ABOUT THAT ZERO MOMENT OF TRUTH
Mainak Dhar’s new book provides plenty of fresh insights to do with marketplace realities across the world
B oth the beginners in marketing and the bigwigs too swear by 55 books authored by the legendary Philip Kotler, 85, who is currently the SC Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, USA. Against this formidable backdrop of an extant Titanic treasure trove of seminal management literature in marketing, Mumbai based IIM-A alumnus Mainak Dhar has authored an endearingly easy to read homespun book, which despite the somewhat misleading ethnic connotation inherent in its title, provides a plethora of fresh insights relating to marketplace realities worldwide. Cutting cogently through the clutter of complicated scenarios isn’t easy but Dhar has delivered a must-read book. I bestow the “must-read” compliment because Dhar addresses the ubiquitous common citizen. This consideration for the silent majority is one of Dhar’s strengths.
But precisely whose marketing pitfalls and problems does this book analyse? Which factors influence ordinary householders to choose a particular brand of detergent powder over another? To what extent are audiences (who are also obviously consumers) wowed by celebrity endorsements? Dhar writes: “A Bollywood starlet might well enhance the appeal for a brand of lipstick, but her endorsement for a brand of paan masala may leave one scratching one’s head.” How best can nerv-
THIS EASYTOREAD HOMESPUN BOOK PROVIDES INSIGHTS WHILE CUTTING THROUGH THE CLUTTER OF COMPLICATED SCENARIOS. A MUSTREAD!
ous job seekers market themselves? What do’s and don’ts must anxious parents eager to help a daughter or son catch the best possible life partner via matrimonial ads never forget? How can responsible parents shield vulnerable children from being led astray by the undesirable and unwarranted product enticements of hardcore marketers’?
While answering queries like these, Dhar seamlessly weaves in definitions and explanations of fairly complicated marketing principles such as “product differentiation”, “active disengagement” and “zero moment of truth (ZMOT)”. To start with, lay readers might feel intimidated enough to lament that they can’t quite understand what the author is trying to say. But Dhar knows his subject and in a few paragraphs lucidly explains the relevance of these items of marketing theory. The reader is left feeling wiser and enlightened.
A reader might ask: “How come Mr Dhar knows so much?” This brings me to the author’s credentials. Managing director of the Mumbai-based Indian subsidiary of a US multinational, one of the largest food companies in the world, Dhar’s work entails selling a slew of items ranging from commonplace flour to highend ice-cream and expanding both popularity and acceptance of the company’s upmarket brands. Some day Dhar’s autobiography might tell the tale but within the space of these columns his claim to marketing fame rests here. That’s not all. He’s also written a thriller and a book on marketing entitled “Brand Management 101” published in the USA in 2008. This book is his third. I have no hesitation in recommending it to everyone who wants to understand what makes some products successful. Sujoy Gupta is a business historian and corporate biographer