1. Technical quality, specifically strength, is the most important factor for customers when choosing a cement brand. Rural customers also consider price, assuming higher price means higher quality, while urban customers balance price and strength. 2. A company should focus on selling quality over price to build customer loyalty and avoid price wars. Cutting prices attracts competitors to lower their own prices, leaving every company worse off. 3. Employee behavior, especially salespeople, strongly influences brand perception. Salespeople should be properly trained and avoid badmouthing the company or policies to customers, which can damage the brand's reputation.

1. WHAT MAKES A BRAND IN CEMENT INDUSTRY
(Customer Perception on Quality Parameters)
1. Technical:-
All customerswant“higherstrength”asqualityincement- bothinurban& rural areasrespectively.
While inrural areas the customercouldjudge the quality withrespecttothe price of cement;i.e.
higherthe price,betterthe qualityorhighestthe price bestisthe quality. If abrandis properly
placedinthe rural marketprice becomesasecondaryfactor.The basicpsychologywhichworksin
rural marketis the customersgenerallyhasnoextramoneytotake up maintenance workrelatedto
the usage of cement.Theytendtobuycementonce for all.Itis because of thisreasonthat theylook
for higherstrengthincementwhichsuffice theirobjective andtheywouldnotmindforpayingcost.
The Urban consumershoweverare lookingfor ‘strength’aswell as ‘cost’.Buttheygenerallygofirst
for price andthendemand‘higherstrength’ aswell.Theytempttobargainmore onprice once they
perceive thatthe brand qualityisaverage. A companyfindsverydifficulttomanage the situation
and getsboggeddowncompromisingonprice. Thissubsequentlybecomesa‘benchmark’forthe
brand as ‘cheaperbrandwithaverage quality’.
Thus, it is essential toknow the buyingbehaviour of our customers. Do we really know our
customers?Do we know why theybuy from us? Do we know who else theybuy from? And why?
It isimportantto meet the customersona regularand on confidential basis- meetthem,swap
stories,anddevelopanappreciationastohow ourproduct getused. It isbetterif our ownback
room function visitingpeople;anditisstill betterthatplantpeople from‘qualitycontrol’ visit
customersandsee howtheireffortsonqualityparametersworkingasa perceptionamong
customers.
Justas a heartin a humanbodyif fails,the bodyfails;similarly,inaconcrete structure like- column,
beam,and slabif itfails;the concrete structure fallstothe groundtoo. A companymaintaininghigh
qualitystandardsmusttherefore boldlypositionitscementbrandinsimilar ‘foundationuse’.The
advertisements,promotions,word-of-mouthpublicity- all toensure thatthe brandisprimarilyused
inthese parts of a structure.Thiswill helpnotonlyearningabrand reputationbutalsopositioning
“premiumpricing”overaperiodof time.The service engineersshouldinitiatethisconceptof brand
usage and keeparecord of customerswhohave usedthe brand inthese ‘foundationstructures’.
2. Sell on Quality- Not Price:-
We can buyour customersbycuttingour price,but we won’tkeepthem.Certainly,the customers
like the lowerprice.The problemistheylike itsomuchthat our competitorsare forcedtomatch our
price to buyback the customerstheylost.The final resultof aprice war isthat we endup withabout
the same numberof customers,butcharging thema lowerprice.
“Cuttingthe price is like standing up at a football game. We are betteroff, until the othersdo it,
and then everybodyisworse off.”
Qualityisthusthe onlyreliable waytowincustomers.More customerswe earn,byhigherquality
we keep.

