"I know you, and what you did last decade"

Scenario 1

You are going on a long awaited date. Everything seems to go as expected, until your date becomes too judgemental and starts talking of things from your past life that you thought were long forgotten. Whats more, she draws up distorted conclusions about your character based on that. Hardly the end to the date you envisaged.

Scenario 2

You interview for that dream job. You think you are the perfect fit.You handle the technical questions with a panache as only you can. The HR round also went pretty well, though you wondered why the interviewer had a preconceived notion about you not being a team player. You did not get the job.

Scenario 3

You start getting mailers selling your favourite products. Initially it was “delighting” for you, until it turned creepy and you feared invasion of personal space. How the heck are they getting to know?

Flashback : Your IIM Days

The reasons are not hard to find. It was during your IIM days that you had 24 hour net connectivity, and lots of time, sitting in classes, posting blogs and chatting on facebook, orkut, posting on auto forums, self help forums, and what not. You did not think twice about posting, cribbing about your romantic interludes and fights and make-up’s and emotional trauma and emotional highs. Even sexual escapades when you felt adventurous. The habit was carried forward into your first job, when you posted about the problems you had with your boss and your team. Of course, your posts and surfing habits included hard to get information about your innermost desires and preferred consumption patterns. Before someone meets you, they have already met your web personality, based on your web footprints that are strewn all around, mostly unknown to you,and are quite unmanageable.

It is a fact that companies would increasingly do web checks before hiring you. That’s where they see your real unadulterated self uncoached for interviews. With all the raw pitfalls, many times distorted and multiplied manifold. It’s a fact that online posts happen more often than not when you are low. Hence it is more likely to be negative than positive. And it sure is uncomfortable when any new person already has a distorted view of you before meeting you. Whether it is a positive thing or not is debatable. But being part of a generation that was not brought up with the internet, rather found it in adolescence, such scenarios seem scary to me.

Exploting the Phenomenon

As marketeers, the power of exploiting this phenomena need not be overemphasised. It really is the next big thing in marketing where you get a very powerful tool to get to know your customers. The power of google analytics and facebook crawlers etc. are well known. Also, spreading awareness about your product through the blogs and facebooks of this world is already happening, in newer and most innovative ways. This is going to be the primary mode of marketing in the West. In an Indian context, where the tech savy urban dwellers coexist with the vast rural markets, bot traditional media and the internet would coexist, especially since tapping the rural markets is the next big thing in India.

Although this is a bit of an extreme picture I have painted, be aware of the immense power and the undeniable immediacy of such a reality and manage your web brand and web footprints carefully.

Keep Smiling

There have been loads said about how powerful a weapon a smile can be. Right from alleviating suffering to confessing love to soothing nerves to disarming someone to prepare for a calculated intellectual attack.

But this is about quite something else. About hedonic consumption of a smile. By people around the “smiler”.

Listed below are some of the mechanisms by which people “consume” others’ smiles to feel good themselves.

Aesthetic Value: This typically refers to the beautiful smiles on the pretty and handsome faces. For example, it just looks aesthetically pleasing; even to see a well practised and essentially planted smile on a model’s face. The varieties of smiles and faces are endless and some are striking. A Typical "cute smile" has pierced many hearts.

State of Mind: You often extrapolate a smile onto a person’s internal state of mind. The happiness exuded by an upbeat person is contagious, even if it is a stranger. If it is a friend or a relative who matters to you, it is especially pleasing to imagine that they are happy. The level of satisfaction is directly proportional to how much you care for the person. Conversely, it depresses you if signals cause the reverse inference. Also, more often than not you can immediately detect a fake smile, which doesn’t trigger those positive feelings.

Achievement and Pride: It is heady to see a sportsperson or another achiever you idolise smile, after overcoming odds to achieve something. The sense of pride achievement transfers to you and makes you feel good.

Charm and Love: It’s hard to describe the emotions a mother goes through when she sees her baby smiling for the first time, and ever thereafter. For onlookers, the pleasure might be nostalgic.

