Chanakya Niti in Marketing

Chanakya; (c. 370 c. 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 archaeologically
recorded 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 sutras they were!
Relevant even today probably because they are elementary. Here, all Ive tried to do is see if his sutras are
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. Straight trees are cut first and honest 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 extremely
important 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.



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
knowledge 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.

"Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it, what the
results might be and will I be successful? Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers
to these questions, 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 when
endorsement 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.