Educational
Experience
Schooling from St. Mary's Academy - Meerut.
Graduation
from Meerut College - Meerut.
Management
from BIT Mesra.
Professional
Experience
In the 15+ years of my professional career,
I've been on the receiving end most of the
time. Yes, you guessed it right. I have been
in Sales selling different products and services
with some sanity coming from marketing and
business development functions.
I
too, have had my moments of glory when I was
marketing Zee TV in UK and Europe. That assignment
gave me tremendous international experience
and exposure and lots of fun travelling all
over Europe.
For
the past 5 years or so, I've been associated
with the so called new age rage called convergence
(a combination of IT, broadband and telecom).
My
career so far has been a mixed bags winging
between great heights and some depressing
lows. All in all I would say God has been
kind to me and life has treated me well.
Job
Profile
AWSL
would be soon launching "Digital Wireless
Communication" services in India. The project
would offer various modes of wireless voice
& data communication bundled into one "Product
and Service" offering.
As
head of sales and marketing, I would be responsible
for sales & marketing functions for the proposed
service. Currently I am involved in project
development activities and Analog Radio Trunking
operations.
Marketing
as career choice
Developing
marketing strategies and working out different
tactics hones one's analytical skills, which
goes a long way in developing ability to handle
milts functional activities. Having good analytical
skills is like having a robust and open architecture
integration engine, which enables one to integrate
with and master various skills.
The
other important thing, which a combination
of sales and marketing does for you is - develop
the right attitude. And not just towards clients
and customers. Having or developing the right
attitude in life can provide success and happiness
not only in your professional career but in
all spheres. Be it professional life, relationships
or outlook towards the society at large. Most
importantly, the right attitude helps one
to become a good and genuine human being.
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Manish
with a friend in London
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Current
Marketing scenario
Marketing today has gathered a huge momentum
the world over. More and more businesses are
realizing the worth and potential of this
tool for developing their business by leaps
and bounds.
Gone
are the days when closely held family businesses
relied upon word-of-mouth publicity and loyal
patronage. With competition getting more and
more intense by the day, even the most loyal
patrons are lured away by competition through
a combination of price and attractive offering.
Right
and wrong about current marketing scenario
The market today is witnessing some very conservative
businesses coming out to adopt an aggressive
marketing approach. Even small businesses
allocate a substantial part of their budget
to marketing activities. And the new age entrepreneur
is all too aware of the effectiveness of this
tool to not have a marketing plan in place.
The
success of many products / services predominantly
because of innovative and effective marketing
strategies has also given rise to a new trend
- proprietary businesses and individuals promoting
their wares through a well thought out marketing
plan similar in approach to that of a corporate.
There is no question about it - marketing
along with sound financial planning is the
most important combination to determine the
success of any business.
There
is a flip side too. One of the negative bi-products
of marketing is hype. Sometimes unrealistic,
larger than life hype can be very dangerous
to the overall success of a business. The
other is unethical behaviour by certain players
in the market. This is most evident in advertising
campaigns. Though the overall standard of
advertising has gone up appreciably, particularly
in the third worlds countries like India but
sometimes the competitiveness goes overboard.
Certain campaigns witnessed are definitely
in bad taste and can be clearly classified
as below the belt.
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Manish
with his teammates in Cologne, France
|
Ambush
marketing and advertising is another malady
of the new age aggressive marketing approach.
Though the actual advertisers may have a different
perspective, the fact remains that actual
product / service is hid behind a practically
see through veil and the viewer is sufficiently
discerning to realize this. Nobody is fooled
except perhaps the ones who first impose such
flimsy censorship and then choose to look
the other way.
Putting
an innovative, effective and cost efficient
marketing plan is dependent on a large number
of factors, which need to be analyzed in great
detail. One needs to get to the nuts and bolts
of each aspect to be able to put together
a successful plan and hence it is inappropriate
to theorize or hypothesize on a generic approach.
However,
at the risk of being incorrect, I would say
that a marketing plan in many ways is like
a cricket one day innings - well paced - definitely
aggressive in the beginning and sustaining
during the middle overs. The end overs will
depend on how the innings has unfolded in
the previous overs.
To
curb the malpractice associated with marketing
/ advertising, regulatory authorities are
the ones who can play a predominant role by
imposing practical and workable censorship.
The advertisers and media planners should
also take a conscious call. Many a times,
despite being aggressive and innovative, marketing
plans have failed to make an impact on the
overall success of the business.
Marketing
gurus are bound to have different perspectives
about what is good or not so good, what will
be successful or not so successful. The viewpoint
presented over here is completely personal
and merely a reflection on the current global
marketing scenario. The success or failure
in most occasions cannot be correctly hypothesized.
In the end, it is in the hands of two factors
- God almighty and Public.
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Manish
with wife Neena, Daughter Himanshi and
Son Dakor on a holiday
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Five
years from now
Make loads of money. Get to the top. Take
a break. Go on a one year round the world
trip. Come back and hit the deck running.
Hobbies
Travelling - My ultimate dream is to be able
to travel and see every nook and corner (figuratively)
of the world. Playing & watching cricket -
I could actually miss an important family
function for a game of cricket.
Idea
of enjoyment
Food, friends and a cricket match.