Hum Hain Na!

The three syllables of the familiar tag line Hum Hain Na at once reassures customers and plucks gently at their heartstrings. Can it work in other industries – manufacturing, engineering, technology and services? Can it be a viable strategy for sustainable competitive advantage? But first, what does it mean?

It can mean different things to different people. It can be the meaningless we are there for you. Or, the more expressive we are there to look after you in distress. It can also construe ‘we do what we say because we mean it’. That can be powerful!

We like others to judge us by what we say, better still by what we mean. However, customers judge us by our actions. That is why walking the talk can be a great way to build a reputation for reliability.

A product must function as it is supposed to. That is only the first step in establishing dependability. But today most products are me-too. Often, there isn’t much to choose from among many offerings in the market. Customers, therefore, make decisions based on their past or current experiences of buying, owning and using. That is why a sales engineer who keeps appointments, a call centre agent who provides relevant information on time and a service organisation that responds promptly and punctually reinforce the reliability of the product or service.

Individually, we don’t honour most simple everyday promises. We promise to call back but don’t. We arrive late for dinner without intimating our hosts in advance of the delay. We keep visitors waiting after giving them time. Some of us even make appointments to arrive between, say 10 and 10:30. When we finally drop in at 10:45 we expect the delay of only fifteen minutes is condonable. Our actions as individuals reflect on the way we behave with customers. Service engineers do not arrive as agreed. Quotations and samples don’t reach on time. Answers to queries are half-baked. We say we’ll return calls and routinely don’t. Disappointments colour customers’ judgement of our products and services.

Recently, I organised a management development programme in Mumbai. I had reserved a banquet hall in one of finest hotels six weeks in advance. In the weeks leading up to the event I did not receive a single e-mail confirming the reservation. I called at least a couple of times from Bangalore. Each time I was assured it would be done. It wasn’t. The menu wasn’t offered till I insisted and finalised it the day before the event. I wanted very much to stay in that hotel. I asked the Banquet Manager, my principal contact in the hotel, to reserve a room for me. He promised to have someone from Sales call me. No one did. Not even after I brought the slip to his attention. The function went well, the food was good, the arrangements fine. Just as well as one would expect in any five star deluxe hotel. I wonder if I would again risk the anxiety the hotel caused me.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Imagine you are selling a me-too product. When customers call, your company reps answer the phone promptly, unlike some companies music on hold for minutes on end. They listen attentively before providing correct information. If it is not immediately available, they promise to revert in a day and do. Your sales person calls the customer back, makes an appointment. His bike breaks down on the way. He calls immediately to inform the customer, apologises and seeks another time. This time he is at the customer’s premises five minutes ahead. The meeting is brief and crisp. He gathers customer’s requirements and promises to fax the quote by 3 pm the following day. The customer receives the offer as promised. The order is placed and executed on schedule. The installation is done quickly, precisely and on the day it was agreed. The service engineer calls a week later and fixes initial bugs. He promises to return a week later. He does. The product functions just as well as anybody else’s. But does the customer think it is the same as others?

Very few companies make it their mission to fulfil promises. A few months ago, I was in the market for a laptop. A US MNC was among three I had short-listed. The young man who answered my call asked what I wanted, offered a number of alternatives, made pertinent suggestions and helped me finalise a set of specifications. Before ending the call I asked when I could expect the quote. “In five minutes,” he said. It was in my mailbox in precisely two. It captured the specifications we had agreed. It had precise instructions on how and where I could make the advance payment and stated specifically when the unit will be delivered. None of the other offers came close in the detailed information their quote contained. One of them didn’t arrive for three days till I called to remind. Instances of businesses who do not honour their promises are so many, and we experience them so often, that we distinctly remember those who walk the talk.

Doing what you say should be a matter of honour. Unfortunately most people do not see it this way. They simply do not believe it is possible to keep promises. So, they don’t even try. That is where the opportunity exists. Because it is so hard for employees to honour promises they make to customers, the few that take the road less travelled will reap richly. Michael Porter, in his influential article ‘What is Strategy’ emphasises that competitive advantage springs from doing different things, or doing similar things differently. It is sustainable when rivals find it hard
to copy.

Hum Hain Na is a different act. It is difficult to copy because imitation does not come from the heart. A company that keeps promises because they believe it is the only way to live and work creates the reputation for reliability, trust and predictability. Customers develop a predisposition to buy the firm’s products and services. What else is competitive advantage? Strange that it can result from such old world values in the rough and tumble world of business today!

Mr. V.N. Bhattacharya is a management consultant who helps companies grow profitably, in a sustained manner. Email : bhattacharya@businessgyan.com

Issue BG57 Dec05