Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr are all

 ‘User First, Brands Second’ services.

The brands are all over these services now.

But for the most part, these services didn’t do much to bring them.

The engaged users did.

-Fred Wilson

Social media platforms, like Twitter, have empowered customers and provided brands with an alternate access to their markets.  Smart brands are aware that today’s online world is dominated by people who, in turn, may be potential (or existing) customers. Adam Denison, one of the Chevrolet’s main PR guys, says the reason they are on Twitter is – “People especially love to talk about their cars: good or bad.”

The reach, ease and personalized nature of rewarding customer interaction permit the growing popularity of brands.

79% of the surveyed Indian brands rely on agencies for their social media requirements for implementation and roll out of campaigns, according to the E & Y study.

“Brands that want to participate in Twitter need to be committed & be part of the community. This is not advertising” cautions, Paula Drum, VP of marketing at H&R Block.

Twitter is essentially a short message communication tool. We are allowed only 140 characters to convey our message to people who subscribe to us. Some companies welcome the challenge, while others find it tricky. It is worth it, however: almost half of the frequent Twitter users follow brands online. It’s a market which a brand can build and nurture. Twitter marketing has impressively increased brand awareness and a loyal customer base of many traditional and upcoming companies.

TV Guide, who is well prepared for the crazy pace of breaking news, credits Twitter for quadrupling “to 15mm unique in 2 years”.

Best Buy uses Twitter “to help facilitate communication, collaboration and community among our user base. Also to be human and be available.”

The Travel Channel doesn’t believe in overloading the readers with irrelevant information. They only publish what they feel will be valuable to their audience.

Pop Cap, the company behind the popular game Plants and Zombies, found it best to lose the business lingo on Twitter and show everyone the real people behind the brand.

Twitter is invaluable to Dunkin Donuts. Since its brand strategy primarily involves listening to its customers, the social network has made it possible for the brand to collect authentic feedback in real time.

A former barista has taken the Twitter helm at Starbucks and steered the brand onto the screens and into the hearts of millions. Brad Nelson uses tools like Twitter Search and Tweetdeck to manage the Twitter load. Tweetdeck shows you everything you need to see at once, be it trending topics, searches or replies.

Comcast, on the other hand, acknowledges that the expanded operations are responsible for its good load management. The company has multiple Twitter user ids – @comcastbill, @comcastgeorge and others- to log in at the same time.

TWITTERING YOUR BUSINESS

Let’s discuss, how you can get tweeting about your business:-

BUILD

Choose a username wisely, get an account and fill out the profile section to completion. Provide information about your brand. Who are you? Where can the readers find you?  Present a brand story. Use customized visuals. Maintain consistency across all online platforms to aid identification and build trust.

IDENTIFY

Use Twitter’s advanced search to find potential customers who live or work near you.

FOLLOW

You can subscribe to read what others choose to share by following them on Twitter. The social network can scan your email address book and help you find people who you may want to follow – customers, professional contacts and even competitors. Some of your followers will even follow you back.

Note: Twitter has a strict policy against aggressive following so go a little easy on the ‘Follow’ buttons.

TALK

Now that you have spent some time observing, listening and joining a few conversations, you are comfortable enough to send out a tweet of your own. You are ready to talk.

Come up with a communication plan. Strategize your Twitter chats. Promote your business in a way that appeals to your audience. Tweet out discounts and deals to keep your audience hooked.  Focus on what they would like to hear. Complement your tweets with photographs and videos to show people what you are up to and what your product can do for them. Be prompt with your replies. These messages are public and, therefore, can help you better engage customers.

DIRECT

You can use Twitter to drive traffic to your corporate website or blog. You do this by accompanying the links with compelling introductions. Position URLs in the middle of your comments; experts claim this increases the chances of your link being clicked. Twitter tools offer a URL shortening tool, which uses only the first 20 characters of any web address and yet, the end result is a functioning link. This can come handy given the 140 character limit.

INTEGRATE

Place the Twitter Follow and Tweet This buttons on your website and blog. It is important that your readers feel that the content is worthy of a retweet. You can embed tweets into blog posts and you can also share a tweet timeline on your pages for more exposure. Twitter sends push messages to your smart-phone when people mention you, follow you, favorite a tweet, retweet or send you a direct message (DM).

