Marketing Books read in 2020 - #1 "Hooked" - Key Takeaways

2020 had been another great year where I read more books rather than just buying them. Read some insightful books on business and Marketing. 

Here are quick takeaways from "Hooked" - by Nir Eyal; a superb book on understanding what is needed to be coded in products to make them habit forming for consumers resulting in high LTVs and high loyalty. Must read for folks in #Marketing or #Product Management.

The habit loop has been covered in many books earlier, but the investment leg in the loop is something worth noting as to why with time an app or product becomes more sticky!

Loved Nir's earlier book as well 'Indistractable' which was on how to keep urself focused and not distracted by habit forming products.

Key Takeaways -

Which Marketing/Business book you recommend?

#books #marketing #brands #consumer #psychology #productmanagment 

Why Kelloggs Upma or Maggi's Poha make perfect sense?

#Kelloggs Upma or #Maggi's Poha make perfect sense!

The brand known for being no 1 Breakfast brand with its cold breakfast offerings - corn flakes, muesli; launched Upma recently in India. This drove a huge wave of Indian-proud #memes that the #brand which wanted to change how Indians have hot breakfast had to change itself :)

 But thinking 1 level deep, for a brand like Kellogg's or say Nestle's Maggi who has established good #DISTRIBUTION over decades of existence, known for international standards of #QUALITY & nutrition as well as #EQUITY for its brands; does it not make sense to enter new adjacent category? For Kellogg's, its still its own breakfast category!

 If the choice is between lesser known brands like Mom, Mother's and popular ones like MTR, Kellogg, Maggi in a supermarket; chances would be that one would pick the more familiar one! Power of first 3 factors mentioned above.

Kellogg's also would score high #brandequity on 'Fit & healthy' - the same elements that a consumer is looking for, when he is looking for Upma apart from AUTHENTIC #TASTE which brands have to really pass test on.

Maggi we swear by, or Bata we believe as Desh ka Joota are both foreign brands. Only time will tell.

#Marketing #Consumer #Foods #India

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What you achieve in life depends on how you treat your TEA!

What you achieve in #Life depends on how you treat your #TEA

Time. Energy. Attention

#Time - How do u spend your daily 24 hrs have a direct impact on what results you get. Do u spend large chunks of time getting sucked on your phone watching photos on fb/reading watsapp chat? Spending much time on your couch vs a workout/book; then blaming OTT? 

👍Tip - Keep track of your time that it goes where u want. Guard ur time and time block ur schedule.

#Energy - In the finite time we have everyday, we can get more done if we have higher velocity enabled by loads of energy.

👍Tip - Add an active life element (choose a physical workout - gym, run, yoga etc) + better food habits and stick to timely food. It will work wonders to your energy while u crack ur tasks.

#Attention - Attention is precious for you to focus on whats at hand. The precious zone of flow, that u enter when working on something u enjoy. But sadly, this attention goes for a toss due to calls, notifications on ur phone, mind that opens chat or opens email again and again.

👍Tip - Block all notifications on phone. Practise mindfulness. Are u experiencing what u r doing or just losing time? Enjoy what u r doing. Be present.

Do u have more #tips to boost ur #productivity? Share. #work #wfh 

#therunningmarketer

Rural India is the new oasis for internet businesses!

#Rural  or #Bharat will drive internet businesses faster than Urban. Why & How?

👍There are more rural internet users are there (227 mn vs 205 mn urban - 2019 stat) and growing faster.

👍More young internet enabled audience is in rural than urban which would drive growth. (Between 12-30 yrs of age, rural % is higher).

👍 As bulk of this internet enablement is via #mobile broadband; learning is to keep devices/#smart tech dependent on mobile broadband vs fixed ones as of today. This will enable higher penetration vs just wired broadband homes which is miniscule. 

👍The Rural opportunity brings in avenues of #content being '#local' and in 'local language'. For eg, #OTT players would churn more such content to expand the market. 

👍 Internet enabling devices (mobile/#PC/tablets) need to offer affordable solutions for viewing content (big screens, lower computing may be). Laptops to evolve against smartphones or else not capture this market.

👍 #IoT currently is in a frivolous space, it needs to become 'necessary' rather than 'good to have' in consumer's lives. From a voice enabled music player to an enabler of education(kids) or of necessacity (older folks).

Have u seen more such opportunities? 

#consumer #tech #internet #Marketing #smart #therunningmarketer

Surprising Brand Collectibles - From a car branded tequila to pizza blanket!

Surprising Brand Collectibles!

Brand love can make brands to come up with unthinkable limited edition merchandise not even adjacent to the categories they operate in or want to extend thier brand in.

But still consumers love such surprises from brands - be it Tesla Tequilla in a signature bottle making an april fool joke come alive or now an Orginal Pan Pizza Blanket made by Pizza hut in association with Gravity Blankets!

Tesla Tequila has been sold out ($250) and is in great demand as per online articles. The Pan Pizza blanket has been launched recently selling at $150.

Which brands come to your mind where they have done the unthinkable and taken consumers by sweet surprise?

