LG Electronics shares tumble on talk of $891 mn rights offer

SEOUL: Shares in LG Electronics plunged early on Thursday amid market talk the world's No.3 handset maker was planning a rights offer worth some 1 trillion won ($891.4 million).

"There are rumours in the market LG Electronics is seeking a share issuance," said Kim Do-han, an analyst at Samsung Securities.

The rights offer is said to be worth around 1 trillion won ($891.5 million), another market source who declined to be named said.

The firm is planning a board meeting on the possible offer soon, according to media reports.

The Korea Exchange has asked LG to clarify the talk. An LG spokesman told Reuters he was looking into the rumours.

Shares in LG Electronics dropped 11 per cent to 63,300 won, the lowest level in five weeks, compared with the broader market's 1.1 per cent fall.

Market insiders said LG Electronics may be seeking to raise money to fund struggling affiliates such as LG Display

or a merger and acquisition deal. "LG Display, which has been posting losses, needs fresh facility investments and LG Electronics as the top shareholder may need to pitch in," said John Park, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

LG Electronics controls around 38 per cent of the world's No.2 flat panel maker, which posted a record quarterly loss last month.

LG Display was also recently the center of rights offer rumors, which a company executive flatly denied last month in a meeting with investors.

LG Elec may also be seeking to acquire new growth engines as some of its business lines struggle, Park said.

World No. 2 memory chip maker Hynix is among the firms mooted as possible LG Elec takeover targets.

LG Elec last week reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, with its troubled mobile phone division sinking deeper into the red. 

VIVEK KUMAR 
PGDM IIIrd Sem

Shree Renuka hits 52-week low; Brokerages downgrade to 'Underperform'

NEW DELHI: Shares of Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd slipped to their 52-week low of Rs 36 on Monday after the company reported a net loss of Rs 620 crores in the September quarter hit by foreign exchange losses on account of acquisition of mills in Brazil.

The company's performance was also affected because of higher interest cost, which rose to Rs 192.5 crore during the quarter ended September 30. In the same period last year, interest stood at Rs 117.7 crore.

Bank of America has downgraded Shree Renuka Sugars to 'Underperform' from 'Buy' and cut its target price to Rs 38 from Rs 88, citing earning miss in September quarter due to delayed turnaround of Brazilian operations.

"We have cut our target price driven by a cut in EPS for FY12 to a loss of Rs 4.3 per share from a profit of Rs 9.5 per share and cut in EPS for FY13 to Rs 3.2 per share from Rs 11.6/share," said BofA-ML in a report on Sunday.

"Subdued sugar price along with higher cost of cane in Brazil as well in India and excess debt will hurt earnings and stock performance," said the BofA report. "We expect global raw sugar price to remain at around current level of UScent 25 per pound as production surplus of sugar globally will rise by 6mt next one year compared," added the report.

In a separate note Morgan Stanley has also downgraded the stock to 'equal-weight' from 'underweight' and cut the target price to Rs 42 from Rs 57 citing potentially lower international sugar prices and slower balance sheet deleveraging.
Kotak Institutional Equities said in a note , "We have reduced our earning estimates for FY2012E and FY2013E led by lowering of earning estimates in Brazilian subsidary Renuka do Brasil and higher debt.

"Company has consistently disappointed in the Brazilian business in the last couple of quarters. Net debt has shown no improvement in 2HFY11. We would like to see improvement in net debt and operating results for a positive view on the company," added the Kotak report.

Kotak downgraded the stock to 'REDUCE' from 'BUY' with a revised target price of Rs 55 from Rs 75 earlier.

At 12:55 p.m., shares of Shree Renuka were at Rs 38.50, down 25.5 percent. The stock has hit a low of Rs 36 in early trade. For the year the stock has plunged over 50% on the Bombay Stock exchange (BSE). 

VIVEK KUMAR 
PGDM IIIrd Sem

B2B Technology Purchasers Influenced by More Digital Collateral

B2B marketing is usually viewed as being behind the curve with regard to the online space. It has a reputation of being more traditional in its approach to how prospects and customers are reached and then developed. While this image of B2B marketers being less progressive than their B2C counterparts is warranted to a degree it appears as if that perception may be changing.
A recent study by Eccolo Media (which is a content marketing company so our research source antennae should be up class) shows that B2B technology buyers are expanding their marketing intake palette a bit. In other words, it’s not all white papers any more. Here is a snapshot of some of the ways that these tech folks are consuming marketing messages over the past six months.


