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Profile of Ashwin Merchant: A true entrepreneur and SME family member
Born in an industrious SME family, Ashwin Merchant is an engineer from VJTI, University of Mumbai with post graduate studies in marketing management. After returning from USA, where he had gone to pursue higher studies, initially he joined family linked business in manufacturing of electrical equipment.

In the first quarter itself he designed and developed first of its kind of solid state battery charger (unique, advanced, not available in India) and demonstrated manufactured product at India International Trade Fair (IITF) in New Delhi under Government of Maharashtra pavilion for SSIs & SMEs. He put in lot of marketing into business of selling a hard core electrical product by designing catalogue which unlike rest, talked about benefits and not just features.

For a 15 day trade fair, to explain product he used tape recorder which played product information to visitors. A nice logo and business cards were designed as marketing tool. Received hundred of enquiries and back in Mumbai seniors were not ready to allocate company typist to reply enquiry.

Ashwin Merchant borrowed money and bought Apple computer than costing Rs.99,000/- a first generation of PC. Used low profiled word processing software and mail merged all enquiries with a single text in less than a week. Surprised by technology assistance and usage for commercial purpose, senior encouraged him to do a business in the area of providing similar services to all those who regularly participate in exhibitions.

And, this gave birth to India's first word processing bureau WORDPLUS Compu-Mark Assistance which was launched at a well known event at Hotel Ambassador in Mumbai. From thousands of square feet of space at the factory, Ashwin Merchant preferred to settle in 200 square feet office in South Mumbai, purchased on rent.

Complete Profile
Objective of marketing has always remain the same - only tools & techniques keep on changing
Ashwin Merchant | 12 Jan, 2010
Marketing is not just about making sales, generating transactions, provide services but 'To make and manage customers'. Call customers as buyers, clients, shoppers, patients depending on the business and profession you are in.

Gandhiji described the importance of customers in business way back in 40s and every line of wisdom about customers hold true even today after 60 years and with the over flow of varieties of principles and theories, management mantras floated by management gurus world over. Business is marketing and role of marketing is to identify, locate, make and manage customers – in all generations, in all time - good or difficult.

Technology time to time changed the way we leave, we communicate and we do business. From type writers to word processors, from letter press to modern printing, from print to electronic to digital to multimedia, from mass to niche media, from mass communication to one-to-one dialogue, from local to global marketing… objectives of marketing changed. We used to send letters - cyclostyled ones by post, than printed, than personalized, than customized and personalized, using services like speed post to international couriers, from phone (remember black box) to interactive EPABX, from pages to mobiles, from mail to email to SMS to MMS to Voice mail. Video conferencing to 3G Mobile technology for one to one business marketing, tools have changed. From rural melas and exhibitions to trade fairs and road shows - the meeting place also changed.

Each tools bring with it a unique USP in terms of speed, privacy, value addition and personalization. Various techniques of marketing like Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) to Dealers Relationship Marketing (DRM) was designed. Communication techniques from monologue to dialogue, efficiency of media from non-measurable to measurable in terms of response and often results came into existence. Varying insights towards customer satisfaction, customer care to customer delight became visible to marketers. From independent to interactive to integrated communication techniques designed. Linking persons, post and phone in any and every form virtually attacked customers for brand to business.

Really, we have come a long way…. Customers and Competition Changed the way we did business and will change the way we do the business.

Define your goal, spell out your marketing objectives. Do not get fascinated by the technology available, ease of use, accessibility of database, cost of technology… remember if anyone can use it, do it, better you think differently.

(To know more about the author please visit: www.ashwinmerchant.com The author can be contacted at ashwin.merchant@yahoo.com)
 
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