Will a Drought Hurt India's FMCG Market?

 Rising rural prosperity in the last few years has had a positive impact on India's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market. A host of government-run programmes, coupled with higher prices for agricultural produce, have triggered the rural growth that Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Dabur, among others, have capitalised on. They have expanded their presence significantly in the hinterland, resulting in strong rural demand for their products.

This year, the picture might just be different. With the monsoon playing hide and seek so far, the India Meteorological Department has raised concerns about a possible drought. In fact, the central government has already announced a drought relief package for five provinces.

August began with a 19% deficiency in rainfall. While the monsoon has recovered encouragingly since then, it is a late surge and it is still 10% short of the average, affecting cereal and pulse production and threatening to impact rural demand. 

These are not encouraging signs for FMCG companies, who would now need to alter their strategies to face this challenge. While their sales growth momentum was not impacted during the quarter ended June 2012, the pressures are expected to be felt over the second half of this financial year.

MSLGROUP India's detailed research and insights note, 'Impact of Drought on the FMCG Sector', offers a perspective on the emerging situation.

Read the report here... 

Keeping B2B Enthusiasts Enthused

Historically, b2b marketers have always tried to keep a shadowy, artificial distance from consumer marketing. But today that gap (if there ever was one) is closing. B2b marketers realize that, in the end, they are selling to human beings. And the need to understand, communicate with, and thrill their most enthusiastic customers is becoming not only very real, but every company's way to market.

B2b relationships are usually built around three things, how to: save customers money, make them money, or strengthen their competitive ability. While those objectives have not altered, the context certainly has.

"The landscape of b2b has changed and continues to evolve," says Keith Turco, president of Gyro New York, a b2b agency. "Social media is one of the reasons it's changing, but human relevance has always been pertinent in the b2b space."

Pertinent, but in the face of hard facts and features, the human factor historically has been unrecognized or misunderstood as soft marketing in the hard-nosed world of b2b.

In truth, the b2b audience is as influenced by peers and by human contact as consumer marketing. First-hand testimonials have always been a sought-after component of the b2b marketing mix: the eyes-forward-straight-into-the-lens testimonial-a b2b staple for decades, is no different than the consumer marketer's 'talking head'.

Trade shows and face-to-face meetings have also been desired connection points.

But what has truly changed in b2b is how the communications have flexed to match modern work styles.

Read on for more...

Customer Dilemma: Give them what they want or what they need?

Breathe New Life into Your Home Page, Gain Loyal Readers

How many times have you closed your eyes, rubbed your temples and wondered how much easier life would be if you had a background in layout and design?

Even with armies of designers at their disposal, content marketers are often forced to direct overarching layout and design concepts. The home page is arguably the most crucial focus of design energy. According to one expert, a well designed home page may be the key to coercing members of your audience away from their Twitter feeds and back into the role of "loyal reader."

A truly engaging home page keeps visitors hungry for more material. While catchy headlines and high-quality content play their own roles here, the key to retaining readers is to keep them plowing through more content on your site. One of the best ways to accomplish this is with a home page that simplifies the way your audience finds (or stumbles upon) content.

Major publishers on the web experiment, test, and retest to make their home page layout as engaging as possible. What can content marketers learn from them to build a great home page?

Get some great tips here...

Job Listings on Paul Writer

Watch this space for new job listings on Paulwriter.com every week for mid to senior level marketers. Or post a job here...

Marcom Manager - Drona Mobile - Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Drona Mobile is a VC backed, product tech start-up, currently serving countless enterprise customers, including Wipro, Essar, Genpact, SBI, UltraTech.

They are looking for a performance-oriented all-around player who can manage relationships, define messages, plan events, produce content and engage online. An independent, accountable, team player, a leader with strong project management skills who knows how to make things happen will thrive in this role!

The Marcom Manager will lead all marketing communication activities including tradeshows, online events, online social activity, marketing material and PR with the objective of generating enterprise leads, improve the company's positioning in the market and support sales. 

Apply Now...