flipkart #facepalm

What do you make of the Flipkart fiasco and the subsequent apology?

Hyderabad

Revathi, Flipkart bit more than it could chew for sure in the Big Billion Sale. The response was stupendous and the servers just could not manage it, I guess.

I am, however, excited about the Bansal apology. The Bansal apology is a good one. It ranks very high, in my view. The best aspect of it is the timing. It was quick, and not delayed. It happened once the disaster and its magnitude was felt by the organisation. It came from the big guy himself, straight from the e-horse’s mouth, so to say. This is what I call “fallibility branding”. The idea is simple: We are all human beings. We are faulty. We make good plans. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. You are fallible, just as I am. Forgive us. I like it.

Not too many people are able to manage an apology all too well. Some get their PR agency to handle it all. Others just ignore it. This Bansal action is refreshing. And hats off to the guy!

What are the three biggest rural myths you would like to bust?

Chennai

Shankar, three big ones. First, that Rural India is poor. No longer. The number of rural Indians who are rich outnumber the number of rich urban Indians in sheer numeric terms today. The best of aspirational products can find their way into rural markets. And they do, thanks to the power of e-commerce. Second, that Rural India is not digital- and social media-inclusive. Not true again. Every one wants to friend you on Facebook out in the hinterland. This is a medium that is erasing geographic inequality. Whatsapp is in every pocket. Three, that Rural India is functional-oriented. Not true at all anymore. Cosmetic orientation is big.

PM Narendra Modi is on an upswing. How do you read his persona?

New Delhi

Shalini, there is a lot in the body language of our PM. The body language of our brand new Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is one of awe and shock. His every pronouncement is engineered to awe and engineered to shock. His body language is one of questioning the status quo. It is one of challenge. It is one that starts with a 56-inch chest that says it all bold and bountiful. If the body language of the previous PM Dr Manmohan Singh was all of frailty and the human endeavour of hard work and not looking for rewards, Narendra Modi’s body language is the right opposite. It is about bravado and pride. It is about challenge and a spirit of never-say-die. To an extent, Narendra Modi’s body language is that of the “new Iron Man of new India”, as I would call it.

You are on Twitter. What does it do for you?

Bangalore

Ranjan, I kicked off on Twitter five years ago. It was a new thing, then, and seemed just right for me, as it was all about being brief and clever. It was all about 140 characters. And that sounded like fun. I use it more as a broadcast micro-blog. Therefore, I do not follow anyone on this handle. I just broadcast. As of today, I have some 43,000 followers. I am a strange tweeter, though. I keep deleting followers, particularly when I see followers who want to sell something through my micro-blog. You have a lot of those on Twitter, you see! It’s great to have followers who emote with you and who interact with you. It’s a great feedback mechanism as well.

Harish Bijoor is a business strategy expert and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. Send your questions to cat.a.lyst@thehindu.co.in

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