Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The new seamless sphere in Management

Love Baronia.

Hi and welcome,
As global economies down-shift gears, enterprises and brands already spread thin by fierce competition will now be forced to stretch the mileage of the marketing dollar further. The fast-evolving markets demand equally quicker analyses and vision to stay ahead and get the beginner's advantage.

We will try to discuss one such large concept that subsists in the new-age marketing and management space, albeit is still evolving and is yet to crystallize into an icon. We use the term coming a full circle very often, whilst discussing evolution. The full circle statement is what holds the key of management for tomorrow. Because, it is the nature of the circle itself, which is the way forward for all of us, and that is seamless management, just as the circle, which will cease to be, if not seamless.

Current real-life examples of the evolution of seamless management are evident in most mature businesses today. Publishing for example, editorial and marketing heads work together to target and aim before any of them shoot. While marketers provide input on the potential advertising opportunities which may arise from adapting certain specific content ideas. The same works vice-a-versa, when a preview of the editorial content decides the marketers' pitch. Art departments spend almost half their time, designing prototypes or dummies for the ad-man to sample with advertisers. The breaking barriers between departments at the core level is what we are referring to as seamless management.

The seamless factor is not just limited to departments within an organization, even rigid black and white definitions of many trades have changed. For instance, using the same publishing example, the editorial space earlier believed to be sacred, legitimately creates opportunities for advertisers to find their way in, often using the contextual alibi. Advertorials of yester-years have now been adapted to editorial content sponsored by a contextual brand. In-film advertising is one of the most common examples to showcase this trend of diminishing lines, or do I say seams both internally as well as externally.

Competitors too come together in the seamless age, the under-sea cables is the biggest example. If infrastructure of capital limits enterprises to tap on a cognisable market, they do not even mind coming together.

Rising customer interaction from research to trial to after-sales feedback, shows how the line between the enterprise and the end-user is also fast disappearing. Multi-level-Marketing programs are the best example on how users are now also partners.

Finally, the lines between owners, management and employees are also fast diminishing with stock options, sweat equity, etc. becoming commonplace. Democratic ideas and feedback sharing systems exist in almost enterprises today, showing how every component of the enterprise is fusing into a whole.

We can go on deciphering new-age environment and it's evolving seamlessness, however, the idea behind mooting this futuristic ideology was to then using this universal tool of Seamless Management, ideate on sectors, projects and brands that could do better, if they used the seamless perspective in their corporate vision and marketing strategies therefrom.

I will leave this post with one such suggestion. From the word go, brand management differentiation. I propose to reverse that very same fundamental theory. While, we have fragmented the market for our own convenience, the fusing of some of the volume segments, and now positioning brands and products as universal and thus suitable for a wider straddle of audiences using the identification route. Even before you discard this theory, here's a thought if this theory worked for insurance and cement companies, why not for pens, apparel, footwear.
The new-age fragmented markets themselves indicate the same, the reducing gap between socio-economic classes, and the slow-down will drive many brands to down-shift and focus on new products and brands positioning to appeal to the more obese segments by introducing products that appeal to a wider spectrum of buyers, the days of the niche are numbered.

Market fragmentation is just pre-cursor to fusing the seams into a whole. We recommend subscribers and challengers of this seamless concept, mention their perspectives or applications of their theories using specific brands or market segments to make it both interesting and beneficial to all visitors here.

Love Baronia.

2 comments:

Shridharan said...

Seems abstract.Use of more examples will clarify the concept clearly.

Vinita Deshmukh said...

it's a good analysis of the problems confronting the USA and your solutions too seem sensible. congrats