ORGANIZE

You can group your followers using Conversation Lists into customers, potential customers, community businesses, trade organization, etc.

Separate timelines will display tweets for each list. You can keep these lists public or private per your choice.

EXPAND

A hash sign (#) followed by a unique identifier on Twitter makes up what is called as a Hashtag. This is done to identify by topic or shine light on a particular characteristic of a tweet. The hashtag pulls all the tweets linked with that hashtag into one huge conversation. Use a unique hashtag for your brand. This allows customers to find you, and you to keep tabs on brand-related conversations.

MEASURE

You will have to analyze your web presence and performance at regular intervals. Engagement can be adjudged by the number of click-throughs, retweets and favorited tweets. Analytical tools like Buffer and Twitter Reach can provide a more thorough evaluation.

Building a Twitter community takes time as does any branding or marketing exercise. You must focus on building trust. Keep your audience engaged and updated on what you are about. Write honest recommendations for your business contacts. Don’t forget to place your brand’s twitter id on all your marketing collaterals. In fact, integrate all marketing attempts so as to retain the same look and feel. Embrace innovation. And most importantly, experiment with marketing strategies to get a clearer picture of what works best for your brand.

Go forth and tweet away!

Contributed By : Ankita Verma (Class of 2009, IBS Hyderabad)

Generally it is felt that MBA is a course and need to be spent in studying, understanding the concepts and reading the case studies but this used be in 90’s. Presently the MBA is a dynamic degree and is more practical oriented it’s not the time to just study but two years you can utilize in  giving wings to your entrepreneurship, in enhancing your skillset. Generally people do 2 to 3 months internship during the 2 year MBA program but you can utilize the remaining period also in developing skills other than the normal curriculum study.

You can also earn while doing your MBA. Many people have started there venture while still in college and by the time the campus placement come they are earning 10 times of what they being offered as the first job salary.
Few tips of earning money while still in college

• You can start your own venture

You have time during this period to think about some business plans, you can start working towards it doing some research and learn the market dynamics and can start it on a pilot basis and cater to a small market or area and earn money like people have started the concept of chai point in a small area and after seeing its success have scaled it up and open chain of it.

• You can teach your juniors

You are smart and intelligent in comparison to others why not reap the benefit and earn extra bucks. You can on a personal basis can assist and teach the juniors and earn pocket money and can in a way help your parents by being self dependent as well as it also helps to brush up your concepts.

• You can write articles and contribute in publications

If you have a good writing skill set you can use to and can tie up with publication houses or journals and can provide good stuff and you will gain popularity as well earn a place in the market. It’s also gives an edge by understanding the different subject matter beside your curriculum.

• You can score high and can earn scholarship

There is another way of earning by scoring high in the semesters and can save your fee by earning scholarship. As most college these days have scholar ship program’s
It over all will help on saving and save you from the education loan debt burden.

• You can also apply for new scholarships and grants.

A lot of students think that they are only eligible for funding when they initially apply for admission. This is a mistake! There are often new scholarship opportunities for upperclassmen, though they aren’t always widely advertised. You may also be able to apply for external scholarships or grants, which are offered from groups outside of your school .Begin by scoping out bulletin boards on campus and paying careful attention to email announcements. You can also search online for new funding opportunities, and there are apps that you can download for free (or for very little, such as the app Scholly, available for just $.99) that can help you tailor your search.

• You can bring companies to campus placement

These days colleges have various remunerating schemes they pass on the bonus to the students if there bring the companies to the college. You can also on part time basis assist the placement cell in its various functions.

 

• You can do research work for corporate and college

The college bags the project from the corporate in the basis of the quality of the students the college and the inclination of the college towards research. The college can give rewards to students on the basis of his or her contribution in the project.

• Visit Career Services

Most campuses have a Career Services office which counsels students on job market possibilities, and which helps prepare them for applying and interviewing as they near graduation. Don’t think, however, that you should only use this resource as a senior.

• You can often find advertisements for paid internships and part-time work in your field of study at the Career Services office.
• Finding these opportunities early in your studies will not only help you excel in your field and build up your resume, but can add some much need cash to your wallet while you learn.

