Short and sweet

Karnataka has its own IPL version, the Karnataka Premier League. Will such options work?

Rohit Pattanshetti, Bangalore

Rohit, the true test of a tournament such as this is the manner in which the first set of fixtures takes off. Therefore, much depends on the execution rather than the branding, the hype and the glitz and glamour being built around it.

Content is really king. And here the content is good cricket. If there is good cricket, this will survive. If not, it will sink.

The 20:20 format of cricket is a hit. There is eminent fatigue in all the other avatars of cricket — the five-day and sadly even the one-day variant.

In this day and age of Twitter with 140 character limits, the cricket format that seems to work is 20: 20, and who knows, it could be 10:10 tomorrow.

Remember, in a world that works at a frenetic pace, the time-tested format of success in sport is the 90-minute game represented so solidly by soccer. Will we have nine-minute cricket then? Something that will be a big hit?

The KPL's regional format is good because it helps regionalise cricket. It helps knit smaller geographies together in this passion. Let's remember, the more contiguous and small an area, the more homogenous its peoples. Therefore, KPL will help harvest local passions for the game. It will help build local jingoism in local cricket.

In the old days, cricket jingoism was national. It was about India versus Pakistan. And then, with IPL, it became city versus city. KPL takes the competition to the district level literally!

The format will work provided the format is built with patience and care. God is in the detail of doing this.

Remember, ICL flopped. KPL can.

A simple question. How important is it to know your customer? And why?

Mehul Kataria, Mumbai

Mehul, the customer is a very important entity. All business exists and revolves around this entity. The very purpose of business is the fulfilment of the needs, wants, desires and aspirations of this entity. To that extent, the customer is the central focus of all business activity. He or she is the pivot around which all else revolves.

Having stated this basic universal marketing truth, the customer needs to be understood. Not just at a skin-deep level but at deeper, subliminal levels even. Most businesses understand customers as numbers that contribute volumes and value to the enterprises they run. Most companies, however, do not believe it is important to go under the skin of it all. If you understand your customers well and in ways that go beyond a superficial, skin-deep understanding, it will provide your business good insulation. You will be able to predict behaviour and change and gear up your business to face it all when it happens.

Most businesses, however, don't do this, and are surprised when their customers articulate new needs and gravitate towards new brands, processes and vendors all of a sudden. Understanding customers in-depth is a business-insulation process at the macro-level and a business-enhancement process at the micro-level.

The customer is like your child really. In the beginning, when the child is small, it listens to everything you say. You understand your baby as well. As the child grows up and becomes a teenager, you understand it less and less. And when the child is all grown up and adult, you hardly know it possibly. Your customer is wired in similar fashion. It is important to stay in touch, stay contemporary, and stay peer-to-peer with your customer to understand him or her well. It is important to grow up with your customer and not stay where you are and static. The customer understanding process is therefore a science, an art, and a philosophy of its own. Dabble in all of it.

Is the current aviation turmoil bad for aviation as a brand in India?

Sapna Ramnath, New Delhi

Sapna, I do believe the aviation industry has come full circle very fast. In the beginning it was a commodity in the domestic market. There was just one national airline — Indian Airlines. If one had to travel by air, you had no choice but to pick Indian Airlines.

This was the commodity era of the aviation industry in India.

And then in came the private airlines — Damania, Modiluft and the others. Their arrival signalled the beginning of the mid-air brand wars. Damania offered excellent service and added the bells and whistles for branding. Even liquor, for a while. These brands invested in building a brand, a colour-recall, a service-memory tag and more. Premium was possible in such a market as well.

The brand wars intensified with the arrival of the likes of Jet and Air Deccan (which created its own brand of low-cost imagery with the common man as brand icon and more). Premiums were possible here as well. There were multiple choices to pick from. The aviation industry was a menu of options.

We have now come full circle. From a commodity to brands to commodity again. The current situation of the industry is that all lines of branding created by one and all with much effort, time, energy and money have been erased.

The clear positioning stances of the airlines have been erased. Today, one chooses an airline based on the price of the ticket and the convenience of a sector. This is the ultimate commoditisation of the market. There is a clear decimation of value here.

That then is the sad story of Indian aviation as of now. Yes, is it bad for the brand of aviation at large. It shakes up consumer confidence, and that's bad for any category.