Need for Speed

Few days back, the newly elected Prime Minister of India, Narender Modi, was talking about 3S’s to face competition from China - Skill, Scale, and Speed. What caught my attention was “Speed”.

Everything around us is surrounded by Speed. We are living in a world, where the transactional currency is the swiftness at which something can be achieved. TV channels, talk about ‘Breaking News’ where the focus is on how fast you can bring out the news and lesser focus is given on the quality (authenticity) of the news. Businesses like, courier & fast food is built on speed. In advertising, there was an era when cars and bikes were sold on basis of their power and speed.

An important value proposition of technology, especially digital, is speed (another being convenience).  And as the use of Internet and Ecom is increasing, we are shifting more from convenience to speed. Data download, 24 hr delivery, 3 hr delivery, 4G, etc all are today's keyword that these industries communicate.

But, why is speed so important in our lives today? Why are we not so worried about quality? Here are some irrational views, based on some rational thoughts :)

The notional value of time has increased
The transactional value of utility has come down
The opportunity value of 'doing more' is getting multiplied
The transient period is getting shortened



For me notional value is an imaginary value (similar to notional cost), that is attached to an object, in this case, time. The possibilities of doing many things during extra time (whether, we actually get to do or not is not important) is what makes the value of time increase. . This also translates into increased 'opportunity value' (similar to opportunity cost), the fact that multiple options are available to be done during that 'extra time'. Thus the Need for Speed

Purchase of any item or service is treated not for perpetuity, but as a means to fulfil a specific need or want for a specific period of time. For example, purchase of a 'x brand' car is not with an intent of using it, till it drops dead, but till the time one upgrades to buy 'y brand' car. As the transient period gets shorter, the focus on quality is not much, because, people feel that it is easier to justify to migrate into the next upgrade, provided the current one meets their interim period criteria. As marketers, in the long run, to up-sell and cross-sell it is important to drive the message that will reduce the transient period of the customers.

Since, time is one component that is limited in nature, and cannot be recycled or regenerated, it's value will keep on increasing. As long as consumers look for faster upgrade to their lives, they will keep the transient period low... Hence the Need for Speed.

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