Retail & Merchandising

Everyone thought FERRERO ROCHER would FAIL to sell ₹300 Rs chocolate in India where the most expensive chocolate cost ₹25.  In 2004, India's GDP per Capita was $624. (₹52,000 as per today's US-INR rates) What's worse is that as per NITI Aayog, in 2005, 55% of our population was multi-dimensionally POOR.  Now tell me: How could anyone spend money on CHOCOLATES when even feeding your child 3 times a day was hard? ➡️ To worsen things for Ferrero Rocher, the Indian market was full of affordable brands like Mondelez (Cadbury), Nestle, and other small players.  Then how did Ferrero Rocher manage to CREATE a new segment, and then DOMINATE it? Let's start with their positioning.  ➡️ Instead of targeting the bottom 95% of Indians, they targeted the top 5%.  This allowed them to DIFFERENTIATE themselves from the other's, and break free of the PRICE WAR. Then? They focused entirely on GIFTING. ➡️ Although Indians might be cost-sensitive when it comes to gifting (especially to relatives) - we become luxurious SPENDERS. So how did it manage to become the preferred brand for GIFTING? 1. Extra Price 2. Scarcity 3. Packaging and Feel 1️⃣ Extra Price In 2004, when they launched their first ever Ferrero Rocher, it cost ₹300 for a 12-piece box. That was DOUBLE the price of Cadbury Celebrations available then. Why? By then, Chocolate had become mainstream. Little ₹1 rupee chocolates became 'chillar' for us. And you couldn't gift 'chillar' to people, can you? 2️⃣ Scarcity As per a report in JRFM, Ferrero Rocher deliberately disallowed shops from having more than 2-3 Ferrero rocher boxes at a time. Why? Because scarcity drives demand. 3️⃣ Hazelnut Hazelnut is not very well known in India. It's too expensive and scarce. This became Ferrero Rocher's USP. Unlike other chocolates with the same 'milk and dark colour', Hazelnut gave Ferrero Rocher that 'premium feel'. 4️⃣ Packaging Unlike commercial brands, which try to REDUCE their cost of packaging, Ferrero did the OPPOSITE. They spent on packaging because it gave them: 1. Premiumness, and 2. Feel that it is perfect for gifting. --- Did you notice one thing? All of their strategies are designed to make them more 'premium' Because what I learned from them, is that ➡️ In today's era of mass production: Prmeiumness is what sells. So what do YOU learn from them?

Should you lower your price? Should you charge more? Here's how to find out. Most companies are leaving money on the table, especially in B2B. When businesses aren’t buying, price is almost never the blocker. Companies can always find room in their budget 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦. Typically, the real blockers are operational or political issues, such as: • Stakeholder buy-in • Fear the product may not work as expected • Buyers worry they lack the expertise to choose the right product • Process changes needed to adopt your product • Switching costs like migrating data or staff re-training • Lack of engineering or IT resources for integration • The risk of embarrassing your buyer in front of their boss (“nobody ever got fired for buying IBM”) 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 To understand the true (non-financial) cost of your product, interview 5 new customers and ask them what internal hurdles they had to overcome in order to adopt your product. Here are some questions you can use: • How long did it take from the time you made the decision until you were up and running? • Why did it take that long? Could you walk me through the steps? • Which budget did it come out of? • Who actually did the implementation? • What measurable outcomes does this product impact? Which KPIs? • Whose bonus depended on those KPIs being hit? • If you didn’t achieve that goal, what would that mean for the business? Once you have these answers, find ways to address your blockers instead of lowering your price. Remember, a low price signals poor quality. If prospects already have doubts, price cuts will only make them worse. Helpful? Feel free to re-share with your audience too.

