in their spine and less loftiness in their ambitions. Not Anil Ambani. Far from hunkering down, Anil Ambani launched four ambitious, strategic moves that would catapult the ADAG group into the top of the heap of India Inc. if they were successful. The first was the audacious move to acquire the South African telecom giant MTN through a complicated merger procedure. Just when victory was in sight, his elder brother Mukesh – at least if you believe bitter, off the record remarks of managers at ADAG – spoilt the party for Anil by taking the whole thing to a new legal plane. The deal was first stalled, and then eventually collapsed. But his second move in the telecom arena has been fairly successful. Anil Ambani successfully bagged pan Indian licenses for GSM services and is in the process of unleashing them across India this year. RCOM managers are confident that this move will pay rich dividends. Says S. P. Shukla, President, Wireless Business, “Entry into the GSM segment will allow us to benefit from ecosystem of GSM handsets, broader spectrum of value added services and in-roaming revenue potential.” Then again, there is not much that big brother turned rival Mukesh can do to stop the Anil juggernaut in telecom. But the same doesn’t hold true in his other strategic move viz. energy. With chutzpah and luck, the ADAG group could be sitting on close to 60,000 MW of power generating capacity in the next seven years. But there is a huge stumbling block right at the beginning. The Mukesh controlled Reliance Industries Ltd. has refused to supply gas to Anil controlled power plants at the price they had agreed to in 2005. The younger brother has taken the matter to the Bombay High Court where it is going through excruciating procedures and even more frustrating flip flops from the government of India.

Without gas at the pre- agreed price, the entire financial edifice of Anil Ambani’s energy plans will have to be re-built from scratch. And his group would have lost precious years in the meanwhile. That is not something ADAG can afford to do right now; nor can it raise money for the plans till the gas issue is sorted out. Even otherwise, the energy and power sectors are prone to government and political interference. Admits Lalit Jalal, CEO, Reliance Infrastructure, “You see, the biggest problem is politicisation of power rates. Politicians create hurdles by stepping in and asking us not to increase the selling price. This makes the whole process unsustainable.” This candid admission is remarkable in that Anil Ambani and his top managers realise the enormous lobbying challenges that they face in the sector. Of course, who can doubt his legendary lobbying skills? But as the bitter and protracted battle over the Godavari basin gas supply reveals, Anil Ambani is not the only one who can successfully ‘manage’ the environment in Delhi! Reliance Infrastructure is finding the going tough even in the implementation of the Mumbai Metro projects, though company officials insist that it will be completed well before the scheduled target of 2012.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM - Admission Procedure

Rashmi Bansal Publisher of JAMMAG magazine caught red-handed, for details click on the following links.

• Hindustan Times Article - Publisher goes underground
• Rashmi Bansal (Editor of JAMMAG)
• Rashmi Bansal (Publisher of JAMMAG)

Hot(els) in cold times!

IIPM set to beat economic slowdown

Then there is the glimmer of hope for all those in despair in the hospitality industry – growth in the vertically complementing online travel market in India, which grew to become a scorching $1.75 billion market in 2007. A beaming Himanshu Singh, MD, Travleocity.co.in optimistically asserts, “We expect this industry to grow to over $6 billion by 2010. In the US, about 60% of travel tickets are booked online, while in India the online market is still a fraction of the total travel market. So the online travel market has great growth opportunity...” Moreover, in light of fixed ‘Rupee-based’ tariff adopted by all hospitality companies in India, the appreciation of (US) $ versus (the Indian) Rupee also plays to their advantage. On a lighter note, Aditya Kamani, Director, Phoenix Group Global exclaims, “Well there has been a 15-20% drop in bookings and arrivals due to all ‘bad’ situations, but looking at the prevailing conditions, we have floated very exciting packages with a lot of value ad-ons, despite this being the peak season.”

But optimism doesn’t find the hoteliers in a smogy mood, what with industry experts forecasting a brighter growth of 7% for FY09. Validating the same in word, Ajay K. Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts plays the oracle as he outlines, “This year is likely to see hotel occupancies recover from the downturn of last two months. This year will be a year of consolidation...” So what should be the to-market strategy for the big guns for 2009? Logically, hoteliers across India should leverage ‘brand’ to secure volumes through fixed contracts, as opposed to pursuing solely a dynamic pricing strategy. Then there is also a need to maintain a strong control over operational costs (including commissions, Global Distribution System fees et al). As Sanjeev Sethi, Consultant, CII critically comments, “One needs to come up with more innovative and subsidised (not discounted) policies as companies should not be made to beg for business, but to create newer avenues...” Not just this, all units under the Indian tourism umbrella should forge ahead to create a single entity (instead of existing as comparatively weak sub-organisations like IATO, TAAI, FHRAI et al) to ensure a common and stronger platform to get rid of all its grievances, as Sujit Banerjee, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, agrees, “I would like the myriad agencies in the hospitality sector to establish an apex federation of tourism industry so that the entire industry works with one objective.” (Yes, 10 million annual tourists in 2010 is not an easy bet!)

Since the global meltdown started, revenues of the players in the Indian hospitality industry have fallen (by up to 30%!), and the road ahead looks anything but silken. As Amol Rao, Hospitality analyst, PINC Research also avers, “In FY09, I expect the global scenario to worsen. A heightened sense of danger in conjunction with the worsening economic outlook will result in at least 10-12% reduction in revenues of domestic hotel companies.”

The entities for now, have to play to the advantage that the current downturn presents. The drop in real estate prices (having tanked by 12-20% from their all-time peaks) makes capacity expansion much more affordable, and the fall in advertising rates across all forms of media calls for greater need to advertise louder and better. Yes, Third Degree price discrimination is a policy that always pays well in this business, but what the players should realise is that times are already the worst for now, and it can’t get worse than it already is! So smile, and advertise!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers
IIPM Admission Detail
IIPM Programme :- SUPERIOR COURSE CONTENTS
IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

Rashmi Bansal Publisher of JAMMAG magazine caught red-handed, for details click on the following links.

• Hindustan Times Article - Publisher goes underground
• Rashmi Bansal (Editor of JAMMAG)
• Rashmi Bansal (Publisher of JAMMAG)