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Not all water under the bridge
The last time that I got involved in Nisadas was to upgrade to Wordpress 2.3 or something like that. The next thing I know, my next spam-deletion visit was met with the news that 2.5 was out and my spanking new upgrade was obsolete! Ah well, so there I went and upgraded…
To be honest, it’s nice. Nice to use Wordpress again and nice to be blogging again. Over the last few months, much has happened.
- September whizzed by and South Africa won the Rugby World Cup (as I predicted to my All Blacks’ fanboy colleagues, weeks before the tournament).
- Sri Lanka fought hard and got into the Cricket World Cup finals, only to lose out to Australia (and don’t even think of discussing the whole squash ball incident).
- I watched the finals of the aforesaid cricket match, whilst running intermittently to the balcony to watch tracer bullets fire at the possible locations of LTTE light aircraft.
- I never got around to buying the new computer, although the people from ABC Computers thanked me for pointing out that their website was a bit out of date.
- I married an amazing young lady. Life has taken a distinct turn for the better!
- I got promoted.
- After much deliberation, I bought a car.
- I got over my suspicions of social networking and finally joined Facebook.
- The guys at Vesess totally amazed me with their new look and have now gone totally Free.
- A number of blogs that I enjoyed reading have vanished - notably Mahangu’s which is now used by someone else (unless that is, Mahangu.org is written by MW in an intentionally different style).
- The local website for HSBC was revamped and now allows access from a variety of browsers. Haven’t checked whether it works with linux, but there’s no reason it shouldn’t.
- I realised that 34 posts over a period of almost three years (since Nisadas went live) is pretty lame for a blog.
- I also realised that apart from fetish-crazed spambots, no one (well, except for one special person) really vists Nisadas anymore.
So that’s it. Things have happened - not limited to the list above - over the last few months. If you will join me again, you may find out more…
A Super September
It’s going to be a helluva September…
Dhanuka pathirana has started things off with a bang - 277 runs off 72 balls,
The Twenty20 World Cup 2007 is starting soon in September, which means a lot more action on the cricketing front.
When it comes to contact sport, the Rugby world cup kicks off on the 7th, with the videos available for purchase from MediaZone. For a taste of what they offer, not to mention a recap of the recently completed Tri Nations, check out the MediaZone Tri-Nations coverage.
Add to this the fact the Moist von Lipvig will be returning to the pages of the Discworld in Terry Pratchett’s latest book due on September 18th.
September is going to be quite a packed month…
Sri Lankan PC info
It doesn’t help very much when the monitor needs constant gamma correction to work. When the RAM just dies and I’m left with half of the full complement (another good reason to have two DIMMS) things just get ornery.
Then there’s the constant trouble with the network adapter, generally fixed with a reboot. Ditto for the newly fixed SATA HDD (connected via the chinese-made PCI card) suddenly vanishing trick.
By all indications, it looks like I need to upgrade my PC. The dust factor hasn’t helped either, so probably a good dusting is in order before that. But definitely, I need a new power supply, motherboard, processor, monitor and RAM.
Back in my school days, when I was a lot more techno savvy the method of finding out about the costs of putting a PC together meant trawling the shops at Unity Plaza and dealing with people who had no idea about the specs of what they were selling. The vendors in general were pretty clueless about anything that wasn’t in their shops; often they were clueless about what they were selling in the first place. Heaven forbid you even asked them about future-proofing.
But now that we’re pretty firmly in the 21st century and capable of putting world class websites online, I expected a plethora of hits when I searched for sri lankan computer retailers. Alas, I was mistaken.
It seems the same indifference that you can find meted out at so many of the general PC shops in Sri Lanka is now extended to the web. I’m pretty sure this has got to do with the fact that Sri Lankan domestic users don’t present themselves as much of a market. Even better, I’m sure the average retailer must be thinking “well, if they haven’t got a computer already, then they won’t be surfing the net looking for one” and follow that up with “now that they have a computer, they know where to find us”.
Well, it seems that the high-end consumer will always have someone willing to fawn over them for their rupees. But for the average guy like myself who’s rather annoyed at having to part with his money in this age of high inflation and what-not, it looks like the place to go is still Unity Plaza.
I tried out the websites of some of Sri Lanka’s better known retailers. Some of those links can be found at OnlineLanka, but I’ve no idea how updated those links are. As a matter of fact, the only site I found interesting (apart from the ones selling second-hand computers) was ABC Computers. That too, because I was solely interested in prices. My email enquiry from the people at ABC elicited the response that their site was not very up-to-date, but in the process of being updated. Not bad - certainly a step in the right direction
Some of the bigger names have sites with a lot of heavy wording and fancy flash graphics, but little substance. One of the better known companies has only a prototype site up which showcases PC equipment and the descriptions of jewellery.
