Give your business partners - 'Reason to Believe'

Don’t focus on sales. It is the last stage of all the processes done correctly. The sales you generate because of these processes will last long. Very Long.

Marketing and sales are very different segments. One is all about spending and the other is the only element that generates revenue. But both of them are very closely linked. As are market entry strategist, I guide the companies and investors who I consult in both arenas. With the advent of Pandemic, an element of marketing that has become of great importance is ‘Reason To Believe’. In the recent past, while setting up the business of a few of my clients this became a job of prime importance. Before deep-diving into this concept, let me start by giving you a light feel about what it is all about.

The belief factor has been hit very hard during the pandemic. There are companies that have disowned their employees (thinking that the pandemic is forever) and people who have mislead business partners by giving wrong hopes. Let’s take the example of an employee who has been working well for a company. When the Pandemic hit, for no reason of his, he was being chastised. What started with salary cuts, ended with job loss. There are instances where out of pressure, people have risked their lives (many lost) as there was no option but to move out to earn their bread and butter. Despite this effort when the number did not happen, they were shown the pink slip. The so-called business leader instead of leading their team out of trouble have put their people into trouble. The industry has seen massive retrenchment due to this and it left a bad taste among the people who were asked to leave. While they may have saved the company, they compromised on the ‘Reason To Believe.’

When such a belief system is compromised, it fills doubts in the mind of people. Companies cannot run (or expand) without employees. Therefore, when they will start looking for hiring, they may have to face a tough task. Why? Because the masses will not believe them. If they have done it in the past, they can do it again.

On contrary, there are companies who have under the worst of the situation stood by their employees. Their side of the story is that it is these employees who have built the company. Therefore, taking out money for the people who matter the most is not a big concern to them. In this case, what happens to the ‘Reason To Believe’, is that it becomes solid. There is a strong wave of confidence in the company and people look forward to joining such a corporation. Whether it is a pandemic or any other calamity, they will always get people.

Now, let’s come to the business partner component. By business partner I mean, the vendors, distributors, logistic partners, printing partners etc. They too have their tales. Many incidences have been noted where some companies have misused the funds of the business partners. For instance, a company gets an advance of Rs 1,00,000 from a distributor, and due to some lame excuse, the company has not supplied to the DB. You may think of it as a one-off case. What I want you to do here is instead of 1 distributor make it 50 distributors and then multiply 50 x Rs 1,00,000 = Rs 50,00,000. That is the volume of money the companies can make by playing the trick well. There are credit notes pending and many more things that break the trust of the business partner. When reputation dwindles, the market becomes skeptical to join hands with any company. Then come the terms and conditions with so many clauses into it. Why does this happen? Only because the ‘Reason To Believe’ is compromised.

We discussed two aspects above, let me bring the next and most important part of the discussion. Customers. Why do customers buy products? Yes, they need the product benefit, packing, etc. But along with this they also need a ‘Reason To Believe.’ If they are buying a certain product for long, and the product quality is negotiated do you think they will ever buy the product again? Or say after being a customer for a long period, they realise that they have been paying more for a product that is selling at a lesser cost somewhere else. How do you think a customer will react? In the sub-conscious state, the question that will bother him will be, that, he has been buying a product for a premium that was always sold at a discounted price somewhere else. The answer to what his feeling would be on the ‘Reason To Believe’, is something that I leave for you to decide.

My task as a market entry strategist is of great challenge. I have to help my clients in hiring. There are many questions that I have to answer for the prospect who comes for interviews – Will the company pay on time? Will they supply on time? Will they invest in marketing?

I have to help my clients in setting the distribution partner. Given the current market situation, no one is willing to invest in new companies (although they want to). Why? Because they have burnt their hands in many ways – credit notes, dead stocks, security deposits, and so on.

Retailers don’t want to work with new products. Why? What if the product is up and running and the company is not able to supply it? They don’t want to send back a fixed customer disappointed.

The most important of all, once you have done everything correctly, is the holding period. Does the company have the patience to hold on, till the time the trust is built in the mind of the customer? To explain this briefly, think that you are visiting a store and for the last one year you have seen a brand continuously. You have never lifted it but have always seen it. But because you have been noticing this brand for a long, your confidence increases, and you pick it up. That is what I call the holding period. Why do you need to hold, because people need a ‘ Reason To Believe’. In this case, the consumer mind is convinced that if the brand is present for such a long time, then there has to be something good in it.

Despite all these challenges, during the pandemic, Sharp Consulting and Implementing Company (www.scico.in ) during the pandemic has successfully launched two very large brands. While we have handed over the business of Artisna; we are in the process of building, one of the first super brands of the country called SuperMunchies. For many, this is not the right time to launch, but SCICO knows that the right time to launch is now. There are many valid reasons for it. However, we cannot eliminate the risk element but there is no success without risk.

As a market entry strategist, there are certain guidelines that we ask our clients to follow that help them in setting a strong proposition of ‘Reason To Believe.’ In these times when the going is tough, a lot of work is needed to be done on it, for when the pandemic is over, it will come into dominant play. Only those companies who give their customer a strong ‘Reason To Believe’ will be growth-ready for the post-pandemic period.

Before I end, I will leave you with some points to ponder upon - where do you think ‘Reason To Believe’ be applied –

• Management
• Sale and Marketing
• Support system - legal, logistics, HR, account etc.
• Communication
• Distribution

P.S – ‘Reason To Believe’ is only applicable to companies that are looking for long-term business goals.