One of the biggest reasons deals stall isn’t that buyers doubt your solution—it’s that they doubt their ability to make the right choice. Matt Dixon's research for The JOLT Effect found that 40% of lost deals are driven by customer indecision, not preference for a competitor. And Brent Adamson's new book The Framemaking Sale highlights that customers with high decision confidence are TEN TIMES more likely to make a purchase. Here are a few ways you can help buyers build confidence in themselves: 1. Reduce Decision Complexity According to Gartner, 77% of B2B buyers report their last purchase was “very complex or difficult." Streamlining options, providing decision guides, or recommending a clear best-fit reduces “analysis paralysis” and gives buyers confidence they aren’t missing something. 2. Reframe Risk in Personal Terms Buyers often fear personal blame more than organizational failure. Use case studies and peer validation to show how people in their role succeeded—helping them feel safe and supported in their choice. 3. Provide Buyer Enablement Tools Tools like ROI calculators, pre-built board decks, or checklists reduce the burden on them and demonstrate that they have what they need to decide. 4. Normalize Their Concerns The JOLT Effect also emphasizes “normalizing indecision” as a critical skill—buyers need to know hesitation is common and that you can guide them through it. Framing uncertainty as a normal step in the process reduces the shame that often delays action. 5. Signal Post-Decision Support Harvard Business Review highlights that buyers who see strong post-sale support are more confident in making initial commitments. Show them the path forward—onboarding, customer success, peer communities—so they know they won’t be left alone after purchase. Helping buyers feel personally confident and protected is as important as proving your product’s value. The most successful marketers and sellers don’t just build confidence in the solution—they build confidence in the decision-maker.

𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚'𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 Jeffrey Bustos, and Dustin Cochart, call it as it is, dissecting the rapidly evolving retail media landscape. Retail media has transformed from an $18.8 billion business four years ago to a massive $54.9 billion industry today, with the number of Retail Media Networks tripling since 2020 to 94 networks. But with explosive growth comes significant challenges. What started for many as a perceived easy revenue stream has become increasingly complex. Retailers now face mounting pressure to differentiate their offerings, control operational expenses, and embrace new technologies. Meanwhile... brands demand more than just media placements – they want first-party data, closed-loop measurement, and deeper shopper insights to justify their investments. The industry's growing complexity threatens both retailers and brands, with fragmentation across networks creating inconsistent reporting, attribution models, and measurement frameworks. Without standardisation, comparing performance remains a significant hurdle for brands looking to optimize their spending. Technology is reshaping retail media, but choosing the wrong tech stack can be costly. Many retailers have rushed into this space with quick-fix solutions only to find themselves stuck with rigid systems that can't scale. The future belongs to those embracing a "buy-and-partner" model with modular, API-driven ecosystems that integrate across platforms. As their analysis shows, not every retail media network will survive this transition. Only those that balance growth with profitability, solve the complexity problem, and make strategic technology choices will thrive in retail media's next chapter. #RetailMedia #DigitalMarketing #RetailTech #DataAnalytics

10 years ago, while working at LVMH, I noticed one consumer trend that surprised me. At the time, LVMH ran the duty-free in Mumbai through a company called DFS Group Limited. In the stores, Indian customers would skip luxury perfumes and watches to pick up British Dairy Milk. It was one of the top-selling SKUs. Honestly, I thought it was due to a colonial hangover—the belief that British Dairy Milk was better than what we got in our kirana stores. But it was something else. The answer reveals how global brands evolve and cater their offering for India. When Cadbury UK entered the Indian market, they faced a unique challenge: unlike the UK, we didn't have an advanced cold chain. Our climate demanded more stabilizers, different packaging (the foil around the chocolate isn’t there across the world), and a different price point. So they adapted—different ingredients, different texture, different taste. And they made a chocolate that could survive Indian summers and fit Indian wallets. This worked until Indians who traveled abroad started noticing the difference. British Dairy Milk became that 'luxury' chocolate you'd bring back from duty-free. That’s when Cadbury saw an opportunity. They launched Dairy Milk Silk—richer, creamier, closer to the British version, and priced at a 50-70% premium. Everyone said it wouldn’t work. "Indians are too price-sensitive." But it did—and became a massive hit! Today, Dairy Milk leads India's confectionery market with over $800M in sales, and Silk's premium pricing hasn't stopped its growth. It’s just increased their market share. This shows how global brands carve their place in the Indian market: Start with an adapted, contextual product → Build trust and customer love → Go to the premium segment It’s fascinating to see how yesterday’s luxury becomes today’s basic—and today’s basic becomes tomorrow’s obsolete. Which other product have you seen this with? #India #Chocolate #Marketing #fmcg