• Enter academic competitions

You can pretty regularly find advertisements for essay contests and scholarly competitions (such as science or engineering competitions) which offer cash prizes for the top performers.

• Be on the lookout for these opportunities by regularly checking the bulletin boards around campus (begin by looking in academic departments and the library), going through your email carefully, and by going directly to your advisor and/or professors to see if they know of any such competitions for which you may be a good fit.
• Even if you don’t win, you’ll get experience in your field, make connections, and build up your portfolio or work.

• Sell your textbooks at the end of the term

One of your biggest expenses may be the cash you have to set aside for textbooks. You can usually get a good chunk of your money back at the end of the term by selling back your books.

• Campus bookstores will sometimes buy back books, but many campuses also allow independent companies to set up shop at the end of the term. You can also scope out used bookstores in the area to see if they buy used books.
• To improve your odds of being able to sell a book (or fetch a good price for it), take care of your books throughout the semester, and avoid marking up the pages with notes and highlighters.

• Write online

If you are good with the written word, you should be able to find plenty of opportunities to write (or edit others’ work) online. Search for freelance writing and editing gigs. The rates for these jobs vary: you may be paid by the word, be offered a flat rate for a project, or in some cases can be paid an hourly rate. You typically won’t be able to retain copyright over your work or collect royalties, however. Even so, by doing freelance work you can build a portfolio and make valuable connections which may later pay off with more stable job opportunities.

• You can earn from extracurricular activities

If you know something and being an expert whether in playing piano or dancing or in playing something like boxing or taekwondo or yoga or swimming you can join hand with college and can earn by training and teaching people.

• Join NGO

You can also join some NGO and can help them in their functioning and can earn an extra income as well as real life experience.

• Can negotiate with various agencies

Since you have a mass of MBA colleague you can bargain or negotiate with anybody for any goods and services with any supplier or service provider and can save your money as well as your colleague money.

Contributed By : Maneesh Srivastava ( Class of 2008, IBS Gurgaon)

For the new liberalized workforce in India, the impact of words like recession, slowdown, weak economic outlook were alien terms not fully understood.

Socialist India was kept insulated (if not insular) by import substitution policies and macroeconomic policies aimed at keeping the broad contours of the economy stable. This is not to suggest that India, prior to the liberalization reforms of the 90’s was a beacon of stability.

Crisis after crisis, often global in nature routinely struck the nation from independence till the 1990’s. Remarkably all these crises were dealt with a remarkable myopic view which paved the way for the worst ‘shock’ of 1991 when the conflict in Iraq flared up along with oil prices.

Post the ‘liberating’ Liberalization reforms of 1991, the Indian economy became fully integrated with the world economy. The software boom, whose seeds were sown in the late eighties was the recipient of a large pool of qualified engineers at a very cheap price.

Multinationals entered the country primarily in IT, ITES and in manufacturing.

The number of engineering colleges across the country soared, and with it the MBA colleges followed suit.

The problem with any economy being too closely aligned with the world economy in general and the US economy in particular (as was the case with the Indian economic boom, in which the middle class participated in the boom led by start-ups in the IT industry), is that any slowdown, recession or worse, a depression in the world economy (or the US economy) will have significant linkages-these linkages will be strong enough to stall growth and affect employment.

If the 1990’s saw a heady growth in almost all industries and sectors across the country-primarily in real estate which was driven by new found IT wealth in the form of generous stock options and higher salaries to the middle class which simply flocked to the realtors with their surplus savings.

As the US economy grew, albeit at a pace and rate slower than the previous decades, American companies increased spending on services which were offered by India and Indian companies primarily in IT, ITES and BPO.

Unknown to all, the US was heading towards an Armageddon of infinite proportions. The US banking and financial services industry was in the midst of a severe whirlpool of bad debts and stuck in a quagmire of financial instruments often knows as ‘financial weapons of mass destruction’.

The financial ‘meltdown’ so to speak, was long in the coming, but a gradual slowdown in the US economy hurt India in more ways than one can imagine.

The reduced spending on budgets meant narrower margins for the firms servicing US clients in India. Combined with the immense competition among all the companies based in India to serve the US customers, this resulted in severe pressures on earnings (Infosys is a case in point).

