SPECTRANET MD UDIT MEHROTRA TALKS TO VINEET SINGH ABOUT THE COMPANY’S PLANS FOR A PAN-INDIA PRESENCE & A WIDER PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
 
Spectranet, which is well known in the telecom industry as the pioneer of broadband in India, is rapidly expanding its operations to new product and service areas under Shyam Group (was under Punj Lloyd till 2008). Company MD Udit Mehrotra elaborates on the company’s plans for markedly growing its stature as well as reach in the Indian market...

Shyam Group acquired Spectranet two years back. Has the acquisition delivered in your view?
The journey has been very interesting actually and has been very fruitful for us. When we bought Spectranet, it was purely an internet service company. Since then, we have grown it into an integrated communication services provider; with services like broadband, the entire spectrum from data printer, internet connectivity, et al and voicemail services like audio conferencing, video conferencing, VoIP, et al. We believe the growth will continue.

Spectranet currently offers its services to over 20,000 customers in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad & Chandigarh and is extending its footprint to many more cities across India. What challenges are you facing?
Challenges have mainly been in the terms of market competition. Today, the broadband space is growing in a very small range as compared to mobile subscriber growth. So everybody in this segment is fighting for a very small share; this has been one challenge. This is happening but the growth for sure will continue. And then the next challenge for us would be that we are growing and getting into different cities, so to understand the market in different places will be a big challenge for us. But we have been quite good considering the geographic expansion. We’ve grown from 2 cities in 2008 to 6 in 2010. In the coming months, people will see us in more cities.

How has the arena changed for Spectranet in providing Enterprise and Home solutions?
Earlier, the company was focusing primarily on enterprise customers. Since then, the focus has evolved to the home customers as well. In the enterprise segment, we are trying to offer more end to end solution to our customers. We are good in the enterprise segment and will grow in the retail segment as well. If a home customer has taken a broadband plan from us, he can also buy anti-virus solutions by paying `20 or `30 extra.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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DEEPAK JAIN, COO, ADD GEL, TELLS SHEPHALI BHATT ABOUT HIS AIM TO BE AMONG INDIA’S TOP 20 BRANDS BY 2015...

Quality is an essential aspect of life and should be inculcated in everything you promise to deliver. With this belief, Deepak Jain, COO, ADD Gel – the country’s first gel pen manufacturer to get AN ISO certification – tells 4Ps B&M about his dreams and SUCCESS SECRETS

ADD Gel was the first one to launch gel pens in India. What were the challenges you faced at the beginning?
My father started this concept. Then, it was an entirely new concept for Indian consumers. The initial hurdle was in terms of launching the product, settling on a price and deciding what target audience we will be targeting. Even distributors and retailers weren’t ready to accept the product. But over a period of one year, the success was phenomenally high, and we were able to grow at more than 100% year-on-year.

You’ve been at the helm of the affairs for over 3 years now. How has your leadership worked for the company?
You need to believe in your product and the people you are working with; their judgment, their decisions and intentions to do the best. Risk is everywhere; but trust is one of the most important factors. So far it has worked wonderfully for us.

How would you chart out the different elements of creating a great brand?
Value for money has to be there; it needs to be delivered in terms of marketing the product. For instance, companies claim that their pens write 3000 meters. But trust me, there is no pen so far that can write 3000 meters. Still people claim it.

When it comes to advertising, how do you go about it; opt for direct advertising or something out of the box?
No, we are doing direct advertising. You need to remember that the consumer doesn’t have time; he will flip the channel in less than a minute. In that short span, you need to tell him what you are offering and that too in a pressing manner. Otherwise, by the time you talk sense, he would have changed the channel spoiling the whole purpose of the ad.

What are your future plans for the company?
Over the past two decades, we have grown to a very good scale and managed a pan India distribution. However, my aim is to be among the top 20 brands in India in terms of recall value and consumer perception and obviously sales turnover by 2015.

If you look at Deepak Jain in 2002 and now, is there a big transformation?
I have gained good experience and I have learnt a lot of things like the fact that you need to be fast, and must stick to the fact that the consumer is always right.

What is that ‘must have’ trait to succeed in business?
You need to get around things. Everything in a system might not work, there are loopholes. You just need to find them and work your way out, be kind and manipulative.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm - Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri (IIPM Dean) – ‘Every human being is a diamond’
Arindam Chaudhuri – Everything is not in our hands
Planman Technologies – IT Solutions at your finger tips
Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine

IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website

IIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......
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Mercedes-Benz is perhaps the oldest name in the minds of the luxury segment in India. Having made its mark in the new cars category, the German luxury carmaker has also taken a plunge in the pre-owned car arm business in the country. Will the risk pay-off. The company feels so and so does the man who is driving Mercedes around on Indian roads...
 
Wilfried Aulbur, MD, Mercedes-Benz India, has been through both the smooth and tough times in the life of Mercedes-Benz in the Indian market. The latest bet to ensure a dominant future in the country is its entry into the pre-owned passenger car market. Aulbur gets candid with 4Ps B&M on the many future plans for the pre-owned car venture and the soon-to-be-launched car financing arm.

What makes the ‘Proven Exclusivity’ program different in the luxury car segment in India?
We have announced our entry into the used car market with the Proven Exclusivity program. Under this venture, we will ensure that there is a comprehensive evaluation and refurbishment criteria for the evaluation of the model, before any purchase is made by the company. We will be using scientific tools for audits and inspections. In fact, when a consumer buys a product from our pre-owned car arm, he will be entitled to a six-month long manufacturer-backed warranty. What we are trying to do here is to make the dream of owning a Mercedes-Benz even more achievable for the Indian consumers. Having said that, customers can even drive-in their existing vehicles and may drive out with their new Mercedes-Benz cars by utilising the trade-in route offered by the company. We will be not be accepting a car which is more than six years old under this program, which will also give a lot of confidence to the consumer who will buy our products. Just to give you quick global background about this program, it has been in existence since 2009 and currently operates across 35 countries.

Will the program be limited to the passenger cars segment or will you also think about extending it to the CV line a few years down the line?
Even globally, this program is limited to just passenger cars. Therefore, for now, we will restrict it to the passenger cars in the Indian market. The demand in the CV segment, especially in the luxury space is already very low. Therefore there is no use in introducing the second hand car schemes in the CV segment.

Can you throw some light on your marketing plans for the second-hand car arm?
We will follow the traditional model to market this business. We will be marketing this segment in a manner which is similar to what we have been doing in India so far. But you also need to understand that in the second hand car arm business, word of mouth works very effectively. Therefore, we will be relying on this mode to a great extent. We will try and ensure that when a customer comes to us, he gets a very good service, so that we don’t only get a loyal consumer in return, but also that he will spread good word about the program in his social circles, which will help bring in more customers to us. Our brand is huge plus and Mercedes, which has been in the Indian market since 1994 and has sold close to 30,000 units in the Indian market, continues to enjoy very high brand equity in the Indian market.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM makes business education truly global
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm - Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri (IIPM Dean) – ‘Every human being is a diamond’
Arindam Chaudhuri – Everything is not in our hands
Planman Technologies – IT Solutions at your finger tips
Planman Consulting
Arindam Chaudhuri's Portfolio - he is at his candid best by Society Magazine

IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website
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