These figures are showing that over the past six months B2B buyers are going to more options like web sites (oh no not those!), social media, blogs, video and more. What was once purely the domain of the white paper, tech B2B marketing may be changing to a more digital look. It only makes sense in the technology sector but maybe you were as surprised as I was to see that this sector isn’t as digital marketing savvy as you might suspect.
One additional finding of the study showed that the inclusion of a sharing option actually increases the perception of just how influential the content is. Here are the findings.

The report posits that maybe people perceive that content that is worth sharing carries more weight. In other words, if you, the marketer, want someone to share it then it has to be right? Unfortunately, in a world where less and less critical thinking is taking place this line of thought could be very real and something that needs to be considered in any marketing not just in the B2B space. You almost have to take advantage of the mindless passing along of information that is being fostered by social media etc even though it may not be of the highest quality “referral”.
Do you see significant differences in the way that B2B marketing is taken in? Is this shift toward more online collateral options a surprise? Did you think that the B2B space was even that much different than the B2C space?
So many questions with many potential pilgrim answers. Let us know your thoughts on this in the comment section.



                                                                                        Vikash singh
                                                                                       PGDM-3rd

More Than Half of App Downloaders Do It For Free 0

You have a mobile phone, right? How many apps are on it? How many did you use today? How many did you pay for?
If you’re typical, each answer should be a smaller number than the one before it.
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project says that we’ve crossed the halfway point for mobile phone app usage. A full 50% of all adult cell phone owners have apps. That’s double where we were only two years ago.
But even with the rise in usage, the demographic remains the same. App users are younger, more educated, upwardly mobile urban or suburbanite. Adding tablets into the mix hasn’t changed that at all. The only real difference is that women have nearly caught up to men in regard to app downloads.
So downloads are up, but usage is still a mixed bag. 51% of users said they use a handful of apps at least once a week. 31% said they use six or more on a weekly basis. Even so, we all have many more apps that we rarely, if ever, use.
Maybe this is why only 46% of downloaders have shelled out hard cash for the privilege. Of those people, more than half spent under $5. Personally, I’ve only ever paid more than $5 for one app (Pages) and it stressed me out to do so. It’s silly, since I’ll drop more than that on a fast food lunch without blinking, but apps have a perceived price point ceiling and $5 is it.
If you’re selling an app, then the best demographic to aim for are male, urban, college-graduates over 30 who make more than $50,000 a year. A popular demographic, and not just for apps!
What kinds of apps are most popular? Games still get the most use and they’re one of the few apps that people are willing to pay for on a regular basis. Now take a look at this chart. This is the percentage of people in each demo who downloaded a shopping app.
I guess real men do shop online.
If you’re in the mobile app biz, or even thinking about getting into it, download the free report from Pew. It’s loaded with detailed information about what’s working and what isn’t. All you have to do is click here, no app required unless you’re reading this on a tablet in which case. . . you know the drill. . . there is an app for that.


                                                                                    vikash singh
                                                                                    pgdm-3rd

Moneycontrol Bureau

Moneycontrol Bureau:
The US markets recovered from their day's lows to close higher with more than 1% gains after FED Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the FED may look to reinvest in mortgage backed securities to provide additional support to the weak housing market.
Stocks shaved their gains earlier after the FED slashed its growth forecasts and following a report that said the sixth tranche of loans to Greece may not be paid until after Greek referendum is held.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.53%, the S&P 500 index gained 1.61%, while the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 0.87%.
FED statement:
The FED leaves interest rates unchanged and announces that they are holding off on any new actions to aid the economy, but left open the possibility of taking further steps in the near future.
In addition, the FED cut its growth forecast to between 1.6 and 1.7% for 2011.
US economic data:
US private-sector employers added 110,000 jobs in October. Weekly mortgage applications rose last week,  as demand for both purchases and refinancing gained.
Data to watch out for:
Jobless claims for the week is expected to come out today. Consensus figures indicate a decline from 402,000 to 400,000.
Factory orders for September is expected to remain the same month on month.
Meanwhile, the ISM Manufacturing data for October is expected to indicate an uptick to 53.5 from 53.
Also productivity and costs data for the third quarter is expected to come out today. NPN Farm Productivity is expected to improve.

BY-ANKIT KUMAR

Big Brands Like Facebook, But They Don't Like to Pay

Everybody wants to be liked. The question for Facebook Inc. is how much advertisers are willing to pay for the opportunity.