 #brand #marketing #pizzahut #tesla #tequila #blanket 

 #therunningmarketer

Your Product is a Vitamin or a Painkiller - Is it habit forming one?

Recently finished Hooked - How to build habit forming products by Nir Eyal. Have earlier read multiple books on habits, but first time on habit forming products. Its also a must read book for tech product managers. I loved it and recommend to marketers as well, here is a concept of product being a vitamin or a painkiller.

Products are seen as either pain killers (solves a problem u are facing and hence a must-have for target audience - If u have a headache, you require a painkiller; solving a functional need) or vitamins (enables u to become stronger to not face problems later and hence not important to use/acquire immediately). Companies love to have their products become painkillers because then they have a quantifiable market to capture.

To make your product a habit forming one, it needs to be both pain killer and vitamin. Eg. Facebook is a pain killer or vitamin? One can live without it, but provides a good benefit to stay connected with friends. (Vitamin). But after having connected with most friends and pages, it now provides me real time updates, pics and videos that it now has become my boredom killer (painkiller, pain being boredom or even feeling of missing out). So most social media platforms aspire to be in this space of being both a vitamin and a painkiller.

Lets see some other product category -shopping apps? Painkiller or Vitamin? Its a painkiller when I have an itch to buy something i need; on other days its forgotten. It doesn't have that vitamin promise to use everyday (like Facebook). Then, what should shopping apps do to make users visit more often with a habit? Send more notifications to tell about more styles to shop, or deals which are ending by the night? No, that would work only a few times and then u will loose these levers if used rampantly. Then?

Become more emotional than transactional. How? Here are few of my thoughts -

1. Become an Enabler; a Guru imparting wisdom they need - If yours is a fashion category, put up educational content on fashion - styling tips, mixing and matching, current trends, look-books. Get even influencers on the platform to impart this category wisdom; a Rajeev Makhani reviewing products on the platform will add to stickiness. Great Content on a shopping app - Firstcry.com becomes your go to place on baby related queries.

2. Become a Friend; who understands 'the consumer' - Personalize the solve your consumer is looking for. Telling me when i need something the most - Suggestions of gifts for my anniversary (7 days before so that I don't miss it), telling me about the new CSK T-shirt or memorabilia that has come (watch history on partner app/shopping history) or book recommendations from my favorite author (from my shopping history/Wishlist) and so on. Not lame personalization like the Diwali catalogue on Diwali.

3. Become a Community; standing for a common cause in the category/audience and solving consumer pain points. A brand who patiently listens to consumer's trials/tribulations in the category. You might get to know some problems which haven't been solved and can open a niche not served yet. You can even co-create with your users to solve and even empowering them. Consumers come forward to contribute to a cause that they relate to. Further, adding to the stickiness of your app. Some of the strongest community apps/brands take part in your journey to become better - Nike+, Redbull.

Pitfalls - 

1. Point system building Loyalty - Common knowledge tells that points system is a big driver of stickiness or building habits to the app. But that might be history. Consumer today is more fickle for a brand she can trust than loyal to 25 paisa points. Brands today build benefits in their offerings that alleviates the pain faster - Amazon's faster shipping as part of Prime program is that. Even Prime Video alleviates the pain of boredom; bundled in the program.

2. More things added on the platform to build frequency - Another pitfall in my opinion is adding too many functionalities on the app to make consumer come back for one thing or other; might not be right strategy. This can lead to confusion on the interface vs simplicity that alleviates consumer pain of finding a solve sooner. 

What do you think are more drivers of making your app/product both a vitamin and a painkiller? Share your thoughts.

#product #marketing #habits #vitamin #painkiller #growth #book

From ATMs to Wallets to UPI - Structural changes Vs Cashbacks

#UPI beats wallets/card transaction and even ATM withdrawals for the first time and logs 2 bn transactions in a month!

We need to bring in structural changes vs temporary cashbacks.

#Demonetization moved us from ATMs/Cash to Wallets. Irrespective of difficult interfaces.

#Coronavirus moved us to UPI. Now u don't carry ur cash to ur everyday store. Phone is enough. Small retailers helped us in adapting to this change - they changed for us to pay without ill effects of touching cash/card.

#Cashbacks/incentives don't change our habits permanently. Sometimes, we may use one app over another basis offers but in long run it would be dependent on ease of use once macro environment has enabled the need.

Ease of use will determine long term usage. How frustration free is the journey of paying on the app and in least no of clicks to completion. Not the colour of app, or celeb promoting it; but #consumerexperience. The communication helps in making you reach more users who would try to use it once, but it better meet the test of #easeofuse first else the brand might loose me forever.

I wrote earlier on this blog about how digital transactions are helping consumers as well as retailers to offer better products and better personalized experiences Vs cash. Read about it - here

#product #marketing #fintech

Actionsble Insights into building habits

Some #Insights into habit building from my own experience. 

How do i bring in consistency in running for now more than 5 years? Thinking Small.