Finally on that fateful day in September 2008, the unthinkable happened. Lehman Brothers, which had weathered every recession and economic downturn filed for bankruptcy. The ensuing weeks and months saw many marquee names lining up for Federal government support.

While, we in India had to update our lexicons which had to keep pace with the new harsh reality-Recession and Global Economic Meltdown.

The slowdown in the US based on a few financial instruments had a rippling effect on all sectors, and India’s most sensitive sector-Banking was not spared either.

For students of MBA or for that matter for any batch of students passing out in such a year would be traumatic. How then should the average Joe deal with a recession in India?

Though not adopted by Indian companies wholeheartedly, layoffs have become common.

For starters, it helps in preparing ourselves for the worst. Invariably the economy is usually cyclical, and the bad times won’t last. Companies, when they look to fire employees, look for the ones who have are the most vulnerable-the ones who have performed the worst in the past years, or those in need of a so called ‘Performance improvement Plan’.

In case of these external situations, it always helps to pull up our socks and get to work right away. No company will fire a valuable employee, it is the departments and people whom the company carried in the hope of a better future performance will be sacrificed.

It is important to ensure our performance is always upto the mark, and if it is not, it must be followed by introspection so as to find out the probable causes.

One of the most important things which differentiate any employee who rises fast as opposed to people struggling, is skills.

Skills are not taught officially or formally, not even in the MBA! Skills have to be developed by us constantly through research and updating ourselves with the latest on goings in every field, not only the ones in which we are working in.

Skill development not includes or calls for further formal education or getting more degrees. It calls for all individuals to constantly update their knowledge bank, and pushes us all to go in for new jobs and new companies in which we interact with new people and most importantly learn new things.

MBA’s are groomed for all sectors of the economy and we must take full use of this. When the going is good, we are usually complacent in our jobs and don’t move out as frequently as we should.

Networking, often misconstrued, is one of the tools which help us stay in touch with people from different backgrounds and industries-it is these contacts or their knowledge which helps us overcome difficult times.

As MBA’s we are taught a variety of subjects as well as the course calls for a grueling phase of assignments. it is these sessions and our preparations which will stand in good stead for us during our own bad times.

We, as MBA’s who have not only got the degree in letter but also in spirit must realize and understand the cyclical rough patches in the economy call for our ingenuity in resolving and facing these crises.

The faster we understand and identify our failings, the better it is for us, in the long run.

Contributed By : Sunil Iyer ( Class of 2008, IBS Gurgaon).

A natural disaster, a devastating war, crashing stocks, even shifting mass-interest (courtesy a fresh generation), can cause the breakdown of any market.

Brands lose their natural appeal in a period of chaos. The customers cautiously guard their pockets. And look upon a familiar brand with fear and suspicion.

Failing financial systems affects many businesses. Most companies react to a global crisis like Recession by cutting down prices. Unfortunately, this fathers a price based competition and leads to unproductive markets. In the long run, this harms the economy more than it helps. Money stops coming in. Quality suffers. And eventually a decision has to be taken. Instead, a little change injected into an existing brand can restore its health and subsequently the economy.

After an intense cost-benefit evaluation, marketers either take a stumbling brand to the slaughter-house or to a spa for rejuvenation. The proudest time is when a brand needs to be – and, thankfully, can be – revived. Those who don’t want to join the mounting recession casualties must be ready to take risks.

Re-branding calls for a more persuasive vision to be attached with the brand to ensure that the brand is stronger than before.

Re-brand is not just about buzzing brand words; it’s about re-purposing your lives, finding your true voice and building an authentic brand that impact lives. It’s a call to reexamine our lives, our goals and dreams; to think about why we do what we do, to align lives back to source (God) and connect with the hearts of people. It’s a movement, to help, to add value, to create meaning, to impact lives.

― Bernard Kelvin Clive, RE-BRAND: The Ultimate Guide to Personal Branding

Re-branding is achieved through savvy marketing campaigns and heavy quality control. A brand make-over is impressive and usually rooted in a strategy that imparts increased value.

