Sierra Nevada engineeer Todd Mosher and his team are building astronaut shuttle vehicle

Colorado personalities and their favorite hauntsBy Douglas Brown
The Denver Postdenverpost.comPosted: 12/20/2012 12:01:00 AM MSTDecember 20, 2012 2:5 PM GMTUpdated: 12/20/2012 07:05:26 AM MST


View the Original article

Will 2013 Decide the Fate of Iraqi Oil?

World Bank Commits $900m to Iraq Valerus Awarded Contract for Iraq Processing Facilities Croatia’s Ingra Signs $1.5m Deal in Iraq Starwood Hotels Expands in Iraq Categorized

View the Original article

Rural marketing: Say no to price wars, relationships key

The bond between retailers and consumers in tier III and IV towns tends to be quite strong and often extends into the personal sphere. AFP

While brands do have some relevance, in-store recommendation by store owners can override a lot, so a good retailer can sell an unbranded product with ease.

Retailers, in general, are seen as subject matter experts by a lot of consumers unlike in urban cities, where a store assistant is a mere facilitator of a transaction. So, the first thing you’d need to do is talk about your brand to this segment: store owners, traders or merchandisers, those who will be an active partner for the product or service you are selling. Get them to understand the underlying values.

Build relations and partnerships

A lot of trade happens on credit and personal relationships and sales without providing a bill is almost a norm in these markets.

The bond between retailers and consumers in tier III and IV towns tends to be quite strong and often extends into the personal sphere.

So if you are setting up your own stores, you’ll have to work around processes that adapt to such nuances. Big and fancy stores used to intimidate consumers (as they tend to give the perception of being more expensive), but this is slowly changing. Similarly, if you are looking to partner with existing retailers and sell through their shelf space, then these are the systems that you would be experiencing.

So plan your inventory and supply-chain management accordingly. Needless to say, this depends on the vertical you are in.

Standalone stores work well for consumer durables; however, for apparels, personal care items and the like, selling through existing stores in shopping complexes are viable options too.

Franchise your way in

Franchising is a feasible option too, to create a network and reach consumers. Franchisees would be well-versed with buying patterns of consumers in these markets and for a retailer, this would be highly useful to know your consumer profile of that particular town. You will need to do lots of groundwork on where the customer is and how to reach them. However, remember, franchisees may not have empirical data but more anecdotal, and therefore you’ll need to conduct a well-mapped survey to understand the market and gaps therein.

Say no to price wars

As a first generation entrepreneur, without the weightage or backing of big names, it is advisable not to get into price wars.

Existing retailers have strong associations and can drive you out of the market. The key to beat an established retailer with sound reputation and influence in these markets is to do something innovative.

In tier III and IV towns, this is not a difficult deal to crack. Lure customers with nicely dressed promoters, a clean, neat shop with air-conditioning, and ample parking place.

Plus, they look for value for money and functionality of the product rather than the luxury or lifestyle element, so play on the former.

Contrary to what people think, real estate capital costs are high, so opt for rentals if you are setting up base.

Marketing mantras

You will need to do a bit of marketing to complement the above-mentioned initiatives. However, your modus operandi will have to be old-fashioned in some sense and social media is not the way to create awareness.

The plus side is cost of advertising will be less in comparison to urban markets.Hoardings and newspaper inserts work best, say experts. In addition, advertising through cable television and slides in cinemas are good options too as are fairs, small events and exhibitions to create some noise.

Customer relations are equally important here. Never ill-treat them as customers in these towns take things personally. If not treated well once, he/she would never re-visit stores or buy your product/ service, no matter what value you offer.

Brand ambassadors sell products and services well too. If you don’t have the big budget that is needed to bring in a Hindi film industry celebrity, you can also opt for television anchors to come and inaugurate the store or attend the product launch.

They will always draw in the crowds and ensure a better visibility for your brand.

Story was first published in the Entrepreneur India

This article is supported by Spark the Rise. To know more, and to submit your ideas and projects, click here.