Gratification from Gifting a Smile: Bringing a smile on someone’s face is an exhilarating feeling. People might experience it to varying degrees but it does feel fulfilling to be able to make someone smile by your actions or words. End of the day it is a self-centred activity to feel good yourself.

Love: It feels pleasant to see a couple in love(of all ages) flashing smiles at one another. The range of emotions signified by the smile could extend from excitement to naughtiness to warmth to assurance to contentment. The value of that smile for the significant other need not be emphasised. But for the onlookers, the pleasure might be due to accessing schemas in their mind which contain their own warm relationships, or due to aspirational value. This can be extrapolated to include familial relationships too.

Escapist Value and Aspirational Value: A person in suffering might get a momentary high by forgetting his suffering and participating in someone else’s smile. Similarly, aspirational value of being in a similar situation feels good.

So be cheerful and keep those smiles coming. We don’t mind even if the charm is effusive.It's not only for your personal happiness, but also for the consumption and satisfaction of the onlookers. Perhaps it can even result in a reverse feedback - knowing that your smiles make others happy could enhance your joy!

Keep Smiling!

Learning as Consumption

An analytical look at one of the exchange processes that forms a huge part of our lives at this stage of our existence. A consumer behavior perspective on the Teaching-Learning process. This post intends to introduce the major actors, the supplier and the consumer, and some of their characteristics and classifications.

Service Provided : Teaching, all levels including schools and colleges
Supplier : The Instructor
Consumer : The Student

Consumer Needs

The primary needs of the consumer have been identified as follows. It is pertinent to note than some needs might be latent and she might be unaware of the same.

Content : Relevance and Usability of Content
Comprehensibility : If the concepts taught are understandable easily
Internalization : Internalization of the concepts as against superficial and temporary learning
Fun Element : Hedonic fulfillment in learning, and "chill" factor of the course
Enthusing : Sustainance and furthering of interest in the subject

Consumer Classification

Consumers have been classified on the basis of two parameters, their perceived ability and the amount of effort they expend. The size of the bubbles represent their achievement levels, larger bubbles signifying higher achievement

The Slogger : Low ability but High effort levels, moderately low achievement
The Loafer : Doesn't really care and achieves low on account of low ability and effort.
The tenacious : The quintessential persistent worker who makes up for average ability by her hardwork and achieves moderately
The Underachiever : The typical "chill" person who manages to achieve moderately due to her innate abilities,but has potential for mych more, if only she believed in hard-work.
The Genius : The typical "genius" who manages to achieve high with little effort due to her intrinsic abilities
The Brilliant : The perfect combination of ability and effort, hard to catch.

Supplier Classification

The suppliers have been classified on the basis of their knowledge of the subject, and teaching skill.

The Insipid Reader : The Typical Read-out-from-the-slides while-the-class-sleeps instructor
The Caricature : The one with interesting idiosyncrasies, Knowledge and Skill level variable
The Thought Provoker : The High knowledge individual who believes in an involved pedagogy which makes the consumers apply themselves
The Customiser : The one who understands the customer and delivers customized service according to the segment, often resulting in huge popularity
The Intellectual: The master in her field but lacking skills to connect to the target audience
The Sincere Slogger : Moderate and advancing knowledge levels and moderate teaching skill, but sincere to the core
Ideal : The perfect combination of mastery in her field and an innate ability to connect to the customer

Types of Consumption

The consumption characteristics have been classified into the following categories, which are not mutually exclusive.

Utilitarian : The Student who intrinsically believes the learning shall be useful and applicable in her life, result in returns and is indulging in a simple exchange
Hedonic : The ones that primarily enjoy the learning process, enjoyment could arise from challenges, or the fun element introduced by the instructor
Symbolic: Consumption for the sake of getting a tag,probably in the belief that it would be useful(Monetary/Marital?)
Consumed Consumers : Extreme Combination of Utilitarian and Symbolic Consumption, people for whom work becomes the centre of their life, at the cost of neglecting other facets
Forced Consumers : The service being forced upon these consumers without their explicit consent or interest

We have all seen examples of each of the above consumers and suppliers and consumption characteristics. Let the analysis flow.