– K.Ramakrishnan, MD-South Asia, Worldpanel Division, Kantar Mumbai
The Coimbatore Management Association and DJ Academy of Managerial Excellence jointly organized a special talk session by K.Ramakrishnan, MD-South Asia, Worldpanel Division, Kantar Mumbai on the topic “Businesses of Tomorrow- Fears & Expectations” on 18.10.2019 in the Chamber Hall of ICCIC.
It was attended by the members of CMA and its student-chapter members. N.Krishna Kumar, Secretary, CMA while welcoming the gathering stated that if there could be some predictable trends in business to have an idea of how the tides of trade could turn, it would help all the stakeholders greatly, and placed on record that the speaker could certainly give the attendees an insight of what are the possible trends to predict business changes and prepare for it.
The speaker said the topic is essential due to the fact that the news we hear about businesses in general is not a happy one. Economic slowdown, Industrial crisis, job loses etc are often seen in the present and it is vital to know how business operations will evolve in the future.
He cautioned that big businesses are under threat from small businesses as the latter is growing faster. “Small player from Small companies in Small Cities can disrupt big businesses”, he warned. He brought to the attention of the gathering 10 market trends that could change the way businesses will be carried out in the future.
He mentioned that the country will witness a Robust Growth and the consumption rate will rise. The Per Capita GDP which is 1.35 now will rise to 3.79. India’s economy rank before 2030 will be among the top 3 countries (i,e) USA, China and India. He said Brands with Purposes will flourish more than brands that only focus on products. Brands that linked themselves with a purpose outgrew the market by 80%, he stated. Using Coke as an example he said how the soft drink brand emphasised that its purpose is to “Open Happiness”, through campaigns, and how it gained an advantage in the market.
He said the brands that convey its products with a proper story-telling strategy could surface elevate easily towards growth. He mentioned Amul as an apt example. This brand, he said, never beats its own drums but drums a relevant story and makes it align with it, making a smart move that is likeable.
Moving on to The New Influencers, he said the locally famous personalities have the power to influence market. “Tomorrow’s Influencers are from the new media (SNS)”, conveyed K.Ramakrishnan. He cautioned that clients are not going to be loyal as the market today is a Flirters’ Paradise; especially in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods.
One-on-One Marketing, he said is emerging fast in the present due to exponential rise of technology. The smarter devices study a person’s behavior, what he likes, dislikes and what he would love to buy, and brings to his attention about the possible things he would love to take home. Personalised one-to one marketing is rising, said the speaker.
The Physical Business outlets are moving to the Digital Arena, offering great amount of personalized, instantaneous, hassle-free purchase of goods that gives buyers huge options to try at their convenience. He referred Amazon Go for example.Distribution Disruption which also follows the phygital way of business (Physical + Digital) could affect businesses that haven’t adapted themselves for the change.
Warning that Gig Economy could affect every business, he said in 2018, 70% of Indian Firms used Gig Employees, according to the Economic Times 2019.He asked everyone to be open about change, keep on self-disrupting business practices in repeated intervals, learn from anyone and be ready to learn from anywhere; embrace technology on the long run, make proper study of data and suggested them all to enjoy the change.