MAHA MANDI- The 4 P's of Marketing
“Why MBA ?“ was a question that I had always struggled with
during my college interviews. After more than 3 years of work experience would
the textual knowledge gained in the confines of a classroom really be of any
use?
Maha Mandi was an event that really helped silence this
question, it bridged the gap between textual knowledge and practical experience.
For me, it was an opportunity to learn the 4Ps of Marketing on the streets of
Mumbai.
Maha Mandi started with an awesome dance performance
With Mr. Sashi Chimala and Dr. Mandi
Product
The products we were selling were educational toys to
inspire kids to think differently. They were aimed out bringing out the creativity
in the kids and were ideal for understanding
geometrical figures and simple concepts of physics. The fact that these
toys were made by kids to sponsor their own education helped us connect well
with our customers.
Place
We choose to sell our toys near CST because we wanted to
sell them to the average Mumbaikar. The Mumbaikar, who travelled through the
crowded local trains, who toiled for long hours in his office, for whom every
minute counted and who valued every rupee he spent. We sold our toys to a wide
variety to customers, we sold them to married couples to college kids, to grandparents and even to
a differently abled NGO worker. We even managed to sell our last toy to a
couple of foreigners visiting from USA.
Price
We were constrained to sell all our toys at a fixed price
which we initially thought might be a challenge. But merely 1 hour into
selling, we realized that if you can prove the real worth of the product to a user
it wasn’t really to stick to your asking price.
Promotion
For good promotion of our products, the most important factor
was good knowledge of our product. The fact that we were working on a
non-profit basis for a social cause helped us connect well with our customers.
Also, selling in large numbers in uniforms increased our visibility and developed
curiosity among people.
It was a thoroughly wonderful learning experience, it helped me shed my inhibitions about approaching strangers. It was a wonderful team building exercise for us.
My Team
Dekho- The best learning is through observation
Socho- Think about what went right with your last sale and where you went wrong with the last miss
Becho- Aaj ki padhai ka kharcha, aaj hi kamao.