Companies That 'Like' Facebook Ads

View Interactive

See the number of ad impressions from major marketers in September, and the portion that appeared on Facebook.

• More photos and interactive graphics

The centerpiece of Ford Motor Co.'s online campaign for the 2012 Focus was a free Facebook page hosted by an orange-colored puppet that in a few weeks won over a new, younger audience for the once-stodgy compact.
Ford spokespuppet "Doug" drew crowds to online conversations and videos that starred him clowning around the new Focus. Doug inspired more than 43,000 Facebook users to click "Like," the icon that broadcasts to friends a thumbs-up approval of a brand or product.
While Ford shelled out an estimated $95 million to advertise the new Focus across a broad range of media, it spent just pennies on the dollar for Facebook ads.
Facebook's estimated market value, now in the neighborhood of $70 billion, is founded on the belief that companies will spend big to advertise on the site. Facebook's revenues, which come largely from ads, were $1.6 billion in the first half of this year, up $800 million from a year earlier.
But most of its ads were for small advertisers, such as local businesses and small-scale websites, according to comScore Inc. Facebook is under pressure to grow its advertising on a grand scale, and to snag the sort of big brand names who now drive billions of dollars to TV, radio and print campaigns.

 

Watch clips from the Ford Focus "Doug the Spokespuppet" online video ad campaign.

Doug's ad campaign shows Facebook's uphill battle. It mirrors the experience of other brands—including Progressive insurance, Intel and Pepto-Bismol—that chased customers to online social networks. After some experimenting, the companies found they could reach a target audience at a steep discount through what's akin to word-of-mouth campaigns that spring from free


Name - Rakesh prasad
PGDM 3rd

RIM's stock dips below book value amid troubled year

Research in Motion's stock dipped below its book value for the first time since 2002 on Wednesday, highlighting the BlackBerry maker's fall from smartphone supremacy.
RIM's shares were listed at $18.91 (all figures USD) when the NASDAQ index in New York closed Wednesday afternoon -- a figure that is one cent below the telecom giant's book value per share of $18.92. That figure is from the end of last quarter, according to numbers compiled by Bloomberg.
In afterhours trading the stock was up slightly to $18.93.
The latest data suggests a decrease in investor confidence for RIM during a year that's seen a massive service outage, patchy tablet sales and wild takeover rumours.
Those pains were especially felt on Tuesday when the company's stock fell below $20 in U.S. trading for the first time since 2004. The plunge occurred against a backdrop of the company's dropping profits, but also the eurozone financial crisis and a Greek debt showdown.
The stock bottomed out at $18.55 earlier in the day.
With the bad press piling up, it's yet to be seen how RIM will return to its previously iconic tech status as company co-CEO Mike Lazaridis had pledged in late September.
"We understand that the past few quarters have been challenging," he said in a Sept. 15 conference call. "We are confident that we are on track to return to growth in Q3 and beyond."
Though the company has seen a sharp dip in profits, Lazaridis told analysts that he expected strong future sales of the BlackBerry Bold, Torch and Curve handsets.
But analyst Peter Misek with Jefferies & Co. in New York said the company faces fierce competition from other innovative tech giants.
"They are just not selling. They are not competitive," he told The Associated Press last September. "They are getting really hit hard by Android phones."
To help keep costs down while competing in a rapidly growing smartphone market, RIM announced in late July that it planned to cut 2,000 jobs this year. That figure amounts to 11 per cent of its global workforce.



Name - Rakesh  prasad
PGDM -3rd

Carlsberg India appoints Saatchi & Saatchi Delhi

Carlsberg India has recently appointed Saatchi & Saatchi, Delhi, as its communication partner. As part of the mandate, the agency will handle all communication development for the Carlsberg and Tuborg beer brands in India.
Speaking about the partnership in India, Subodh Marwah, director marketing, Carlsberg India, said, “We have an ambition to be the 'fastest growing beer company in India’ and we believe that Saatchi & Saatchi would help us to deliver the desired results. We selected them as they have a mature understanding of the issues and opportunities and are not just able to articulate that, but also manifest it in creative and impactful ways. This is what we are looking for, and which is what they have demonstrated on the other global brands they work on. They are also our advertising agency in a few other countries and the best practices and insights sharing would give additional perspectives.”
Commenting on the development, Kamal Basu, chief executive officer, Saatchi & Saatchi India, said, “We are excited about our partnership with Carlsberg India; we have a strong vision for the brand and we’re looking forward to implementing it the Lovemarks way."
The Carlsberg India account was won in a pitch. Saatchi & Saatchi also handles the brand in some countries globally; in Asia, the agency handles the account in China and Thailand.
gaurav kumar
 pgmd-3sem