Perhaps I’m missing something here, but it looks like I’ll have to slip back into my school-day approach of trawling Unity Plaza again… What a waste of time and energy…
The impact of personal experience on a brand
There’s apparently only one Sri Lankan chocolate that’s been selected as a Superbrand. It’s quite interesting that it’s also my longtime favourite local brand.
There’s also a shop that is dedicated to this particular brand of chocolate.
All these things came to mind one day, when I left home one day, seeing the advertisement for the brand’s new status in a paper. That very afternoon, on my way to visit my dearly beloved, I stepped into the brand’s shop to buy a box of chocolates. After making my selection, I handed over the box to the salesperson at the counter.
When she told me the price was two hundred rupees, I handed over a five hundred rupee note since I hadn’t exact notes for that amount.
Her reaction was fascinating; with a sheepish grin and a shrug she tells me that she doesn’t have change. She leaves me standing in the shop with the chocolates in a bag and goes on about her other business, oblivious to my intent to purchase the chocolates.
Puzzled, I asked her again whether she wasn’t going to take my money. She simply shrugged and told me (albeit, with the sheepish grin) that she doesn’t have any change.
This left me with four options:
- Take the chocolates and leave, without making any payment since the salesperson doesn’t seem to want any,
- Go out and change my five hundred rupee note and come back again with exact change,
- Leave the chocolates and buy something different
- Leave the chocolates and go to a different shop
Option 1 seemed a little dodgy and option 2 was absolutely out of the question.
Option 3 was an option, but the fact that I was being forced to overspend or underspend by the salesperson made it a very unattractive option.
So I took option 4.
So What?
Well, in the end the manufacturer didn’t lose out, since I bought the same box of chocolates for the same price at a Cargills. But the experience certainly didn’t impress me with the shop. Not what I’d call good marketing.
The impact of the frontline
The cashiers, the salespersons etc - these are the frontline of an organisation - the operational people. They are generally lesser paid than the managers and executives who put together brand identity and I’m willing to bet that they’re also uninvolved in the advertising of things. However, they are also generally the people in the front line - the people who have the most contact with the customer. Therefore, they are also the people who will have the greatest impact on the customer’s opinion of the product.
My opinion would be that any salesperson would always look at making sure the customer leaves with they want.
When operating a specialised store, it would be safe to assume that the customer has already decided what they want even before they step in (would it be so hard to predict what someone wanted to buy, when they walked into the old Fountain Cafe?). Therefore, the purchase decision has already been made, so its merely a matter of closing the deal.
Failure to do so, doesn’t mean that the salesperson failed in her duties. But it does mean - in my opinion anyway - that she contributed negatively to the brand, especially since the shop was dedicated to the sale of that particular brand of chocolate.
So what can be done about it?
I think that sales persons need to be more involved in the branding process, since they are essentially part of the brand itself. All the money pumped into branding and advertising would be in vain, if the point of contact with the customer didn’t live up to expectations.
Maybe it’s because I read too much of Seth Godin.
UPDATE: Ramit Sethi has an old post, which I think covers the same topic, albeit with a better name for it: The Failure of the Last Mile.
Worldwatch: Free Magazine offer
If you’re the type to be interested in an “environmentally sustainable and socially just society”, then you might be interested in the free copies of the Worldwatch magazine on offer (Note: Email registration required).
Time flies when you’re…
Technically, time is supposed to fly when you’re having fun. However, it also flies when you least want it to. The question that lingers most in my mind is whether the days really are shorter than when I was younger, or whether it’s just the change in perspectives. Most definitely time flies when you’ve been given a deadline and a ton of stuff to do.
The cliche is that the only thing that doesn’t change is change itself.
It’s almost a year now since I left Vesess and it’s been hectic. It’s great to know that the guys are doing well and destined for greater things. It’s a shame that Nidahas and Adahas are off the Kottu syndicate - if only they were updated more often… (GP, Venu - hint, hint).
Mahangu has been offline for quite some time now (or so I think), so the link to his page has become rather redundant.
Meebo has become a lot more shiny and I kinda miss the old site already.
Firefox 2 came out and now I’m wondering how long before it’ll be exactly like Opera.
And that’s my two cents for the month.
Accounting and Creativity are mutually exclusive
Let us talk of things
of cabbages and kings;
Brassica, it shall be.
The cabbage
’tis a wonderful fruit
coloured
bright red.
