The "ManMothi" Brand Experience

In our day to day interactions with our clients, we lay a lot of emphasis on creating a brand and creating an unique brand experience that will give the brand an distinct edge over its competitors and an proposition that cannot be easily replicated. This when done professionally and interestingly will result in the brand emerging victorious in the long run.
Think Kingfisher Airlines vis a vis Indian Airlines and you know who is the King of Good times here!
A few days back on a lazy Sunday, as I strolled into my neighborhood Kirana store, a sudden thought occurred to me. “Does this guy understand consumer and brand experience and even if he does know about it what are the different things he does to deliver the same? I thought it would be quite an interesting exercise to do a complete brand audit of this enterprise and other local enterprises that I regularly come in contact with like the Dhobiwala, Cablewala, etc and see how brand equip Each of these guys really were.
So I decided to check it out for myself. First on the radar was our Kirana store – “Manmothi Trading Centre”. I thought it would be It is safe to assume that he has had no interactions whatsoever with brand pundits or communication gurus who would have advised him on the nuances of branding. All that exists with regards to branding and customer experience is the handiwork of the proprietor himself.

I have known Manmothi stores for about a year and a half and have developed a rapport with the owner and the other staff at the shop. I have seen the store open 365 days a year 6.00 a.m to 11.00 p.m serving customers. During one of my interactions with the owner I came to know that before the advent of Big bazaar’ and ‘Subhiksha, ‘Manmothi’ ‘was one amongst the 3 mom and pop stores in the area that I stay. They were happy fiercely competing with each other and each store had their own set of loyal customers. Life wasn’t exactly easy but competition understandably wasn’t fierce considering the limited financial resources each of its competitors had access to. But things changed for Manmothi, once “Subhiksha, and Spencers retail decided to be amongst its neighbors.
To begin the brand audit I began with the name. The name “Manmothi stores” though not exactly a case study in naming follows the typical rule in naming prevalent amongst such kirana stores. They are usually named after their ancestors, their children, the family name or the family deity or the goods and goddesses the Kiranawala owes his allegiance to. So we have Bharat stores (maybe this ones patriotic), Kumar traders, Anshu shopping, Rajesh stores amongst others. The logotype is also nothing to write about and is set in some plain type in white on a green background.
This store is what we term in retail terminology a ‘D’ shaped store. There is a small passage where he stores all food grains and pulses. Agarbattis, water cans, buckets, brooms and other household items compete with the pulses, each item trying to vie for the customers’ attention. At the end of the passage there is large wooden plank that doubles as a barrier and a transaction table where money and goods exchange hands.
As a source of extra revenue, our man has allowed FMGC behemoths to have an paid display right at the transaction counter where the first point of contact of the customer actually happens. The owner very diligently is particular about dismantling a display once the agreed period of display is over. I was quite surprised to see him one early morning, dismantling a display of Shampoo bottles, instead of tending to early morning joggers who came to his store to buy a packet or some biscuits or chips (Talk about a healthy lifestyle).
The store at any time is manned by 3-4 young capable lads, each tending to customers in a clockwork precision. Another aspect that I noticed was the ability of these lads to always serve the customers with a smile no matter who he/she is, or even no matter even if the customer has come to the store for a box of matchboxes.
Moreover all of them address their loyal customers by their first names or Bhai/ Bhabhijee or beta in case the customer is a small kid as a mark of respect and every sale begins with exchange of pleasantries and inquiring about the well being of the other family members of the customer. They are all well versed about the requirements and needs of each of their customer and are always ready to offer advice on the best brand to buy even in mundane categories like pickle.( Priya ka aachar le lo bhabhi, aap kabhi bhee doosra achar nahin lenge). It’s a different story that he may be singing the virtues of another brand of pickle the next time you visit him. They are also quick to promote the latest promotion or freebies that the customer could avail of and in most cases they do a damn good job of selling the promotion.
He also offers home delivery and mostly the service is very prompt and served with a smile. The delivery boy perpetually is wearing a smile and is always equipped with the exact amount of change. For e.g. say the grocery bill amounts to Rupees 65, Chotu (that’s what I prefer to call him) would have a change of 35 rupees on him, lest the customer dole out a100 rupee note to him. This I believe is a result of his understanding that the customer in most cases will never have the exact change at home at his disposal and that he would dole out the next closest denomination of money i.e. 100 hundred rupees in this case.
The store also has at most times all the goodies that one can probably think off right from Safety pins to Kitchen knifes you will find them all at the store. Like all other kirana stores though the display is very haphazard and every inch of space (including above your head is taken by different wares). Even if some product is unavailable he without bringing it to your notice sends across his helper to the other store and sources it for you.
If I were to pass his enterprise through a proprietary Brand Experience tool  , he would score high on understanding the customer and his needs, (say an 8 out of 10), would do not too well on the product display and ambience front, in terms of convenience (home delivery) and availability of different products he would also get a good score on that front! Over all a satisfactory customer experience!
All that he needs is some brand consultancy!
And once that happens, All the Subhiksha’s, More’s, Spencers will have to watch out!
For “MANMOTHI WOULD HAVE ARRIVED”!

(A new mammoth Big Bazaar has recently opened shop and going by the serpentine queues at the check out counter, looks like Manmothi’s troubles are far from over. Buts that’s a story for another day)