.pagination_article

View the Original article

NMDC suffers revenue loss of Rs 746 cr from 2007-10: CAG

View the Original article

Vodafone fires first salvo against spectrum refarming

Not just Vodafone, Bharti and Idea have also in the past protested strongly against the government’s decision to refarm spectrum. Reuters

Even for the 2.5 mhz of 900 mhz band which these telcos will be allowed to retain, they will have to shell out two times the 1800 mhz reserve price in all circles.

For Vodafone, licences in all the three circles of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata come up for renewal beginning November next year. While asking for the licence extension, Vodafone has opposed any move towards refarming, though not in as many words.

The three identical letters it has written requesting for licence extension in each circle mention that “extension of license period is a continuation of the already set up network, including continuation of existing spectrum, which is intrinsic to our licence and is being used for providing service to consumers under the licence”.

According to sources, Vodafone already has 8 mhz of 900 mhz band spectrum in Delhi and Mumbai and 7.8 mhz in Kolkata. In the 1800 mhz band, it holds only 2 mhz in each of these three circles.

Obviously, if it is forced to return all 900 mhz spectrum and then participate in auctions at multiple times the price, business will suffer.

Not just Vodafone, Bharti and Idea have also in the past protested strongly against the government’s decision to refarm spectrum.

Speaking on the refarming issue earlier, GSM industry body COAI had pointed out that servicing 450-500 million subscribers in the existing 900 Mhz band with the same quality of service with a limited 2.5 Mhz of spectrum in the 900 Mhz band and the remaining on 1,800 Mhz band would become next to impossible and disruption of wide-scale services should be expected.

COAI had also pointed out that an operator with 2.5 Mhz in the 900 Mhz band and the remaining spectrum in 1,800 Mhz band is worse off than an operator with its complete network in the 1,800 Mhz band as this network will give a false delusion of coverage.

The difference in spectrum propagation/network design in the two bands will lead to coverage constraints.

An industry expert pointed out that licence and spectrum have been delinked but only for future licence agreements. He also said the united access service licence in its present form has no specific reference to the government’s obligation to give specific spectrum in a specific band and at a specific price. The government has full flexibility to change band as well as price.

.pagination_article

View the Original article

TCS Kolkata campus to create 16,500 jobs by FY15

View the Original article

TCS to scale up presence in China, Latin America, Europe

“The challenge before us is to scale up our presence significantly in geographies like China, Japan, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East,” said  TCS CEO and MD N Chandrasekaran

On business coming from Europe, he said it is expected to grow faster as customers are beginning to spend more. “The budgets are looking good; we are winning lots of transformation deals in Europe,” he said.

In 2011-12, revenue from North America constituted 53.31 per cent of company’s total revenues, while UK and Europe accounted for 25.32 per cent, followed by India (8.60 per cent), Asia Pacific (7.56 per cent), Middle East and Africa (2.13 per cent) and Latin America (3.08 per cent).

On banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) vertical, which contributed 43.08 per cent to the revenues in 2011-12, Chandrasekaran said the vertical is “beginning to pick up momentum”.

“We were particularly happy with the BFSI sectors in the second quarter. Not only have we delivered 4.6 per cent growth in rupee terms in the segment sequentially, but we have also closed four deals, including one from insurance,” he said.

Chandrasekaran added that TCS is seeing a “lot of opportunities” in retail, consumer products and pharmaceutical segments as well.

Telecom, media and entertainment accounted for 12.69 percent of the company’s Rs 48,893.83 crore revenue in 2011-12, while retail and consumer packaged goods contributed 12.18 per cent and manufacturing 7.77 percent of sales.

Chandrasekaran said evolution and fast adoption of technologies like cloud, analytics, big data and mobility also hold a lot of promise.

“Every industry process framework is being redefined and re-imagined by the impact of these technologies. Their use is not limited to just the enterprise; they are impacting our personal and social lives,” he said.

This trend is throwing up huge opportunities as companies want to optimise investments in current technology, drive growth by using digital technologies and platforms, comply with new regulations, and control new risks more effectively, he added.

Shares of the company today closed at Rs 1,248.40 apiece, up 1.27 per cent from its previous close on the BSE.

PTI

.pagination_article

View the Original article