Industry celebrates cabinet's nod to digitisation of cable network

The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) has finally passed the much awaited ordianance for mandatory digitisation of television services for all urban areas by 2014.
As per the instructions from Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), this process would be undertaken in four phases.
In a media briefing right after the cabinet meeting, Ambika Soni, information and broadcasting minister said that cable operators will have to abandon analog in the four metros by 31 March 2012. Cities with a population of one million will be covered by 31 March 2013. All urban areas would be covered by 30 September 2014. The entire country will be covered by 31 December 2014.
Analysts as well as the players connected to various segments of the broadcasting industry have reacted positively to the news.
Smita Jha, consulting head, media and entertainment, PricewaterhouseCoopers said, "Cabinet clearance is a step in the right direction, a decision long awaited by the industry. Once the formal approval is received, the industry will await the detailed implementation plan. The Government's decision to set up a task force with representatives from both industry bodies and various arms of the Government to monitor the implementation will, hopefully, ensure that the sunset dates as prescribed are met. It's a win-win situation for all the value chain players in the television industry."
Harit Nagpal, chief executive officer, Tata Sky, said, “This development from the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) is very encouraging to us as DTH service providers. Digitisation of Indian TV services will aid the organisation of the Industry and result in clearer subscription figures for broadcasters. We would like to see digitisation within the said time frame and feel that the acceptance of TRAI’s recommendations on short-term taxation relief for DTH operators would immensely boost this process.”
Tarun Katial, chief executive officer, Reliance Broadcast Network ltd, said, "The carriage costs paid by broadcasters which currently remain high in view of the limited bandwidth of analog cable would decrease post digitisation.This would allow broadcasters, to make higher investments in programming and marketing thus improving the customer experience."
piyush joshi
pgdm-3 sem

LIC invested crores in tobacco firms: NGO

MUMBAI: Should government-run companies invest in tobacco firms? This is the question that Voices of Tobacco Victims (VoTV), an NGO working for cancer patients, has raised after its recent query under the RTI Act revealed that the Life Insurance Corporation of India has invested up to Rs 3,500 crore in various tobacco companies.

"It's the greatest irony that the government spends Rs 10,000 crore on treatment of tobacco-related illnesses while investing Rs 3,500 crore in the industry causing it," said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, a senior cancer surgeon with Tata Memorial Hospital who is associated with VoTV.

On Thursday, VoTV circulated copies of the RTI reply from LIC dated July 15. LIC has mentioned that it has equity shares in tobacco major ITC Ltd worth Rs 3,561 crore, debentures worth Rs 50 crore in Dharampal Satyapal Ltd and equity shares in VST worth Rs 15.65 lakh.

VoTV wants the government to take an anti-tobacco stance especially since it was among the first to ratify the global anti-tobacco framework. The framework was worked out by the UN after it was medically established that tobacco products are harmful and could cause cancer.

"Considering that over eight lakh Indians die every year due to tobacco-related diseases, the government should keep away from such investments," said Dr Chaturvedi, adding that the Norwegian government had taken such a stance.

LIC's Vipin Anand felt that the issue was being blown out of proportion. "ITC Ltd can no longer be considered a tobacco company. It has diversified into FMCG, hotels, books, etc and it also has social responsibility programmes such as Chaupal for rural India. We have had its stocks for long and they carry a lot of weight in the stock exchange," he said.

Regarding LIC's investments in Dharampal Satyapal Ltd, he said, "Like ITC Ltd, this company too has diversified immensely. It has a presence in the hospitality sector as well as infrastructure." However, he added, LIC has been offloading its investments in the third company, VST Industries since 1993. 

ANIMA SINHA
PGDM - 3rd sem

India Verdict on general power of attorney seen hitting property sales

NEW DELHI: Experts analyzing Tuesday's Supreme Court order barring the sale of properties through general power of attorney (GPA) and sale agreements (SA) said the ruling could reduce black money component in deals and bring down legal disputes. However, they added that it would hit liquidity in the real estate market, bringing down the number of transactions in the short term.

