At Your (Ser)vice | Nikhil Kabadi

If you search for the meaning for 'a numbers game' on google, this is what "The free dictionary by Farlex" (http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/a+numbers+game) suggests,  "the use of numbers to represent facts in an argument, especially when it makes people believe things that are not true  It's just a numbers game and everyone does it. You manipulate the statistics till they suit your argument." " You manipulate the statistics till they suit your argument."  What argument am I referring to? The marketing argument. Manpuketing (manipulative marketing), to suit your pitch.  With a zillion plus products and services around us, it is a black hole for marketers to come out with innovative designs and slogans to attract customers to the product. Few genuinely dig deep into their hearts to understand the meaning behind what they are offering to a customer, while others scratch the surface for a innovative marketing pitch to meet a sales...

Yup. Where else in India can you go to a shopping mall to file a First Information Report (FIR) and get an FIR filed in 30 mins (including the case interview and filling up forms). To the delight of Bangaloreans , Bengaluru Police (we are yet to make a transition from being a  Bangalorean to Bengalurian ) recently opened India's first Remote FIR Center (RFC) at Mantri Shopping Mall, Malleswaram. Why am I excited about this? Well read on. Last week my friends bike was stolen and the first thing he did was to visit the police station to file a FIR to ensure that police is informed on any possibility of malicious use of his stolen bike. What happened in the police station is not something extraordinary, but a perfectly usual conversation and process. No FIR was filed and my friend was guided in a customer friendly manner to check in all the traffic police stations if his bike had been picked up, as a result of having left behind as a abandoned vehicle or (this is even...

I had the good fortune of listening to Dr. Umapathy Panyala (CEO Apollo group Hospitals, Karnataka) in a forum on use of, and enterprise opportunities in technology for healthcare industry, in India and the world few months back. It was at this event that I was introduced to a book - ' Healer: Dr Prathap Chandra Reddy and the Transformation of India ', an autobiography of Dr. Prathap Chandra Reddy (founder of Apollo Hospitals, which is the first corporate hospital chain in India) by author Mr. Pranay Gupte. I've the utmost respect for medical professionals as they are the truest form of Gods you can touch and feel when it comes to life on earth. I and my family have had the blessed fortune of interacting and getting treated by some of the best doctors (that we could afford!). Some doctors have amazed me with their ability to have a work life balance in spite of the thousands of patients they interact in a year, some with their excellent capabilities and skills and som...

Wow, a bullet train for India on the cards. Cool. Thik hai , it is on paper, but still. At least we have started dreaming big. Well leaving aside the discussion on bullet train or diesel engine trains, I happen to visit a government office recently for personal work and boy! what an experience it turned out to be. It left me wondering are we still in steam engine age? The place of my visit was Survey Office of Land Records Department in Dharwad. Unlike government offices in other places, this office has a group of 5-6 small buildings (more like small houses) nestled in a area of about 5 acres surrounded by trees. The moment I stepped inside their premise for the very first time I was really happy to notice that land records department has maintained and allowed trees to grow and not cut them for more office space. I had to get a plot belonging to my Mother surveyed so that it could be demarcated for future use. Having no idea on what is the process for this, I just went about thi...

It is not uncommon in India to see many products (or services) priced a rupee shy to a round number. The first company that could probably come to anyone's mind is Bata (for a long time they had the privilege of only this distinction, until of course the retail boom). 999/- or 99/- or worse still 399/- and the like are some of the common price labels I've come across. Funny that these numbers' do play a psychological effect in marketing a product towards purchase! So what if I ask you if this one rupee left in the lurch has any significance at all in any of the product/service life-cycle. What if I say this one rupee, let off, to woo the customer is significantly denting the image of a company? What if I tell you only one rupee is required to understand the foundation of ethics and integrity that a company stands on? There have been innumerable (I could not be exaggerating if I say almost all) instances where for a price of 99/- I pay 100/- and never receive the one r...

One of the most challenging question I've come across in my profession as a CRM Consultant is being asked what CRM is. (This blog post not being shared with my manager!!!). Really, tell me how differently can I explain what is Customer Relationship Management about? CRM is essentially just that. It is Customer Relationship Management or Managing Customer Relationships or Relationship Management with Customers!!! I have not come across a acronym that so beautifully and completely explains itself. If I was asked what is ERP, then well that is understandable that Enterprise Resource Planning does not really cling a thought and many will need a more descriptive analogy to ERP. One of the major reasons I believe this question crops up, is, for many CRM has become synonymous with technology. CRM is that über-cool software or a mystical tool that will manage the customer relationships and build on customer loyalty whilst the service provider keeps treating the customers like sla...