2. 3. Employee Behaviour:-
It issaid thatcompany’ssalesteamare the façade’ of any company.Theirbehaviourinthe market
reflectscompany’simage. Asacompanyputsinits all effortstopromote a brandthrough
advertisementsand otheractivitiestocreate an“image”and spendscroresof rupees;salespersons
throughtheirpersonal effortscreates“value”inabrand. Theymusttherefore be trained asto what
& how to talkto a customer, whatnot theyshouldtalk, whatistheirlimitorempowermentwhereby
theycan extendcommitmentsonbehalf of company,theyshouldbe aware of company’smarket
relatedandcommercial policies. People inthe organizationare joiningfromdifferentcultures.The
managementhastoensure that theygetpropermentoringonall policyrelatedissuesincludingtheir
leave andtravel rules.Theymustalsobe briefedaboutprosandconsof theirbehaviourinthe
market.
Throughmy experience incementbusiness,Iobservedthatmostof the salespersonnel develop
some level of intimacywiththeirnetwork.They temptgointothisina more personal wayand may
talkabout badof the company’srigidattitude,policies,and theyfurthergo tothe extenttoeven
talkbad abouttheirsuperiors,abouttheirlow salaries,andsoon.A dealerenjoyssuchtalks.They
not onlyenjoybutalsotalksame at marketplace and the brand thusget ‘de-famed’.Suchactivities
normallygoesunnoticedathigher-ups.The immediate superiororthe next; mostof the time
ignoresthe incidences because he toocouldbe sailinginsame boat.Thishoweverisamatter of
personal maturityandattitude.This if notcheckedorcontrolled,itisboundto bringbad name to
the organizationandso to the brandimage.We must know that isthe salespeople whocan‘make
or break’the brand. Merelyby aggressive corporate salesactivitiesthe brandsare notmade.It isthe
grass root level personnel’ withwhose supportthe brandwill be inmaking. Itthe corporate level
effortsandthe grass root level supporttogetherwill create wondersinestablishinga‘brandvalue’.
It isthe corporate and regional atmosphere thatmakesasalesteammotivated. The middle orderis
mainlyresponsibleforthe situationandtheymustalsobe ‘trainers’andnotmerely‘managers’.
There are “go-getters’,andself-motivatorsatgrass-rootlevelswho cantake the lead. But
simultaneously,there are dis-engagedsalespersonnelwhomustbe identified,motivatedand
trainedwithoutdelay. Atthe end,the entire teamshouldbe gearedtotake up‘live-wire’sales
operationsandmusttalkhighabout the brand,policiesandsystemsandsoinfuse “value”toa
brand. An organisationcandevelopvarious modules ata grass rootlevels dependinguponitsneed.
4. Serviceability:-
Thisis equallyanimportantfactorforany organization. The speedof productdelivery,billsreaching
well ontime,reconciliationsdone atregularandon monthlyintervalsmakesall ourbusiness
associateshappy.Italsoprovidesahighlevel of commercial transparencyandaddedvalue tothe
brand if the systemsworkson‘automode’.
The serviceabilityof productdeliveriesandservice aftersales’are the mostimportantaspectwhich
can create customerdelight.Complaintmanagement here, playsacrucial role. We cannot please
everyone all of the time,inevitablysomeof the typesorgardesof cementwe sell maybe “lemons”
or, at leastthe customerwill thinktheyare.Whenthathappens,we shouldnotargue ormake
excuses- insteadwe shouldlisten,apologise,andrectifymistake. ‘Acustomer complaint rudely
dismissedor ignoredisa customer lostfor life’- andit doesnot stop there.One customer will
complainto hisfriends,they complainto theirs,and on it goes.Complaints’are eventhe best

3. source of productimprovementideas.Continuousimprovementsovercomplaintswillendupwitha
much betterproductandhence- ‘the brand’.
The speedofcommunication- on prices, onschemes,ondeliveries, onaccountsmatters,all playsa
veryvital role inindustry.Forexample,speedof communicationsonpricesandschemestoa fleetof
1200 retail countersdirectlyinacouple of hoursby the salesteamplaysa veryimportantrole.Itnot
onlybringsconfidence amongthe retail countersbutalsohighlevel of transparencywiththe
network.Suchapproachmakesa brand ‘aggressive’,andanaggressive approachgivesthe
‘competitiveedge’.Thisalsomeanthatthe brandgets “parkedindifferentslot”and getsidentified
and recognizedata marketplace. There are howevermanymodelswhichthe teamshould
themselvescreate anddevelop ata marketplace.
5. BusinessRelationshipManagement:-
Everyrelationship,andeveryinteractionwithinit,contributestoreputation.Reputationmitigates
riskand reducesfrictionwithinbusinessprocesses.Concernforreputationincentivizesgood
behavior.Absenceof trustwill cause abusinessrelationship tofail.Trustincreasesefficiencyand
enablesconflictresolution. The relationshipisafoundationof ‘trust’asa ‘traditional core concept’
of anyorganization.Thiswouldyieldcontinuousresultsinlongrun.
The BRM model shouldalsodefine the boundariesof businessrelationshipswithinthe larger
continuumof interpersonal relationships.Inadditiontogovernance issues,the modelshould
examine if there are optimal levelsof personalconnection,andwhether theydifferbytype,role,or
otherattribute. Itis advisable tocreate andassociate cultural valuestoabrand-value. There are
variousmodulesincementindustriesbywayof activitieswhichimpressesnetworkandestablishes
relationships.
6. Employee SkillsDevelopment:-
The skills development strategy is more likely to be successful if a company employees’
understand and support it. One may set the stage for a positive response by:
 Communicating with the employees about why we are creating a skills development
program
 Asking our employees about the knowledge and skills they need to do their jobs and
how they prefer to receive that training
 Ensuring that the program is based on learning principles, including:
o actively involving participants
o connecting learning to relevant life experiences and knowledge
o using a variety of learning styles
o ensuring employees that learning is goal oriented.
o discuss success stories at regular intervals.
With effective skills development strategies in place, a company will be better able to meet a
range of business challenges from employee shortages to employee retention. Skills
development will help an organization generate the kind of performance that will carry the
business—and the employees—forward with confidence.

