This is a 2 Part article for the topic: Technology - A Boon or a Bane. Owing to space constraint had to start off here and logically terminate in the other section. Thanx.
Gb
The bearded CEO was shuttling in the conference room in the middle of a brain-storming session. This was a Focus group meeting involving the CEO and 2 other directors to identify a business vertical that would catapult the company in every nook and corner of the country. Being a MNC, cash reserves and budgets were plenty, but the right product seemed to elude them. After 5 Marlboros, 3 coffees and an uneasy stroking of the chin, the CEO broke ?Mates.. any product??.
Director ? Projects (D1) responded, ?It may sound a bit off-beat and unconventional??
CEO ? ?Out with it Mate. We are talking about revolutionizing the market. We ought to be unconventional?
D1 ?Yep. I guessed so. And what I propose is to market the commodity called God?
Director ? Marketing (D2), almost gasping ?err?What? You mean the God as in the one in the heavens??
D1 ?Yeah. We bring him down to earth. India is a country of sentiments. Religion and ideologies form the foundation here. And you cant dismiss the impact of God (& Godmen) in this population and their ability to penetrate every soul here?
CEO ??hmmm..? sounding interested, ?Yep Mate.. Go ahead.. looks good. But whats the revenue model??
D1 ?Even if one devotee puts 10 Rs in the donation box and we have a customer base of 10 lakhs devotees per quarter, we make 4 millions in the first year - pure bottom line contribution to the business?. The CEO couldn?t help fetching out another Marlboro with a chuckle now dominating his face. He expectantly looks at D1 who continues ?Add to this, our company?s existing clients and sponsorship, which can be used to garner the the administrative expenses. All this can be put under a Trust & the Govt cant even flinch you off taxes. More bottom-line business. Tax saved is profit earned.?
D2 ? Marketing ?But hey..how do you think a telecom company like this can venture into a Religious project? I mean we are not synergising with any of our Group companies?.
This brings a concerned frown on the CEO. He very hastily takes a puff and lunges forward to put forth this view, when D1 starts-
?Synergy? You got to see it. What do you do in a temple? Tell a prayer to God. Aint that Communication? Yes, it indeed is. Can you see the God? No. What happens when u speak over the phone? You communicate and you can?t see the person. Got the synergy?? and D1 feels like taking a bow for brilliantly linking Telecom & spirituality.
D2 seems to buy this point. Afterall, in this age, anything could be marketed, in the name of anything, for any price, anywhere, through any medium, to anyone. Atleast he had done.
The CEO who by then had already crunched more numbers and extrapolated that to a 5 year plan, is absolutely bullish about this. However, D2 seemed concerned now.
?Mates.. I see we have a great concept here. But what?s the Product? I mean which God is placed in our temple??
An excited CEO without a second thought had an answer to this. ?Ganesh it is. What else to beat him in India.? But a more sober D1 snaps ?Nah.. Don?t think it?s a good choice. Coz with the kind of popularity that Siddhi Vinayak has here (Mumbai), I don?t think we will be able to divert the loyal customers from there. We need to be different.?
D2 ?Hey.. why not Sai Baba then.. I myself would love to go to that temple then? and chuckles ?and may be put Rs 100 in the donation box. After all he is the miracle God?.
D1 who is still thinking replies ?No.No..I don?t think this will work either . There are many a Sai Baba temple all along the roads. I don?t think we are being unique in this proposition. As it is Shirdi has been replicated in Panvel, Thane, Pune & Delhi. I don?t see a market here.?
Then, Hanuman?s name is cropped up. But was dismissed by the CEO owing to Hanuman having much popularity amongst male bachelors as against a wide audience portfolio. Somewhere down the line, Lord Balaji?s name figured. After much debating, this too was shelved as it was felt that Tirupati Balaji has such staunch followers that despite the distance, his devotees would go to ONLY Tirupati & not settle for anything less.
The CEO had consumed 2 more cups of coffee and was about to relinquish plans abt this project, for the lack of an appealing product. That?s when D2, the marketing genius, cried ?Hey guys? I think we can come out with a wonder, a wonder in the world.. Maybe the 8th..but still a wonder?.
For the first time after a long gap during this meeting the CEO felt the coffee taste better. Noting D2?s excitement, the CEO too had goose-pimples running over, though he couldn?t decipher the source of D2?s exclamation. All eyes were fixed at D2, who is in masterly style conducted ?Let God be a run-time decision of and by the customer. Give the customer what he wants to see, feel and experience?.
D1 ?You mean we customize God for each and every customer?
D2 ?Well? yes.. on similar lines.?
CEO ?Hey mate ?. U are driving me nuts. What?s this run-time customization you are talking about?? and he goes back to his puffing ways.
D2 ?We install a huge device, much like our own hubs, but bigger than that, called the ?GOD FINDER? or ?UPLOAD GOD?. When the customer comes to the temple, he selects the God which he wants to see, punches the key and Presto! in front of him, an idol is created using virtual reality techniques.?
CEO ?You mean I actually select a God of my choice, the way I would take my pick in front of a coffee machine??
D2 ?Yes Sir very much like the coffee machine or the cola machine?
The CEO and D1 go through a near death experience in their excitement. The concept was drop dead novel, innovative. Infact, these words look diminutive to describe the concept.
D1 very excitedly ?Hey.. I know whom to hire for this simulation.. We can outsource and I have the best vendor for doing this?
The CEO still has a Q ?but when we are projecting 10 lakh devotees per quarter, can you imagine the per sq feet utilization? You mean one such GOD FINDER is good enuff? Neither can we keep such machines all over the temple. Too much of security issues. I think we need to work on the logistics?
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What solutions are in store? DO READ about this in part II at:
https://mouthshut.com/readreview/66327-1.html
