Direct connect with the customer who will ultimately use the product or service is essential, emphasises Gopichand Katragadda in SMASH Innovation ( www.wileyindia.com). “It is important for the researcher to visit the shop floors, the oil wells, the railway tracks, the hospitals, the cities and the villages where their products will be used.”

An example cited in the book is of how when P&G (Procter and Gamble) wanted to penetrate the baby diaper market in China, the traditional split pants (kaidangku), which allowed the babies to easily relieve themselves, were a force to reckon with. Mothers felt that these pants were more hygienic as there were no issues such as diaper rash.

“P&G introduced Pampers in China in 1998, and by 2004, 90 per cent of the babies in Shanghai wore night diapers.”

Key lessons.

Tell Your Clients Where to Go!
Todd Sebastian

Exceed expectations every day, urges Todd Sebastian in Tell Your Clients Where to Go! ( www.infinitypublishing.com). The key, he says, is to demonstrate to your clients that you are p assionate about their businesses and constantly seeking new ways to help them grow. “Find a way to pleasantly surprise at least one client a day with something they were not expecting,” reads one of the simple and practical tips in the book.

For instance, you can send your client a copy of a relevant industry article, with a cover note offering some perspective, Sebastian suggests. “Maybe it is a new competitive product you found while shopping. Or an ad for a completely unrelated item that inspired an idea for your clients’ businesses.”

While a complex surprise can be ‘a significant new business-building proposal,’ the easy-to-achieve ones, as the author lists, include: a deliverable reached one day early, an email to follow up on something, or just anything ‘as long as it is relevant and adds value in some way.’

Imperative addition to the earnest marketers’ shelf.