Very glad to see this being spoken about - it's not sexy, but one of the big challenges holding retail media teams back. Every media CPG RFP I saw last year included some version of retail media in the brief - many brands including it in media scopes for the first time - it's not uncommon for retail media briefs to be incomplete and half-baked, and not aligned to trade/commercial, perpetuating the challenges. I speak to trade/commercial teams who are banging on brand doors to be included in brand planning cycles, and I speak to brand teams who can't get hold of their trading teams who are focused on hitting the sales number each week. Do not leave it up to your agency to solve these issues for you as part of their BAU - out of 52 CPG brands surveyed by the The Digital Shelf Institute, 22 operating models for retail media were uncovered 🤯! There is no one approach and brands need to understand how things work for their business. A client said to me recently "we need to ensure we show up as one client" - this was music to my ears, but also highlights that agencies and brands will work better when we have better definitions and clarity on how to balance sales and marketing, and the right incentives in place. You WILL have multiple teams at client and agency side planning and executing retail media - onsite, offsite, retail DSPs, SSPs, instore, social, d2c - the ways of working and definitions are the lifeline teams need (and will save a lot of wasted meetings). What can you do in your business today? 🟣 Understand the current state of retail media - which teams are buying it, what technology are you using, which budgets, stakeholders, and retailers? 🟣 Spend and performance audits - what is committed retail trade/promo spend with retailers, long term, short term, what is channel specific or goal specific? 🟣 Maturity of retailers and capabilities that are important for your brand - map these and prioritise, reduce the long tail 🟣 Capability/talent audit - do you have the right people doing the right roles? 🟣 Category and audience dynamics unique to your brand needs 🟣 Create a definition of retail media for your business - does this mean restructuring some roles and thinking about things differently? 🟣 Testing agenda/partners for innovation 🟣 Ways of working - what are the guidelines for teams to engage, plan and measure? Brand owners need to tackle these definitions head on and collaborate with your agencies. There's some great brands doing this incredibly well today, but there's a lot to be done to improve the operations behind the scenes. #retailmedia

Charging less isn’t the answer to attracting more clients. If you’re not converting, the issue likely isn’t with your pricing—it’s with your messaging. When we lower prices, hoping that a “low-ticket” offer will magically fix things, we miss the real issue. Even a “bargain” offer can’t sell if the message isn’t landing. Here’s the reality: → Price cuts can’t fix unclear messaging. If your ideal clients aren’t resonating, they won’t convert—no matter the cost.  → Low-ticket offers aren’t a silver bullet. Lowering prices won’t help if your audience still doesn’t understand why they need what you’re offering. What we need to do is build a powerful message that speaks directly to the heart of our ideal clients. Here’s how: 🔹 Make your value undeniable. Clients don’t invest because of a deal; they invest because they see life-changing potential. 🔹 Speak directly to their needs. Talk about the transformation they crave, not just the features of your service. 🔹 Refine and simplify your offer. When your messaging is clear and impactful, clients can feel the value. Price is only a barrier when the message doesn’t resonate. Get that right, and pricing becomes secondary. The solution isn’t a low-ticket offer; it’s a compelling message. Do you agree?

Why is it still so hard to purchase a car in 2025? We recently conducted market research into the car-buying experience, and the UX inconsistencies we uncovered were alarming. Every dealership had its own method of assessing buyer eligibility: 🔹 Excel spreadsheets with broken formatting 🔹 WhatsApp chats requiring back-and-forth document sharing 🔹 Online tools that routed through multiple layers before reaching a sales consultant What should be a simple, seamless experience felt disjointed, confusing, and outdated. Even when digital tools existed, dealerships often reverted to manual processes to speed things up. The result? A patchwork of systems, redundant steps, and a lack of trust in the process. While I understand there are challenges around: 🔹 Decentralised dealership networks 🔹 Legacy internal systems 🔹 Regulatory and compliance risks This process still feels more sales-driven than user-centred. Which raises important questions: 🔹 Why are dealerships still relying on fragmented, analogue methods? 🔹 Is the system designed for efficiency, or merely internal convenience? 🔹 What does this say about the intent behind these UX choices? There is a clear opportunity. Imagine a centralised, user-friendly platform that manages document collection, verification, and routing on behalf of dealerships. One interface. One process. One standard of trust. This is not just a UX issue. It is a business opportunity waiting to be solved. Have you experienced this when buying a car? What would make the process better for you? #uxdesign #productdesign #customerexperience #userexperience #uiux