RE-BRANDING STEPS

Hanging a sign on a cow that says ‘I am a horse’ does not make it a horse. – Unknown

1. OBSERVE CONSUMER TRENDS

During an economic upheaval, holding on to your customers’ trust may seem like an impossible task. However, studies disagree. Relationships built with customers during a time of turbulence have been found as strong and long-lasting. When the money is tight, the customers look to the brands to take a proactive step in order to provide them some relief. Find out what they need and then provide it. If your customers know you care about what they want and that you truly understand them, they’ll be more likely to stick by you.

So the first re-branding step is to pay attention to your existing and potential customers as well as their changing needs. Staying up-to-date with the trends is essential.

Luxury fashion brand Dior wasn’t doing too well during the Recession of 2009. A decision was taken to reinvent.

The designs and cuts in the new lines offered accessibility, a quality previously not specific to the brand which was well known to be over-the-top. Changing product aesthetics helped the brand to better match customer expectations. Still a piece of art, the clothing could now be adorned by women in the real world too.

As a result, the company’s sales figures steadily increased by 36% over next four years.

2. STRATEGIZE

While re-branding, the core of the business must be maintained. And the points of difference, leveraged. Consumer trends research is an asset which no brand can afford to overlook. Employed in times of economic turmoil, it can answer important questions; Shine light on the issues and show a way to redemption

Next, tackle your shortcomings. That will take care of half your problems.

Can you justify your weaknesses? Or present an aspect to a weakness which can be considered favorable?

Strengths are always handy but it can take them time to adjust against economic fluctuations of global scale.  Use your strengths to ensure that your modifications can make a difference.

The difference that the change makes ought to signify value to your customers. Keep the message clear. This is very important while re branding so as to not confuse the customers, especially during a recession.

Aim at staying relevant and creating demand. Keep the brand vision and goal but find more apt means to get there.  If the perception of product can be changed without changing the product, go for it.

Starbucks was suffering from a recession slump, dipping sales and anti-globalization campaigners. In 2011, the company ‘meaningfully updated’ their logo and marketing strategies, which bumped up the sales substantially.

The brand got a face-lift and came out more consumer-responsive. The internal creative department freed the Siren from the ring, and the company from recession.

Old Spice too changed more than its packaging to stay pertinent. The original Old Spice Ad targeted women. In 1938, the next year, the target audience was men.

Recently the brand has risen to fame again through creative video content. It made sure it was all-pervading in social-media. It marketed everywhere. And once more it became a relevant brand.

3. SPEND

Spending may seem counter-intuitive during a poor economy and lowered sales. Do it anyway.

To retain the core audience, attract new ones and expand market share at such a tough time will entail fulfilling marketing strategies. And a decent amount of money is needed for that.

Invest to facilitate returns on investment. Sow to reap. Keep your wits about you while spending but do spend.

Lego started manufacturing its iconic plastic building-blocks in 1947. It faced competition over the years from electronic toys but still managed to stay relevant. How did it do it? The brand did this by churning out new product categories at habitual intervals and associating itself with popular culture through other brands such as movies and television shows.

TAKEAWAY

For any brand, a recession after-math would feel equivalent to roasting in hell-fire.

When the consumer feels the pinch on the pocket, he becomes less generous, less forgiving. He turns more selective and seeks purely value for his money.

However, a recession need not mean a death sentence for faltering brands. Trying times tend to either expose or amplify brand weaknesses and present an opportunity for revision. Brands must take advantage of this time to bond with consumers. While maintaining the original pillars, they must plan, invest and redefine. They must do this to stay relevant and survive an unpredictable economy with the least amount of injuries.

So when you feel the heat turning up, feel free to refine the recipe. But do preserve that unique taste. Think about tweaking the recipe a little… or a lot. Maybe use a different mold. Add in new spices. And bake yourself a deliciously redefined brand.

The power of the brand is not in the name but what has been invested in that name over the years.

― Bernard Kelvin Clive, RE-BRAND: The Ultimate Guide to Personal Branding

Contributed By : Ankita Verma (Class of 2009, IBS Hyderabad).