Lawyers and property consultants said the judgment would cause hardship to owners who have bought dispute-free properties on GPA and SA simply because paperwork wasn't complete for a proper sale registration. Such owners will have problems selling these properties, senior lawyer Kumar Amit, who works for public sector banks that fund transactions through first power of attorney, said.

The SC had ruled that, effective prospectively from October 11, registered sale deed will be the only valid instrument of transaction of property in the country.

The verdict is likely to affect a large number of property owners. A senior lawyer who vets sale documents for a leading bank estimated that around 70% of property sales in Delhi take place through GPA and SA.

Apartment owners in societies which have not got a completion certificate will find themselves on a sticky wicket because these flats cannot be converted into freehold. Until now, these properties could be sold through GPA and SA. The new ruling will effectively mean such apartments cannot be sold. Experts also say the verdict will raise the market value of freehold real estate while depressing the price of leasehold properties.

Those holding properties on GPA and SA will have to get a sale deed registered if they wish to sell the property in future. But lawyers pointed out that many of the owners may face problems getting sale deeds because their properties do not have a clean title. They said city authorities must share part of the blame for the current state of affairs. "Take the erstwhile unauthorized colonies. Even after regularization, a large number of properties here are still owned through power of attorney because the authorities have never actively facilitated their conversion to freehold. With the SC ruling, these properties cannot be sold as the owners do not have property titles," a lawyer said.

In 2004, the government had made registration of the sale agreement mandatory-requiring payment of 90% of stamp duty and corporation tax-for a property transaction to be deemed complete. Therefore, the government will not gain additional revenue following the SC order. The registrar's office also keeps track of sale agreements which show all transactions related to a particular property. So, a lawyer argued, a GPA and a registered SA were good enough for sale and purchase of property.

As the GPA and SA will not be considered sale documents any more, bank loans will not be available for property transactions which, for some reason, take place through this route. 


ANIMA SINHA
PGDM - 3 rd sem

AdGlobal launches portal, targets 15K pack sales

New Delhi: Internet marketing company AdGlobal360 (AGL) has launched a new web portal, YoFroggy.com, which will provide website domain booking and hosting services to customers in India.
“YoFroggy will provide end-to-end service to our customers from registration of domain name to development of website to promoting and marketing of website. Our attempt is to sell 15,000 packages by end of 2012,” AGL India head Rakesh Yadav said.
YoFroggy has divided its offerings into three categories, viz jumpstart, essential, business plus and enterprise plan, starting at Rs. 1,999, Rs. 3,499, Rs. 4,100 and Rs. 4,999, respectively, on a linux hosting platform. All these packs will have complimentary website builder tool.
“We will also provide free website analysis. In all packs, except jumpstart plan, we will provide search engine optimization service. This will enhance the visibility of website,” Yadav said.
The company will also offer technical human interface support to its customers for Rs. 4,999 to help them use tools for developing their website.
AGL has tied up with Australia-based Melbourne IT​ for providing a hosting service to its clients.
YoFroggy is also providing mobile phone website development and hosting services.


GAURAV KUMAR
PGDM-3RD SEM.

Direct and simple The campaign urges consumers to ask about the benefits and promotions offered by Tata Sky

Vipul Thakkar, executive creative director, Mudra South, has spent more than 15 years in the advertising industry and has worked on brands such as Marlex Appliances, J Hampstead, Xylys, ICICI Bank​ and Killer Jeans.
Campaign
The new campaign by Ogilvy and Mather India for Tata Sky shows two friends in different situations while on holiday—at a parade, outside a Hollywood actor’s home, and at a bank that’s being robbed. But even in the worst possible situation, their experience shows, it always pays to ask—even if it means asking two ferocious dogs to let them into the movie star’s home. The campaign urges consumers to ask about the benefits and promotions offered by Tata Sky.
What did you think of the campaign?
The idea is simple and that’s exactly what is so brilliant about it: Go ahead, no harm in asking. The campaign showcases simple analogies that convey the message beautifully. The execution is flawless and the best part of this three-film campaign is undoubtedly the casting. It’s a coup of sorts. Both the characters really bring alive the insight that all of us take small pleasures in getting freebies in life.
How does this advertisement compare with their older campaign featuring actor Aamir Khan​? Does it work for the brand?
This campaign works wonderfully even without Aamir. In fact, I would go to the extent of saying that it just proves that if you have a strong idea married with perfect execution, you really don’t need a celebrity to make the communication effective.
Which brand, according to you, is doing a good job in the direct-to-home, or DTH, space?
All DTH players have more or less the same things to offer, but how that is communicated is surely a game changer. Over the years, both Airtel and DishTV have lost the plot in communicating what they want to. There are too many messages propagated by too many celebrities (Bollywood personalities, celebrated musicians, sports personalities). But DishTV has got the first-mover advantage and therefore is a market leader. Videocon has no recall, aided or otherwise. Except for Tata Sky, the only other contender that has kept its communication pretty much focused is a relatively smaller player, Sun Direct, and I hope it pays off for them in the long run. But these are still early days, and the friendly neighbourhood cablewallah is far from being extinct.
What must brands keep in mind while working on a category such as DTH, where product differentiation is minimal?
Simplicity, single-mindedness of communication and creating a unique offering, no matter how small, will help any DTH player connect with the masses. Word of mouth also plays an important role, so they need to ensure that they put their money where their mouth is.
As told to Gouri Shah.

