Opinion Can COA break brand mediocrity?

Why aren’t Indian companies paying heed to designing a service with unbeatable quality and aesthetics? Perhaps we are missing COA (Curiosity,Observation,Action) centricity. Beyond-the-routine,curiosity will help unearth a new perspective. The passion to ferret out the new in every domain is the beginning of the search for brand differentiation. It impacts a brand’s action for breakthrough innovation,making it competitive in the ‘glocal’ market.

Since ancient times,Indians have been sensitive in appreciating consistency in aesthetics with strong craftsman-ship. Take the 13th century Konark Sun temple in Orissa. Ganga Dynasty King Narasimha Deva-I (AD 1236-1264) built this exquisite temple as a royal proclamation of political supremacy. Just check people’s work consistency then. Initially,about 1200 artisans and architects invested creative talent,energy and artistic commitment for 12+ years in executing the design. Imagine if Indians today meshed this legacy and calibre for perfection in meticulous design execution with contemporary digital technology,where a brand can go. Perhaps our people of multiple races interpret design in too many unscientific ways. Or are manufacturers not capable of eliciting passionate curiosity and high quality observation among employees to compete globally?

In the last 20 years,consumer approach towards different products has changed dramatically. An Ambassador car driver had to sit at a 45 degree angle to accommodate three to four others alongside him. Psychologically feeling the physical distance,people would yell into the telephone. In PCO booths,you had to wildly gesticulate to the caller inside to indicate the queue. Today,you no longer own a 40-year-old refrigerator,the professional dhobi has almost disappeared in the city,most city airports are not railway-station look-alikes any more. All such changes came to India from developed countries,when they brought their innovation/invention on quality,functionality and aesthetics.

Have Indian brands contributed through differentiated value propositions when consumer desire level has shot up? Explaining her expectation from her next vehicle,a 32-year-old woman said an instrument panel sensor should indicate with sound the minimum fuel in her petrol tank. Just 15 years ago,her father’s Ambassador was all she knew. Her mindset change on engineering excellence has come from experiencing foreign brands. Such revelations prove that the protected economy merely empowered a few monopolistic industrialists who lived in comfort zone delivering sub-standard quality to consumers. But wait! There’s convoluted drama here. People’s buying behaviour has changed but not their working and delivery style. There’s lack of craftsmanship,finesse,enduring quality,connoisseur treatment,sense of aesthetics,excellence of functionality in every domain. If the aim of companies trying to match up to global benchmarks is to chase short term gains without discipline or holistic approach,they may not reach that level. Employee mindset has to change for incredible delivery to happen.

Since 1991 economic reforms,the buying power of around 25 per cent middle class has increased. Correspondingly,what has Indian industry addressed? (1) Responded to the demand-led IT market opportunity of fulfilling basic needs of developed countries. That our British colonisers gifted us the English language helped. (2) Several companies are growing with the single-minded ambition of raising valuation to sell out to a global giant. (3) Indian manufacturers are offering better price advantage in global competition. Basic employment has been generated,but when will India respond with innovation to mesmerise the existing invented wheel the way Japan,Korea and Chinese did? When COA culture is absent,people want everything in an easy manner,not through struggle and tenacity. To avoid being inferior to global brands,Indian brands can imbibe COA,develop curiosity with extreme passion; while their observation dissection has to be powerful for a new blueprint of differentiation with substance. The brand can then act to astonish ‘glocal’ customers.

At a COA workshop,I examined the threaded end of a Rs 15,000 Mont Blanc pen. This was a solution to secure the cap at the far end while you write. The participants in my class figured Mont Blanc is expensive,so they could do anything. This is pure complacency. They didn’t appreciate the simple breakthrough idea that provided customers with differentiation and extra benefit of not losing the cap. It’s a pity that Indian companies are not taking excellence of global standard delivery seriously. Having this hollow can make India become like a Middle East country where only international brands dominate the economy.

Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top management. Reach him at http://www.shiningconsulting.com