The Idea That Will Make Business Work in The 21st Century!

so, i was asked by my PL to submit an article, this is what i came up with.. acha.. bura.. i don't really care!

The 21th century is for the young and energetic ‘new’ generation. They look for novel business ideas which need minimal investment of time, money and effort. The world has become a global village and there is so much to do in such less time. This has lead to stress creeping into our daily routines, so much so, that scientists are working on theories to reduce stress and doctors are working on pills to combat stress. But, the truth is, the only way to tackle stress is by maintaining a “work-life balance.”

Now, the issues is that today’s jobs are no more the regular 8-5 jobs where you can work for a comfortable 8-9 hours and then come back home and enjoy television with your family, have a delicious meal with them and rest. Today we live in a world of fast-life, where we do not even have time to say good morning to our spouse. Then, how do you maintain the work-life balance? The key here is to manage time.

The idea that will make business work in the 21^st century is “value for time.” In fact, it is the core concept that should determine the ‘marketing-mix’ of an organization. Each of the four Ps (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) should be centered around time. Let’s take up each of these and relate them with time.

PRODUCT:
The product will sell itself if it is released at the right time. Right now, it is the ‘baby-boomers’ time and a product  ‘PSP’ which is targeted at the youth was released a while ago. It did not have to be marketed; it sold itself. How? Because it was released at the right time!

PRICE:
Th ‘Rose’ which is a symbol of love is available all through the year. Here, in India, it costs Rs 10/- per Rose, but when the love is in the air; and the calendar shows “Valentine’s”; the Rose price shoots up to Rs 50-70/-. Why? Because it is the right time!

PLACE:
All around the year, you can find candles at the regular Mom & Pop’s store; these stores are strategically located at about 100 meters from the market start point. During Diwali though, numerous potters locate themselves “even more strategically” right at the start point of the market to ensure you buy diyas and candle from them; and you do the same. Why? Because they chose the right place at the right time.

PROMOTION:
Have you ever seen woolens being promoted in summers or rain-coats being promoted during autumns? Never, right? It is because it is no use promoting things at the wrong time. There will be no increase in sales, and there will be an increase in the expenses.

So, the mantra is “right product at the right place with the right cost, targeted to the right market at the right TIME.” But, when it is the right time, we also have to ensure that it takes up the end consumer’s least time. One easy answer to saving consumer’s time is e-commerce, which indirectly saves our time as well.

Online shopping is probably the fastest way to do trade. The sale is done at the click of a button. Apart from the consumer’s time; it also saves his/her energy (of physically visiting stores; maybe multiple to choose from a variety) and his/her money (online products are generally cheaper than display products at showrooms.) To sum it all up; the idea that will bring maximum satisfaction to the consumer and the seller is “VALUE FOR TIME!”