It grows real slow
and hangs real low
from the topmost branch
of the coconut tree.
With many thanks to Angel With A Pitchfork and her new pal Eeyore. It is very rarely - if at all - that I have felt so light-headed without any alcohol being involved…
p.s.
Apologies to any real poets who might’ve been accidentally referenced by this wanton silliness.
Odds and Ends on a Sunday afternoon
One of the less appealing facets of regular travel out of Colombo can be the radio station that’s on. While this minor annoyance is generally avoided when the vehicle is your own, sharing an office transport leaves you with little alternative.
The nature of my new work is such, that I get to travel in a number of different vehicles driven by different drivers. That practically all of them listen to Shree FM is a fact that cannot be missed. That the same songs - notably “Chandani Payala” (BnS), “Nage” (Centigradz), something about kids ducking into “salons” to dab eau-de-cologne - can be heard EVERY DAMN DAY at more or less the same time is also a rather harsh reality that I escape thanks to my phone’s radio function.
Then of course, we can’t forget the female presenter who does the rather disturbing “Kanamediri Rathriya” and the way she asks the listeners to send in more tragic stories to be shared amongst the general populace. I wonder whether they have a similar show where they share people’s success stories…
Shree FM can also be noted for “Shree Hadhu Gee” (translated: Songs made by Shree). Should you be listening in, you might find the tunes to songs like Rhinestone cowboy, Take me to the Mardi Gras and recently Knock three times accompanied by sinhala lyrics.
All of these little things were in my thoughts today when I noted a rather interesting advertisement on page 92 of the Sunday Observer (It’s a little ritual of mine to browse this lovely newspaper on sundays - I get to know what kind of jobs are in demand, what kind of second hand cars I still can’t afford to buy and revisions to english grammar and spelling that I was hitherto unaware of) about Shree FM being Number One in Sri Lanka for the 14th consecutive quarter.
I found this absolutely hilarious, since I’d read with interest the advertisement on page 75 by Asia Broadcasting Corporation. Written rather emotionally IMHO, it starts off with “It has been revealed that certain rating agencies that compile the ratings of radio stations in the country are being bribed or influenced heavily and in turn are misleading the public” and goes on to warn “Don’t be mislead - take evasive action before it’s too late!!” in all capitals at the end. Whoever did the copy for that ad certainly shares the Dulan Abeyratne style of long-winded-sentences…
I can smell a storm brewing over advertising on radio… But seriously - you absolutely HAVE TO read these two ads together!
On a totally unrelated note, it seems Sucheta is as colourful online as he is in real life, Al-Juhara is hilarious, while Anonymous surely deserves a blog of his/her own.
Anxiety attack
The tension of watching and waiting, wondering whether our boys would actually make it to that score of 352…
…has been replaced with the tension of wondering why there’s black smoke coming from the bambalapitiya/wellawatte area; why there were sirens blaring; why there are people standing about outside offices…
…and the biggest questions - what’s happened? why? what happens next?
Bad habits…that help you get ahead
With a title like that and the words “Learn how your character flaws could give you some real advantages in the workplace.” right below, how could I possibly resist clicking on the link that would help me “Get the full 2006 Careers Guide, free“?
I was then met with the usual marketing tool of signing up before I actually get my hands on the goods.
While filling in my details, I noticed something strange at the bottom: I had been presented with what could be called a Hobson’s choice - I could either get the guide and then receive email from the publishers, or nothing at all.
Being the sort who generally tries to get only that which I want, I de-selected the check box and clicked “submit”.
Oh. That’s very interesting. It reads (click on the image for larger version):
The form was not submitted because of the following error(s).
Please correct these error(s) and resubmit.- The following required field(s) are empty :
I wish to receive relevant information from New Scientist and Reed Elsevier in the future:
To cut a long story short, I was interested in the guide so I went ahead and clicked “yes” and submitted these details.
After that I was redirected to an online copy of the guide. I would’ve preferred a downloadable pdf that I could read whenever I wanted, but hey, that’s not the point.
The point is, was this permission marketing? If we check with the wikipedia, we find that
Permission marketing is a term used in e-marketing. Marketers will ask permission before they send advertisements to prospective customers. It is used by some Internet marketers, email marketers, and telephone marketers. It requires that people first “opt-in”, rather than allowing people to “opt-out” only after the advertisements have been sent.
Why would people offering me a “free” guide want to know my email address and then send me “relevant information”? I think it’d have something to do with marketing their products at a later date. If so, why wasn’t I given the opportunity to opt-out at the very beginning?
I mean, what would Seth say?