GAURAV KUMAR
PGDM-3RD SEM.

TV ad market to expand: report

Mumbai: India will emerge as the third largest television advertising market by 2016 behind Japan and China, said a report.
With a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15%, television ad revenue in India will overtake Australia and Korea to touch $5.4 billion (Rs. 26,325 crore), said the report titled The India TV Industry—Act Two, released on Wednesday by Media Partners Asia Ltd, a Hong Kong-based company that provides analyses of media and telecom industries.

By Sandeep Bhatnagar/Mint

Advertising and subscription revenue of Indian television will grow at an average 12% annually in the next five years to reach $15 billion (Rs. 73,125 crore).Indian television executives said the medium is boosting revenue by constantly reaching new viewers.
“You have new platforms like DTH (direct-to-home) adding 8-9 million homes every year. Naturally advertising will follow,” said Rohit Gupta, president (network sales, licensing & telephony), Multiscreen Media Pvt Ltd, which runs the Sony network of channels.
Also See | Increasing Share (PDF)
Sanjay Gupta​, chief operating officer of Star India Pvt. Ltd, said DTH and cable television together add nearly 40 million viewers annually.
“Investment in building of brands and advertising will continue unabated (in India). The rate of growth is projected in the region of 12-16% a year. This is one of the fastest growing media vehicles,” he said.
Star India tops the report’s rating of Indian television networks, followed by Sun TV Network Ltd, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd and Multi Screen Media Pvt Ltd.
The rating was done on parameters including flagship channels, bouquet strengths, scale, content sourcing—Intellectual Property Right and syndication, distribution leverage, financial strength and future readiness.
“Each of these parameters was assigned weight to the degree of its relevance over the next five years,” Media Partners Asia executive director Vivek Couto said.
Television networks will focus on ramping up subscription revenue to boost growth in coming years, the report said.

GAURAV KUMAR
PGDM-3RD SEM.

3 Unique  Marketing  Takeaways  From  Steve  Jobs :-

With the passing of Steve Jobs, it’s useful to celebrate his life by identifying key learnings from his sojourn through business and technology. Here are some thoughts for you to ponder:

• Don’t hesitate to copy a concept – just operationalize the concept much better than anyone else. They built one of the very first tablet computers – way back in 1987. What Steve Jobs did was combine design and economy of scale to build iPad – the world’s first successful tablet. Yes the design and functionality of Apple’s iPad were beautiful.
• Put work above family – Of course, for Steve Jobs, his work equaled his life. He was certainly not trapped by the dogma of work-life balance. Fortunately, Mr. Jobs was able to leave behind a biography for his kids to help explain his world changing work. Most of us won’t end up with a biographer, of course. But whether you’re a CMO, a marketing manager, or a marketing assistant – ask yourself how many times you’ve used family or personal commitments as an excuse for not being able to find a better solution to a business problem or not wanting to have a tough yet needed conversation with a client or co-worker? It’s a difficult question to consider. Who benefits? Does your career? Your client? Your kid – who senses your disengagement at home because you bolted out of a meeting or left issues unresolved at the office?
• Don’t market stuff, define an experience  - The iPhone, at it’s most basic level, is a piece of software and hardware that costs $180 to make in a factory that suffered a rash of suicides last year. That, of course, isn’t what Apple sells. It sells curiousity, learning, mastery and many other experiences.

           By :

               Pushkar Anand

               PGDM 1^st

Focusing for creating organisation's website

How Customer-Focused is Your Website?
Stalking the Narcissistic Web

You’re at a dinner reception. The stranger next to you strikes up a conversation.

