On 6th September, 2012, the students of IIM Raipur
had a rare opportunity to interact with a veteran in the marketing domain, Mr.
Kartik Raina. He is currently a Senior Advisor with YFactor, a firm which
provides Management Advisory Services to FMCG Companies. Mr Raina completed his
MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Mumbai and has extensive
experience in sales and marketing with various MNCs such as P&G, Dabur and
Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer Healthcare.
Mr Raina enthralled the students with anecdotes from his days
with Dabur, P&G, and Glaxo Smith Kline. He emphasized the importance of understanding
consumer behavior, as it has a direct influence on the marketing strategy of
the company. He recalled how, in his early days as a sales manager, he was
required to observe customers buying Vicks cough drops at chemist shops. His
observations made him realize that people bought Vicks drops not only to treat
a sore throat but also to consume it as a lemon juice due to oral fixation. This
realization led to the positioning of Vicks as a general lozenge, and not as a
niche product with medicinal value alone, thereby closing the gap between the
stated and secret needs of the consumers.
Mr. Raina then explained how the marketing concepts that we
read about in Kotler can be implemented in real life scenario. He showed the
flip side too-how some products fail despite having great expectations and
stated that 70% of the marketing campaigns end in failure.
The students learnt a lot from this interaction, they
clarified their doubts regarding developing brands, using controversies to
sensitize masses, and various other concepts in marketing such as
Self-referencing conceptual context etc., They were inspired to apply their
theoretical knowledge in practical situations once they don the role of
marketing managers.
Contributed By : Neha Khapre, PGP 2012-14, she can be reached at pgp12084.neha@iimraipur.ac.in