Yes, contrary to what leadership principles tell, first #think #small when u r developing a habit. Just a km or 2, a walk around the block. Walk or little bit of run, daily. Thats it. Try to stick to a common time. Brain has memory.

Second, make it easier to NOT skip it. Change ur #enviornment! Build  triggers within ur enviornment. I bought runners clothes, shoes, headphones. Put them in the drawing room next to my mobile (with morning alarm) in the drawing room; so that i would have to walk across rooms to shut it. Helped!

Third, i linked my habit of morning tea to run. Wake up, make my morning tea and then after having refreshed, go for a run. It worked. #habit #linking

Fourth, started putting my meagre updates of 1-2-3 km runs on facebook, daily! It brought in a few comments from my network on how slow or lazy i am :) Make it #Public

Fifth, started participating in running competitions that invite u for a 5km, 10km run on the weekend. Helps to see others do it with fun; then why i cant! #Networkeffect

And then u hit that threshold before u enjoy. #Compounding catches up and takes ur curve up!

#Habits #Running #Passion #Life

Psychology + Marketing = 6 Principles of Influence

#Psychology & its linkage to #Marketing is a must-know topic for every marketer. Have read recently #Influence by Robert Cialdini and is a must read.

Here is how these principles work in short -

U walk up to a store for cookies; you see 2 jars - one is full and other is nearly empty; you pickup the last 2 cookies from the second jar! Principle of #Scarcity. That's what is at work when u shop (last 2 items left) or deal last 12 min 30 sec.

U are thinking of purchasing a laptop; you filter known brands & specs & price and then buy the one recommended by your followed Tech Influencer - Principle of #Authority at play. The reason why you see whitecoat wearing actors acting as docs in ads for health products!

U love #IPL and want to try a fantasy league app. U are a level headed guy and worship Dhoni; you download his endorsed app. If you are aggressive & expressive, chances are that you would take Kohli endorsed one. That's principle of #Likability.

In a restaurant u finish ur meal, the waiter brings a complementary dish before your bill. The unexpected gesture leads you to put in higher tip than before. That's principle of #Reciprocity. Principle of #Reciprocity is why you see lot of companies giving you valuable free resources at first to drive the desired behavior of purchase when u r looking for a product/service in that domain.

When purchasing products online or trying a new brand; you look at testimonials and reviews to understand whether it is been tried by large number of people. This is principle of #SocialProof. Brands must build enough traction with early adopters & get their endorsement (rating/reviews on playstore) to get this principle going before gunning for exponential growth.

We buy a certain brand and are happy with it. Market throws another brand of similar attributes. We tend to remain consistent with our earlier behavior and stick with the old brand as we are compelled by this principle of #Consistency. Consumers try to remain consistent with their own commitments. Thus if a brand is being referred by u to another person, chances are that next time u will still continue with same brand remaining consistent with ur own made endorsement.

One must leverage these principles in marketing/sales and even your interactions with humans. Yes, workplace behavior or what we call politics is also influenced by these principles. Here is again these principles at play at work -

Ur boss is a cricket worshipper with such a passion that he wears his IPL team's colors to office. Applying principle of Likability, u start talking about IPL matches at work and suddenly u find a soft-corner in ur boss's heart. Bad, if u love Messi! and the game of soccer. Develop the interest now or else u will be left behind.

Ever realized that in a meeting u said the right thing, but no body noticed? Thats because people don't just listen to what you say, people first assess it basis who is saying it! Thus, you need to apply 2 principles of Consistency and Authority to develop a niche for yourself at work. You can build authority by doing a project over the topic, writing a paper or a doc and then safeguarding/tom-toming the same in multiple forums/meetings consistently. Then, one day people will even listen to meaningless things you say in meetings in that domain.

U build your allies at work with constant comradarie and offering for help anytime. You have to be proactive about the same and take initiative first so that the other person feels obligated later via principle of Reciprocity.

Do you have more such examples?

What's your North Star Metric?

 

What's your #NorthStar #Metric?

With advanced Tech, there is progress in scope of measurability (Mktg included) as well as pace of #measurement (real-time/not) of actions in a business. However, it is easier to loose focus and get so overwhelmed with infinite metrics; that ultimately we might forget why we are measuring metrics in first place.

It is thus advisable to work with one/few key metrics called as North Star Metrics which can help align all teams together to a common goal as a measure of progress on that goal ideally key driver of a business. The way to determine your essential metrics is to identify the actions that correlate most directly to users experiencing the core value of your product. For example -

Social Media Platform like #Facebook / #Linkedin / #Twitter- DAU/MAU - Daily/Monthly Active Users. Activity breeds engagement which breeds UGC, Network effect which drives UGC to more users becoming active and driving core value of 'connecting together' + ad revenue.

Mobility players #Uber/ #Ola) - No of Drivers/Riders in a location - Core value of app is to get instant ride on demand, which is linked to availability of drivers; which in turn is dependent on demand (riders).

Accommodation booking players like #Oyo / #airbnb ; no of hotels listed/ and no of reviews would drive the revenue lever forward. 

What's your North Star Metric?

#Marketing #Data #performance #marketingissimple