Saturday, July 16, 2005
Enterprise in the time of the paranoia
The US consulate in Chennai is a heavily guarded, sensitive area and a harmless electronic flash drive in my purse seemed to inadmissible inside the consulate premises. Now, not having anybody else I could turn to to safeguard it for me for a few hours, I spent a few minutes talking to the other "they-only-serve-those-who-stand-and-wait" until somebody recalled a friendly neighbourhood tea-shop around the corner.
This was a typical "tea kadai" as it is known in Chennai. In a 6x4 enclosure, the entreprenuer has his bottles of home made biscuits, a few branded eats and "packet water" which is purified water in sachets. Cigarettes are the main line of business. But sensing a business opportunity, the shopkeeper had created a small niche at the back of his shop that served as a locker (without the locks ofcourse). So my flash drive and a few other belongings were safely wrapped and placed, a token issued as acknowledgement. My relief at finding such a store was infinite. The consulate trip was successful and I later retrieved my belongings from the shop after paying a non-negotiable sum.
All the four P's of marketing seemed to describe this enterprise best :
Product : this was an utility product with the customer need latent but important.
Price: being a monopoly in this new business line, the bargaining power was solely with the seller. And, price = profit since there were no tangible costs involved !
Promotion : Word-of-mouth marketing ensured there was enough business coming in. Now a blog advertising the services !
Place: Strategically placed, its unlikely competition will find a more suitable vantage point.
A winning score overall !
The US consulate in Chennai is a heavily guarded, sensitive area and a harmless electronic flash drive in my purse seemed to inadmissible inside the consulate premises. Now, not having anybody else I could turn to to safeguard it for me for a few hours, I spent a few minutes talking to the other "they-only-serve-those-who-stand-and-wait" until somebody recalled a friendly neighbourhood tea-shop around the corner.
This was a typical "tea kadai" as it is known in Chennai. In a 6x4 enclosure, the entreprenuer has his bottles of home made biscuits, a few branded eats and "packet water" which is purified water in sachets. Cigarettes are the main line of business. But sensing a business opportunity, the shopkeeper had created a small niche at the back of his shop that served as a locker (without the locks ofcourse). So my flash drive and a few other belongings were safely wrapped and placed, a token issued as acknowledgement. My relief at finding such a store was infinite. The consulate trip was successful and I later retrieved my belongings from the shop after paying a non-negotiable sum.
All the four P's of marketing seemed to describe this enterprise best :
Product : this was an utility product with the customer need latent but important.
Price: being a monopoly in this new business line, the bargaining power was solely with the seller. And, price = profit since there were no tangible costs involved !
Promotion : Word-of-mouth marketing ensured there was enough business coming in. Now a blog advertising the services !
Place: Strategically placed, its unlikely competition will find a more suitable vantage point.
A winning score overall !
