Marketing expedition: 40 years of Bangladesh

basket" as it was labelled brfore. With a respectable social fabric, above average work ethics, increasing women's engagement, almost independent media and civil society, it is becoming a "Development Paradox," if it has not already become one, writes Nigar Sultana "You would carry your Dell laptop in your black leather executive President backpack to use at airports to document the meetings you attended, the sales you made and then went for surfing the net, courtesy of Grameen Phone Internet Modem, checking your e-mail, playing Free-Cell, updating your contact management software thorough Computer Source Software firm (they are very updated for serving different type of office related software) and completing your expense report. You would then sync that info with your HP PDA, before having the Zinger Burger from KFC and you are ready for the next day" -- this is not a fairy-tale; this is the real phenomenon of today's Bangladesh. The marketing course of action has been recognised very dramatically rather than the other sectors in 40 years of Bangladesh. Sales technique developed in Bangladesh involves spending significant sales time only with such prospects that offer the highest probability of a sale. The business organisation now-a-days understands that high probability closing is not an event; it is an integral part of the entire sales process. Arriving at that determination involves asking pointed questions and letting the prospect do the majority of the talking. The approach of the managers of business organisations of Bangladesh is to focus only on prospects -- who need your product, want your product and can afford your product. In many multinational companies like Unilever (Bd) Ltd, Marsk (Bd) Ltd, Nestle, British American Tobacco (BD) Ltd, Bata, DHL Worldwide Express as well as many national or local organisations like Partex, Akij, Pran, Square, Teletalk, Aftab - have recognised that the heavy investment in existing sales practices makes dismounting unfeasible and such creative strategies are adopted, instead: 1. Providing motivational seminars taps and group sessions to encourage riders to stay on their dead horses longer. 2. Threatening riders with termination when they cannot get their dead horses moving. 3. Providing riders with stronger whips. 4. Determining how more successful organisations ride their dead horses. Then, adapting those methods as the company's new 'Best Practices'. 5. Determining those riders, who do not stay on dead horses, are lazy drivers and have no ambition. Replacing them is the right action. 6. Appointing an invention team to reanimate dead horses and assure that all riders are in compliance with approved riding standards. 7. Awarding professionals certification plaques to riders, who learn the best techniques to stay on their dead horses for long periods of time. 8. Reclassifying dead horses as, 'living-impaired'. 9. Directing management to find new and better ways to inspire riders to charge their dead horses into battle. 10. Teaming several dead horses together for increased speed. 11. Donating old dead horses to a recognised charity, thereby deducting their full original cost. Then using the savings to buy new dead horses. 12. Providing that the reason for diminished sales' results is a combination of macroeconomic circumstances and increased competition from other dead horse teams. 13. Developing contests and incentive plans to reward professionals. 14. Enacting a strict dress code so that their riders look professional. 15. Prohibiting riders from purchasing and riding their own live horses since that is not in accordance with the company's time-tested methods. 16. Promoting the most persevering of dead horse riders to manage and train new riders. There are so many telecom companies like Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Ltd., Grameen Phone Bangladesh Ltd., etc. which have given the facilities of the voice mail message in use today that it is almost becoming a new mass medium like television or radio. In fact, for those who make living by selling something, the voice mail message he leaves for someone is really quite similar to a radio commercial. That being the case, it seems reasonable to use some of the basic principles of good radio advertising as practised by the creative experts in this medium to fashion more effective voice mail commercials for sales. Now-a-days the techniques of how sales people deal with customers have evolved significantly in Bangladesh. In the eighties, there was much focus on measuring and increasing customer satisfaction. In the nineties, in order to survive, companies were forced to focus on activities and change processes that directly and positively affected profit. Studies done by major consulting firms, government's agencies and private institutes found that documented increase in customer satisfaction did not necessarily result in increases in profitability. A simple example is a franchise of the Pizza chain in Bangladesh that calculated that each customer generates Bangladesh Taka (BDT) 5,000 over a three years period. This information significantly affected the pizza store's attitude toward customers and customer service. Rather than making decisions based on individual transactions, the pizza business made marketing decisions based on a customer's long-time value. The wind of change all over certainly started to move things positively; starting from the change in public mindset to policy-makers. For more than two decades after the liberation war, the female population was confined to household affairs. This huge workforce slowly but surely came to realise their potential in the early '90s. The trend became too important not to be noticed by various international aid agencies or development partners, when 60-70 per cent of the female population gradually started to contribute to national gross domestic product (GDP). On the other hand, the agricultural sector also managed to maintain noticeable growth. Bangladesh is no more a "bottomless basket" as it was labelled before. With a respectable social fabric, above average work ethics, increasing women's engagement, almost independent media and civil society, it is becoming a "Development Paradox," if it has not already become one. The international community, and more importantly our "peers," is watching us. Let us all rise to the expectation of the times. ...................................................... The writer is Lecturer, Department of Marketing, Jahangirnagar University. Courtesy: 'Bangladesh at 40: Changes and Challenges,' a publication of Faculty of Business Studies, Jahangirnagar University (JU) to mark its holding of a three-day seminar on the afore-mentioned theme from December 09 to December 11, 2011 at the JU at Savar. The Financial Express is the media partner of the event