• Insights

The emergence of social media in India and the growing number of users on platforms like Twitter induce a serious variability issue to businesses and organizations in the country. Now, consumers, users and ordinary citizens no longer have to wait for the attention of the media to shift to them. Social media gives everyone a voice and amplifies both the good and the bad. Suddenly, everything from regulatory issues to national visioning to injustices are brought to light, and way faster than via the mainstream press.

What does this mean for businesses? Is it an opportunity or is it a threat that needs to be carefully handled?

To be quite honest with you, my experience with businesses in India have been leaving me with much wanting. The airline that is supposed to provide a superior flying experience has a cranky person at the check-in counter; broadband connection providers that are prompt to send you the bill and levy a fine for payment delays go on for days on end without fixing your downtime, and then show no regrets if the connection speeds are not up to par; banks that have now fostered a system in which the end user no longer knows who is in possession of the documents they provided for their credit cards (and why so many people are calling them about the same thing); telecom operators whose services have a list of complaints that I’d rather not even get into.

The scary bit is that these are some of the enterprises that are fueling the growth of the shining India. As the much quoted phrase by Gandhi-ji goes, “The customer is the most important visitor on our premises.” Peter Drucker put it this way: “The only reason why an organization exists is to do sales, and to keep its customers happy”. I worry that this knowledge has been lost somewhere.

However, herein lies an opportunity, and it requires a fundamental shift in the minds of entrepreneurs. The Indian consumer today is not short of options—from politics to entertainment to even our own stars that we follow (we no longer worship), innumerable options have been created. And combined with the wisdom of the crowds and the sentiments that the masses carry, what isn’t managed will not survive the test of time. And what isn’t measured cannot be managed.

Customers are not acquired like commodities or cattle; they are earned as the element of loyalty to a brand or service has the promise of trust and quality to deliver. The new enterprises that are emerging in India will carry that conviction.

There are plenty of companies that already understand this and are taking the lead, setting benchmarks. Companies like Flipkart, redBus, Cleartrip, which survive on margins and scale, have quickly learned the lesson of what bad “word of mouth” can do and what an asset a true fan can be.

There is no excuse for an enterprise to not deliver world-class service. Marketing is innately about giving the customer ideas as to where to invest their ‘slice of pie’ of the wallet. Soon enough, how companies treat their customers will become a key decision maker towards that.

In the meantime, don’t be surprised if you see companies emerge that do excel in this—and send the dinosaurs on their way to extinction.

VIJAY ANAND is the Founder of Proto.in and the Vice President (Incubation) of IITM’s RTBI.

©Entrepreneur February 2011

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customers, social media, Vijay Anand