Wednesday, December 07, 2005

The Newest commodity on the Block - The Customer


The 20th century involved the process of rolling out newer and better versions of products as fast as possible to keep the buyer's to make back to back sales. It focussed on creating products which fought for a place in order to gain the customer's attention.Big bucks rolled into advertising as the promos grew more engrossing and eye-catching. It really became "a jungle out there" with everu second resulting in a newer commodity with an oppurtunity to exploit.
But the newest commodity to hit the market is now the customer. It's not anymore about what product will appeal to the customer but what are the needs of every single buyer. It is important to note the fact that while marketing a product considering the consumer base as a single entity rather than the collective buying power (CBP) of individual persons with different tastes is a grave mistake. The marketing of a product has to be focused on the needs of individual customers. Nothing more usher's this new idea into the 21st century than internet retailing. Customised advertising according to the interests of the online customer bring respite to the customer from being bombarded with ad's of every single commodity sold. It alsoresults in smarter marketing and improved sales with more focussed targeting. Online retailers such as Amazon and eBay use this to great effet in their marketing strategy. As the idea is new a period of diagnosis and analysis is in order tofully assess the effectiveness of this concept.
But one thing is for sure, the customer is king, for sure, as we herald in a new era of Sales and Marketing.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

The Oprah Book Club List

Which Oprah books have you read? Which ones did you like (or not like)? Do you join me in saying, Thanks be to Oprah?

Oprah's Book Club list
  • Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  • Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell
  • The Best Way To Play by Bill Cosby *
  • Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
  • * The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
  • * The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton
  • * Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
  • Cane River by Lalita Tademy
  • The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
  • * Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
  • Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
  • * The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard
  • * Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
  • East of Eden by John Steinbeck
  • * Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
  • Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
  • A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
  • Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
  • * The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
  • * The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou
  • * Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman
  • House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
  • I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
  • Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio
  • * Jewel by Bret Lott
  • A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
  • * A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton
  • The Meanest Thing To Say by Bill Cosby
  • * Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
  • Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes
  • One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garc?MᲱuez
  • * Open House by Elizabeth Berg
  • * Paradise by Toni Morrison
  • * The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
  • The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
  • The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds
  • * The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
  • * River, Cross My Heart by Breena Clarke
  • She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
  • Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
  • Songs In Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris
  • Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir
  • Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
  • Sula by Toni Morrison
  • Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
  • The Treasure Hunt by Bill Cosby
  • Vinegar Hill by A. Manette Ansay
  • A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons
  • We Were The Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
  • What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage
  • * Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
  • * While I Was Gone by Sue Miller
  • White Oleander by Janet Fitch

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Spirit of the Game


As the new season begins and superstars are more interested in fattening their deep pockets rather than improve the game it's disheartning for fans like us to see a game that has seen some of the greatest feats ever accomplished in sports.
What happened to the old glory days when players were not just brand names but legends who inspired awe among those who played with them and those who came to watch them? Where are the George Mikan's,the Bill Cousy's,the Wilt Chamberlain's, the Elgin Baylor's,the Abdul-Jabbar's,the Julius Erving's,the JamesWorthy's? But all was not lost the NBA at the start of the 90's season saw the influx of some of the greatest players to play the game?
Who would not like to see a lanky kid called Jordan come up the floor and display feats that would be described as magical and moving? Basketball is not about just games and promotions it's more than that. It's about beating the odds, rising to the occasion and reaching higher than possible.
I say bring back the glory days when players were not just players but gods.
P.S. I love this Game!

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Welcome to my Blog!

Well, I finally made my transition from my days writing my daily logs to the arena of cyberlogging. Just a few days back i finished reading a book i have been trying to get my hands on for a long time. Lance Armstrong's It's not about the Bike has been on my list of essential reading for a long time. but now that i have gone through the book it has to rate as one of the most straight talking and inspirational books that i have read in a long time. It also indirectly made me a keen supporter of the Live Strong Foundation and an ardent fan of the many Tour de France to come. What strikes to you is not what cycling is all about(as the title says) but what the human spirit can achieve in the face of unsurmountable issues. I recommend the book as a must read to all who relish such acts of the human spirit.