 

Many times, we are not sure if we would like to be part of a team or become an individual contributor. We are not able to make this choice due to a mix of our behavioural characteristics and past experiences. Several studies have indicated the importance of teamwork over indidivual contribution and vice versa. According to a research by Professor Barry Straw from the University of California at Berkeley, firms that promote an individualistic behavior are better at generating innovative and creative ideas than firms that a team-based culture. Another research shows teams are more productive than individuals.

But according to my experiences, any of these traits does not have an upperhand over each other. It all depends on the situation you are facing. In most cases, the choice between teamwork and individual contribution largely depends with an individual.

So we must ask ourselves following questions before making a choice between the two:

 What is your main objective?

Whatever you wish to do – be a team member or play an individual contributor role, consider the broader picture. Have an overall view of what you want at the end of an assignment. Ask yourself, if you would require people’s support to accomplish a task? Ask yourself if the activity could be better performed in a team or is it just one person’s work? Answering some basic questions like these will help you take an effective decision quickly.

 How much time you have?

Timing your requirements is a very critical step of every assignment. If you are leading a project and there is scope to involve more brains, you must try to do that. Diverse perspectives always bring greater insights to the project. However, you should have the time to incorporate everyone’s viewpoints. When you are facing a time crunch already, it won’t be a good idea to collaborate with a lot of people. In today’s world, a team does not always mean people sitting with you. It could mean people in different geographies as well. So, it becomes a challenge sometimes to coordinate with various parties and deliver the output within a stipulated time.

 What do want to learn out of it?

Always consider what do you want to learn from an assignment? Ask yourself if you want to understand group dynamics and learn to handle different behaviours or do you wish to learn working independently? The project will come to an end, but your learning will stay with you forever. So make an optimal choice of what you would like to learn.

 Which skill is more important for you in the long term?

Both teamwork and individual contribution can equip you with various skills. If you think you want to handle complex projects in the long term which are large in scale and size, it is always better to start working in a team from the beginning. Effective teamwork allows people to achieve project goals which are too complex for an individual to do alone. On the contrary, if you want to focus on small but very niche and specialized assignments, go as an individual.

While you answer the above questions in order to decide which role suits you better, there are ceveats of working in a team and contributing individually.

 For teamwork:

 Are you ready to share success?

Project success is not your success alone. It needs to be shared with everyone. There could be times you would have contributed more than any other individual in an assignment, but you should be prepared to share the success. Once you decide to work in a team, you cannot boast later of your greater role in the project. Teamwork brings great pleasure when people who you work with grow along with you. However, if a project fails, you are equally accountable. There is no backing up by letting others know that you contributed very little.

 Are you ready for controversies?

Teamwork is not a cakewalk. There will be different people trying to prove (sometimes impose) their points. You should be ready to handle the disagreements that come along with teamwork. If you decide to be part of a team, learn the art of ‘strategic handling’. Handle situations in a manner that the overall objective of the assignment is not hampered. Listen to everyone and try to resolve the issues as soon as possible.

 Are you emphatic?

While working on an assignment, a team member could fall ill or there could be another emergency at his/her end. You must be ready to let your team member go at that particular moment. You must be ready to put that extra bit in the project. You become a great team member when you consider everyone as equal.

 For individual contribution:

 Are you really sure?

First and the foremost thing for an individual’s contribution is to be 200% sure. It is not an easy game. You are responsible and accountable from start to end. You are the only person who will take care of the smallest as well as the most crucial of things. And the catch is, once you are in, there is no looking back. You have to stick till the end, come what may. So, be sure if you are really a person who can swim the waves without hesitation.

 Will you be able to handle crisis situations?

A crisis can occur to teams or individual contributors. But in contrast to a team, an individual contributor has to deal with such situations alone. Although these situations are very valuable for the lessons learnt from them, the question is, do you have the commitment, attitude, will and the zeal to outperform a crisis situation? If yes, you have a long way to go.

 Can you sustain it?

Individual contribution looks fancy in the early stages of your career. This is mainly due to high energy levels, less number of assignments and the sheer joy of success and appreciation. But in the long term, be an individual contributor only when you can sustain it. When you grow in your role, you want people around you to help you. Even a king has his people with him to run the kingdom.

 You are not always a individual contributor and not always a team player. You can play both roles. The choice is yours!

Contributed By : Virag Jain ( Class of 2010, IBS Mumbai).