First-hand marketing lessons for MBA students in Ludhiana

Deputy Dean of the Institute,Harpreet K Kang,who designed the assignment for the students,says students were told about it in the bus itself. “I briefed them that they were to trade with the copy and pen as many times as they could,in the three hours that they would be in Jagraon. The bus would start back in exactly three hours,and the students had to reach it from wherever they were in the town,” she smiles. The 60 students were divided into groups,with three members each.

The group that came back with the highest returns was smart indeed. They went to a studio and tied up with him as business partners,assuring to work with him on his sales. For this,they got a free diary and a clock from the studio. They then caught hold of two youngsters outside another studio,and promised them a discount on their photo portfolios,if they got it done from ‘their’ studio.

Back at their own studio,they got commission for their work. The same team went to an English coaching academy and said they were students who wanted to earn pocket money,and signed a partnership with the academy. The group brought back signed MOUs with both the studio and the academy. From the centre,they got a new IELTS pack and some other audio visual aids worth Rs 600. At the end of the assignment,their assets valued at Rs 2,000 approximately.

Says Manvir Singh Dhillon,one of the members of this group,“The first thing we did was,we got together with another group by signing a partnership deal. More brains working together would help us. And then as we started trading,we hitch-hiked to save time. The bottom line is that business is done by techniques and books are the guide — where these end,the human brain takes over,and then it goes beyond imagination,” says the 22-year-old,who resides at Adarsh Colony in Ludhiana .

Adds Aakriti Gupta,a resident of Rishi Nagar in Ludhiana ,who was part of the same group,“This activity taught us what marketing actually means. Making people listen to you,convincing them and making them spend money on your idea is a tough job.”

Another group came back with 50 new copies in return for their single notebook. They kept multiplying their stationery items. They would sell the first lot a little more expensive at the courts where people needed loose sheets,pens,pencils etc. They would then go back and buy double the stationery. The team kept circulating chores amidst purchasing,meeting separate individuals and further selling their groups to more people at the local courts.

Other teams moved to the residential areas to trade their copy and pen,and came back with the most surprising items — jeans,bedsheets,kitchen towels,regular towels,eatables,a small plastic chair,shampoos,soaps and oils.

Among other things,two groups also brought back wall hangings and presented them to the college —these are now on the office walls. One is a picture,and another is a holy quote of the tenth Guru,Guru Gobind Singh.

Of course,while some groups did well,others stood around the bus,and could come up with little. The ones who were late in starting work were told by the shopkeepers in Jagraon market to look elsewhere —these shopkeepers had already dealt with other students.