‎Why the short-lived patronage?... ‎ ‎ ‎A lesson from Mika Enterprise... ‎ (‎This might be a long read but worth it.👇) ‎ ‎Mika Enterprise, a reputable brand in Yana Town known for its high-quality office furniture, bedroom pillows, and elegant kitchen accessories, noticed a troubling trend. ‎ ‎Customers walked into their showroom impressed. Many purchased once, some even twice but then vanished. No repeat business. No loyalty... ‎ ‎This puzzled Mr. Dingo the CEO. His products were undeniably good but "why the short-lived patronage?" ‎ ‎Here’s the truth: ‎People don’t just buy products, they buy experiences. ‎ ‎A beautiful product and a well-decorated showroom are no longer enough. In today’s economy, customer experience is the new battleground. ‎ ‎Every single interaction with your brand from your online presence , receptionist’s tone to your delivery process, your WhatsApp replies, and even your social media captions shapes your customer’s perception about your brand or business. ‎ ‎This is what we call the Customer Journey and if your customer is unhappy about any of these interactions it becomes the silent killer in your business. ‎ ‎✨Here’s why clients might not be coming back to Mr.Dingo's showroom: ‎ ‎1. No follow-up after purchase ‎ ‎2. Inconsistent staff behavior ‎ ‎3. Poorly designed service processes ‎ ‎4.Lack of personalized customer experiences. ‎ ‎✨Here is how to fix it if you are facing similar challenges: ‎ ‎1. Map your customers' Journey – List all your customer touchpoints from purchase to post-sale. Find out if calls answered, timelines are met, communication, processes and procedures are consistent etc. ‎ ‎2. Test Your Experience – Ask a friend to act as a customer and give honest feedback on your products and services. ‎ ‎3. Train Your Team – Teach staff the importance of empathy, consistency, and service excellence. ‎ ‎4. Ask for Feedback – Directly ask customers what can be improved. ‎ ‎5. Track Retention – Use simple tools like Google sheets to monitor repeat purchases and identify where customers drop off. ‎ ‎Use the above tips to keep your customers and remember loyal customers are the most profitable customers. ‎ 👉‎My small business owners and startups, you’ve worked too hard to build your brand to lose customers over poor experiences. Let’s fix that. ‎ ‎Send a DM with the word 'Service Gap' for a free checklist to help you spot service gaps and improve your business for long-term success. ‎ ‎ ‎Enjoy a Productive Week😊... ‎ ‎

"Let me get back to you." Sounds polite, right? But 90% of the time, it’s a soft NO. Because if they really wanted to work with you, they wouldn’t need to "get back." So, what do you do? Do you sit back and wait? Do you follow up and get ghosted? Do you lower your price to make it more ‘convincing’? No. You take control of the sale. Here’s how I handle this—without sounding desperate, pushy, or manipulative: 1. I validate their process. Wrong: "Take your time!" (This keeps me in limbo.) Right: "That makes sense! Choosing the right partner is important. Can I ask—what are you specifically looking for in a provider?" Why? Because now I’ve shifted the conversation. Instead of waiting, I’m uncovering what’s holding them back. 2. I address hidden doubts head-on. Most people don’t just ‘get back.’ They’re hesitating for a reason. Maybe it’s price. Maybe it’s trust. Maybe they don’t see the urgency. So I ask: "Totally understand! Usually, when someone says this, they have a concern they haven’t shared yet. Would love to hear your thoughts- so even if we don’t work together, I can improve how I do things." This does two things: It makes them comfortable sharing their real reason. It positions me as someone who genuinely wants to help, not just close a deal. 3. I create FOMO the right way. Instead of saying, "I only have limited spots left!" (which sounds salesy), I make them realize the cost of waiting: "Most of my clients regret one thing—waiting too long. Every month you delay, you're leaving [insert pain point] unresolved. Curious—if you were to move forward today, what’s stopping you?" This makes them think about the real cost of delaying. 4️⃣ I give them an easy way to say YES. Sometimes, the hesitation is just decision fatigue. So I simplify it: "I get that you're talking to others—so to make this easier, why don’t we do a quick 20-min strategy session? No commitment, just clarity. If it feels right, great. If not, no pressure." Now, instead of a vague “I’ll get back to you”, they have a clear next step. And guess what? 7 out of 10 times, they take it. Because people want clarity. They want certainty. The truth? Your prospects don’t need more time. They need more confidence in choosing YOU.