Effective communication with customers is the backbone of any Business. Marketing department, which is the only revenue generator of any Business or Enterprise, is directly responsible for communicating with customers. Third house in Management Astrology is the house of communication and seventh house is the house of Customers. Thus, from seventh house, we see the general attitude of the Customers and from third house we determine what kind of communication is suitable for the customers. The basic rule in marketing communication is to first determine the objectives of communication. Let’s understand this with the help of an example. We announced the Management Astrology chart of Solar Power in one of our previous posts. It’s a Leo ascendant chart with third house owned by Libra (Venus) and seventh house owned by Aquarius (Saturn). Defining the target segment is extremely important before determining the Marketing Communication Objectives. Let’s assume the target segment to be Indian households who are the target customers for roof top solar power plants. The stage in product life cycle for this segment is Introductory (which may be on the verge of turning in to growth stage subject to the effort of major players in Solar Power). The communication objective of a marketer of Solar Power at this stage should be to inform the customers about the benefits of the product and to assure them about quality of the product. Remember, this is a product with futuristic benefits with Solar Panels being the backbone of the product. Manufacturers of Solar Panels warranty the performance for as long as 25 years. Batteries have a life of around five years while manufacturers of inverters warranty the product for an average of three years. The striking feature here is that none of the major players have a direct to consumer approach towards marketing when it comes to household rooftops. Three different types of manufacturers may be involved in the solar power plants, the manufacturers of Solar Panels, manufacturers of Inverters and manufacturers of Batteries. Another player involved is the Solar Integrator who procures orders from the customers and installs the system at the rooftop of the customer’s house. With so many different players involved, isn’t this a prefect recipe for miscommunication? Another point to remember is that this is a product which demands high involvement level of customer while he makes a purchase decision. Average cost of a 5 KW rooftop solar power unit is around 4 lacs.
Now that we have defined the target segment and the basics of Solar Power, let’s come back to Management Astrology. Venus, the owner of house of communication is also the owner of Branding in Business. This is a technical product and owner of manufacturing processes in Business is Saturn. The owner of house of customers in the Solar Power’s Chart is also Saturn, the planet of obstacles in introductory stage of Product Life Cycle. The marketing implications of the above are as follows:
1) There is a huge question mark about the effectiveness of the product itself in the minds of the customer. While major players in Solar Power are in direct contact with the Bulk purchasers, they need to increase the contact level with customers in the mass segment to assure the customers about the product. By product here we mean the product Solar Power in general and not a particular Brand.
2) When Venus is represented by Libra in a chart, it signifies high end Brand Image. Thus, solar players will have to use mass media like television to enhance their Brand Equity. The manufacturers of inverters like Sukam, Luminous and Microtek have an advantage here as they are already popular mass market Brands (aided by their present or past campaigns in Mass Media). No one in the mass market knows about the leading manufacturers of Solar Panels like Waaree Energy and Vikram Solar.
3) Main component of Solar Power Plant is Solar Panels. If major players of Solar Panels decide to enhance their Brand recognition with the use of mass media, they will have an advantage over manufacturers of inverters. In the combination of Saturn and Venus, Saturn is the more powerful partner. Again, in the whole Solar plant, Solar Panels are the major part (particularly when it comes to grid connected Solar Plants). Thus, Management Astrology predicts a bigger Brand Image for manufacturers of Solar Panels if they take the mass media route.
4) Ownership of customer house by a planet also means an influence of that planet over consumer behaviour. Saturn in this case indicates a high cognitive dissonance when it comes to post purchase behaviour. This further strengthens the case for strong direct contact between the manufacturers and the customers.
5) Presence of Saturn in seventh house, its animosity with the ascendant lord, the proposed lifespan of the product being quite high (with a written warranty), involvement of products with variable warranty, the segment being mass segment, the technical nature of the product, all the above point towards regular disputes between customers and manufacturers. Eleventh house (income from profession) in this chart is owned by Gemini which is a planet responsible for Misselling / selling by false and exaggerated claims. With the rising consumerism in India, Management Astrology predicts that Manufacturers of Solar Power should be doubly sure before making claims before customers while selling. They should also keep a strong check on their sales force as the position of Mars in this chart indicates doubtful behaviour by the Sales Force. We had mentioned before also that the nature of product is somewhat similar to Selling of Insurance. Failure to give due importance to this factor has the potential to damage the Brand completely and may also mean legal implications. The above is further indicated by the presence of Saturn and Rahu in Conjunction in the eleventh house, and the ownership of sixth house by Saturn.
We will write more on Solar Power as well as Communication with customers in general in our future posts
Author: Kujnish Vashisht, Expedient Consultants, www.chanakyaneeti.com, expedient33@gmail.com, 91-9779883347, 91-9878904347