Mobility

One – And Maybe Only – Way To Revive Payments Banks

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Every time I go to this leading public sector bank, I see a long line of people outside the branch. “Outside the branch” is the operative phrase because these people literally stand outside the branch. I found out that they’re migrant laborers who queue up to send money from large cities where they work to their family … Read more

Five Google Backdoors You Probably Didn’t Know

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Sometimes you can use Google to find information stored in a certain website or app that you can’t by using the website or app itself. I call these hacks “Google Backdoors”. Here are five Google Backdoors I use regularly. #1. BUSINESS FINDER A new restaurant opened in my neighborhood. Its owner said they delivered via … Read more

Mastering PUSH Notifications – The PayTM Way

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In Four Out Of Five Brands Get PUSH Notification Wrong, I shared my experience with PUSH notifications from four leading brands. I found it impossible or very cumbersome to redeem the targeted offers made by them. At the end of the post, I promised to share the rare example of a brand that gets PUSH notifications right. To … Read more

Discount Is Not The Only Reason For Shopping Online

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At the end of my blog post titled Retail Is Still Barking Up The Wrong Tree Against Ecommerce, I’d made a bold prediction that, within a few months, I’d find a few more non-price related reasons for shopping online. Well, it took me longer than that but I found one recently. This was at the outlet … Read more

PayZapp’s Loss Is PayTM’s Gain – And Lesson For PSPs

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Many people complain that cashiers decline Apple Pay even though their stores have advertised support for Apple’s payment service. I’ve come across the same experience with HDFC Bank’s PayZapp mobile wallet. The cashier at a restaurant in my neighborhood told me they hadn’t started accepting PayZapp although there was a “PayZapp Accepted” sticker on his … Read more

Dunzo Gets The Job Done

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My friend who works in a leading IT multinational corporation tells me that an email sent from the second floor to the third floor of his office building in Bangalore actually goes via the company’s regional mail server in Sydney, Australia. When they hear this, many people gasp “Whaaaat?” But, apart from that momentary reaction, … Read more

Lessons For Marketing From Spectacular Comeback Of QR Codes Via Mobile Payments

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The world’s leading mobile wallets use QR codes. This includes Alipay and WeChat Pay in China, PayTM and PayZapp in India and Starbucks App in the United States. QR code has been popular in China for the last 4-5 years. In India, the nineties-era technology has become very visible in the last one year, driven by … Read more

I’m The Proud Author Of A Book!

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I’m happy to announce that I’ve published a book! Entitled FROM DISLOYALTY TO OMNICHANNEL CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT, my book is available in Kindle and EPUB formats. In this eBook, I trace the arc of loyalty programs run by brands during the last 5-7 years and predict the trajectory of their customer engagement management strategies over the remaining … Read more

Uber Masters Abandoner Remarketing

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Uber didn’t invent targeted offers but the “world’s largest taxi company” sets itself apart from other brands by the innovative ways with which it uses the new marketing tactic to deepen customer engagement, as I’d highlighted in Mastering Targeted Offers – The Uber Way. I recently saw Uber’s mastery of another “next gen” marketing tactic, … Read more

Can Chatbots Replace Humans?

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If you think bots will never replace human agents, you’re amongst the lucky few who has been served by intelligent human agents. Let's stop pretending that the average Customer Service Rep has an IQ of 140 when we believe that chatbots are not intelligent enough to replace human agents. https://t.co/ErzpUfMmLP via @verge . #CustomerService pic.twitter.com/ujDj2l3593 … Read more