4. Training may sound expensive, but turnover can be devastating. Recruiting, hiring and
training one new employee can cost us between 70 and 200% of that person’s annual salary!
With this in mind, let us take a look at the following six great ways to develop employees.
Six great ways to employee development
1. Training
o A well-designed training program that maximizes learning before, during and
after instruction translates into positive, lasting changes on the job.
o Effective programs can include orientation, on-the-job training and classroom
instruction.
o Internet-based learning is an increasingly attractive option that allows
employees to learn at their own pace and on their own schedule (on weekends
or evenings) with access to the material at any time.
2. Self-directed learning
o This approach puts individual employees in control of their own learning,
allowing for personal differences in learning styles and encouraging
ownership of the learning process.
o When using this approach, many employers work with employees to develop a
learning contract or personal development plan. The contract or plan, which is
signed by both parties, outlines clear learning goals.
3. Coaching and mentoring
o Demonstrated benefits of these approaches include improved quality and
quantity of work, transfer of learning and, for employees, improved
communication and problem-solving skills.
o Effective coaching and mentoring programs depend on the skills and
personality of the mentor or coach, adequate time for coaching and mentoring
sessions and established timelines and goals.
4. Employee promotion
o Promoting someone to a position of greater responsibility is a traditional way
of rewarding good performance, developing employee skills and retaining
valued employees.
o Effective promotion involves careful consideration of many details, including
identifying gaps in skills and experience and providing support through
training, coaching or mentoring.
5. Job enrichment
o Job enrichment increases the employee’s authority or responsibility within
their current position. Examples include committee work, special assignments
or serving on cross-functional teams.
o This approach increases interest and motivation by allowing employees to try
new skills, build new relationships and explore new areas of specialization.
6. Job rotation and cross-training
o Job rotation moves an employee through one or more different positions. The
rotation can last several hours, several months or even a year or two. Cross-
training is a specific type of job rotation where an employee learns the skills of
a different position.

5. These approaches can effectively add diversity and interest, prepare individuals for
promotion, rejuvenate work units and improve communication. Need of such training module
is must especially for the middle order and more so at a lower level employees. An
organisation should not hire any outsider; but identify its own middle order to train people
down the line.
As volume pressure in cement industry is high- all the time, the senior management must
look into the leadership roles of its middle order management. Most of us will agree that
middle order ‘managers’ only understand ‘what to do’; they mostly fail to move ahead
leading the team- ‘how to do it’ and they adopt ‘invisible’ short cut methods to push volumes.
“Train the Trainers” could be an effective tool for the middle order management.
7. Understanding a ‘Business Cycle’:
It is very important to understand a business-cycle by all functions- especially in cement
industry, functions like production, logistics, accounts, marketing and sales should
understand its relativity.
It is widely understood that whatever is planned (at the top) has to be produced. Whatever is
produced, has to be marketed. Whatever is marketed, has to be dispatched (logistics), What-
so-ever are dispatched has to be sold (sales), whatever is sold, money has to be recovered.
Whatever payment is received, has to be reconciled (sales/accounts). And this makes a
perfect ‘business cycle’.
All the functions in the subject therefore acts as “spokes of a bike” who bears the load on a
wheel. Just like- if a single ‘spoke’ loosens the wheel-rim loose its shape and cannot take the
load and will be dis-balanced and if yet another spoke loosens the wheel movement further
would deteriorate. It is important for the ‘spokes’ of the wheel-rim to be always in its
originality and then only it would move perfectly. The speed of the wheel therefore becomes
relatively important with respect to operational efficiencies of these functions. Marketing or
sales cannot alone take the entire load of such organizational “wheel movement”.
As ‘Sales’ is directly exposed to a “customer” the back-room functions must be efficient with
their mind-set of putting best efforts and smooth functional support to the sales-team. This is
an essential ingredient to firmly establish a brand at a market place.
8. Promoting Ethical Business:
This is one of the vital factors to place a brand at a desired position. Although, all companies
attempts to produce ethical business, too little efforts are being made for ‘checks and
balances’. An organisation needs to have a patience to develop an effective mechanism. The
pressure on volumes may promote unethical means- for example; Freight adjustments, non-
trade into trade movement etc.
The short-cuts methods comes into offing due to this reasons. The selection criteria at the
middle order must be revisited as this is where and how the grass-root team is “shaped”. The
senior management however must ensure ‘right person is placed at a right location’ and that
they should only generate pressure on sales up to a desired level by understanding and

6. visualizing difficulties at a middle order & at grass-root levels. It also depends upon the
objective of developing markets towards ‘pull-sales’ rather than a ‘push-sales’.
The above eight golden rules are neither difficult nor complicated. Still, they are rarely
followed. In fact, too much attention is devoted on costs and other revenue issues in the
industry today; while too little is done to strengthen the ‘fundamentals’ of business
generation with a speedier, effective, and efficient operational strategies at the grass-root
levels.
A Quality is producedneverby an Accident- It is always the resultof High Intention;Sincere &
Hard Efforts,IntelligentDirection,and Skillful Execution.
Author- Raghavendra Verma
(By his experience incementindustry)