8/11/2019 Chanakya Niti in Marketing

1/2

Chanakya Niti in Marketing

Chanakya; (c. 370c. 283 BCE) was an Indian teacher, philosopher, and royal advisor. Originally a

professor of economics and political science at the ancient Takshashila University, Chanakya managed the

first Maurya emperor Chandragupta's rise to power at a young age. He is widely credited for having played

an important role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire, which was the first empire in archaeologicallyrecorded history to rule most of the Indian subcontinent. Chanakya served as the chief advisor to both

Chandragupta and his son Bindusara. Chanakya is traditionally identified as Kautilya or Vishnu Gupta, who

authored the ancient Indian political treatise called Arthasastra (Economics). He is considered as the

pioneer of the field of economics and political science in India, and his work is thought of as an important

precursor to classical economics. His works were lost near the end of the Gupta dynasty and not

rediscovered until 1915.

Well, so much for what a leading online encyclopedia says about him, but we as Indians know that

Chanakya means way more than that to us. We are smitten with his works (if not his intellect), quote him at

the drop of a hat, and try to use his teachings to the best of our advantage. And what sutrasthey were!

Relevant even today probably because they are elementary. Here, all Ive tried to do is see if his sutrasare

of relevance when we sit snug in our board rooms or our desks to arrive upon marketing strategies in

todays app fuelled android driven times.

Learn from the mistakes of othersyou cant live long enough to make it all yourselves!

Even when taking on blue-sky projects, there certainly are some points of reference that would be valid. So

thorough research needs to be done to ensure that we do not commit the same mistakes that others do. A

classic example would be Nirma bathing bars. The brand by itself is synonymous with detergent powder.

The consumers just refused to pick something up with a similar name for their bodies. ITC, on the contrary,

understood this & created various brands in luxury and economy segments of personal care. The rest is

before us in departmental stores today.

A person should not be too honest. Stra ight trees are cut f i rs t and ho nest people are troubled first

Ahem! Well, at the risk of being shunned from the marketers community for letting our closely guarded

secrets, let me tell you that it is all a game of Marketing Communications. We sinners have perfected the art

of convincing with concealment of (some) facts. Lets face it, not everything about your product can be

great. So marketers must skillfully mask what might be a deterrent, with a wizard-like deftness.

Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous

Positioning makes the difference. Wrong positioning has the power to destroy your brand. When you are a

new entrant in the market, you might already be up against stiff and established competition. It is extremelyimportant to heighten the expectations of the consumers by strongly highlighting the differentiator / USP of

your product or service. Simply, raise the bar.

The biggest Guru-Mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you!

No brownie points for guessing this one. If you want to be a name to be reckoned with, guard your trade

secrets with your life. For instance, if anyone ever managed to ascertain Coca Colas secret formula, Coca

Cola would no longer be the #1 cola in the world, as you could just make it at home. Everything Coke has

worked for from the ground up to accomplish in the last hundred plus years would have been unrightfully

negated.

8/11/2019 Chanakya Niti in Marketing

2/2

As soon as the fear approaches near, attack it and destroy it

Fear for a company in marketing parlance could be losing market share. If company fears loss of market

share to a competitor due to some new market strategy adopted by him, in spite of waiting for the right time,

it should pounce upon it using a counter strategy to fail the initial effects of the competitors efforts itself.

Waiting has become a synonym for losing in the highly competitive and demanding market these days.

More so in todays real-time online marketing world. Why do you think ambush marketing is so popular?

Even from poison extract nectar, wash and take back gold if it has fallen in filth, receive highest

know ledge from a low born person

In an unpredictable market like India, no information is worthless. Sometimes the best & most relevant

innovations come from people way down the industrial value chain. It is important to embrace whatever

does your brand good and is feasible.

"B efore you star t some w ork, always ask yoursel f three quest ions - Why am I doing i t , what the

resul ts might be and w i l l I be successfu l? Only w hen you th ink deeply and f ind sat is factory answers

to these question s, go ahead."

Companies today spend a fortune on Market Research. They have various sieves in the form of review

processes in place before every launch. The reason is pretty simple. Hitting the road without proper

knowledge of the market is nothing short of Hara-kiri. Like the old adage goes, better safe than sorry.

The worlds biggest power is youth and the beauty of a woman

Ok another simple one there. And there are more than one ways that this is relevant in. For starters, the

market is strewn with products that preserves your beauty, and your youth. Makes sense. Prized

possessions both. More so, because we as marketers know that women and the young are most

impressionable and more prone to make impulse purchases. Secondly, they are our biggest strength whenendorsement is needed for a product or service. Given a choice wouldnt you buy something that a drop-

dead gorgeous leading lady of the tinsel town asks you to buy? (Evil grin on behalf of all my marketer

brothers). The sale of a certain deodorant increased dramatically after the celebrity endorser (a very

desirable lady, if I may say so) offered to go on a date with lucky buyers, on national television.

These are just some of his most popular sutras. It would make an exhaustive article if I present all his tenets

in respect to marketing, but what we can be certain of is that they are all relevant even today. This reiterates

something all marketing gurus and seasoned marketers have been screaming hoarse about from rooftops:

Simplify your thoughts, attack the basics and youd have a marketing strategy to die for on your hands,

every time.