It only takes a few minutes before you realize: “This guy’s completely self-absorbed.” No matter how hard you try, every topic leads back to him. Soon, you find yourself inching away.

Guess what? You can find the same thing on the web. Sites that are egocentric. More interested in talking about themselves than solving customer problems. However, unlike the dinner reception situation, your escape from a self-absorbed website is quick and painless.

(Although there are offenders across the board, the biggest culprits seem to be business-to-business companies and small- to mid-sized firms.)

To heck with product benefits or helping prospects and customers solve their problems – the narcissistic website dwells on the company’s spectacularly engineered offerings, their superior manufacturing techniques, the brilliance of their people, the company’s offices. Is there a place for bragging? Sure, but it’s secondary to the customer’s issues. Too many websites forget this.

When you consider that the average visitor has an attention span measured in seconds, and that he scans the web instead of reading every word, a narcissistic website has the same effect as a narcissistic tablemate: it turns people off.

In contrast, an intelligent website doesn’t leave a visitor stranded, searching for the customer benefits of the company’s products or services. It:

¨      Provides clear statements that are customer benefit oriented

¨      Supports its claims (often using customer and third party support)  

¨      Proactively addresses potential objections

¨      Ushers the visitor into a dialogue

Let’s look at a very simple before-and-after example.

We’re at the website of a widget manufacturer. Their target market? Widget buyers from manufacturing firms.

The homepage leads off with:

"Since 1908, Acme Widget has precision-manufactured more than 10,000 varieties of widgets. What’s the Acme difference? State-of-the-art technology – including the latest laser manufacturing techniques – along with six sigma processes to ensure the highest quality."

Sound good to you? Where does the customer fit in? 

While prospects and customers care a lot about the companies they deal with, they care first and foremost about their own needs. In this instance: “How will Acme Widget solve my problems?”

Here’s another take on the copy:

 “Whether you are looking for red, green, purple or color matched widgets, no other company offers a wider selection, faster delivery or more production-friendly engineered designs than Acme Widget.

Independent tests show that using the Acme ViperWidget can result in improving your production speeds by as much as 35%, while significantly reducing defective rates over traditional widgets.

Great selection. Fast delivery. Increased production speeds and reduced defectives for lower overall manufacturing costs. One name. Acme.

Download our free white paper, ‘Increasing Your Production Speed while Lowering Defectives with Better Engineered Widgets,” highlighting the recent tests of more than five hundred widgets conducted by independent testing laboratory, International Widget Laboratories."

This time, the copy speaks to the interests of the customer. Customer problems – and Acme’s solution – stand front and center. Note, I still referred to the Acme's engineering abilities. The difference here is that the reference to engineering is now linked to customer benefits. 

Imagine a widget buyer visiting two sites: one with the first copy, the other with the second.

 ¨      With the first site, the buyer learns a little about the company, but not enough to differentiate it from the competition. And not nearly enough to understand, and appreciate, the benefits of doing business with the firm.

¨      At the second site, the buyer learns about the company’s wide selection, fast delivery, exceptional production speeds and lower defect rates. All strengths she can quickly grasp. What’s more, the white paper provides third-party support – validation – for the company’s claims.

The underlying concept is simple and an underlying marketing communications truth. The most effective marketing communications puts your customers and prospects first, not your company. By focusing on customer and prospect needs, you are more likely to fulfill your company's needs. 

As obvious as this statement would appear, it is similarly obvious that many marketers don't really follow it.  

A Quick Check-up to Find if Your Company Website is a Narcissist

Pretend you are a customer visiting your company's website for the first time. Write down five key concerns you have related to purchasing these kinds of products or services or choosing a company that you feel (or marketing research indicates) reflects the key concerns of your target market when researching companies like yours. Spend up to one minute at your website. Close the browser. How many of your five key concerns were addressed? How well did they address your concerns? A brief amount of copy addressing a key concern and a link to more detail is fine; no mention of these concerns is not.

Did the web page copy get to the heart of your concern or was it focused on the itself instead of the prospects needs? Use what you have learned to further test your website in front of real prospects and customers. Find out their most important problems they are hoping your website will help them answer and re-design your website around helping them.    

It’s your choice: propaganda that only ends up stroking your company's ego or profits.                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                             Prohit chauhan 

                                                                                             pgdm 1st

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