10 Principles of Marketing - First and the most important!!

When clock struck 12 on 31st December 2008 night, it brought lot of hopes and aspirations. We all celebrated the movement of new year into our lives with our friends.  We hugged each other wishing everybody to get placed soon because we had only one thing in our mind and that was "Placement". We were having our placements from 5Th January and I never thought that it was going to be the toughest time of my life. Being a part of one of the best institute of the country and in a stream which is least effected by recession. I thought it would be quite easy for me to get a good placement, but I was wrong. It also gave me inspiration to write a blog on my current situation instead of describing what I did 10-15 yrs ago. I am sharing some of my experiences - good or bad - with all of you and each experience highlights one of the principle of marketing.

So dukaan kholte hai - 

1st January 2009

This is the most crucial year of my life. I am going to be out in this cruel but interesting real world. I woke up around 12 in the noon after long bhasad in the night with friends. It was more or less a normal day where I started noting down the important points from the 'Bible of Marketing - Mr. Phillip Kotler - 12th edition' - book which all marketers must be well worse with it. I already read this book three times before and it was Fourth time I was reading and this time I was also writing points on my lappy. I though it would create a competitive advantage for me in GD and especially in interview.  Vaise, I never understood the meaning of competitive advantage till now. Am I competing with anybody or I am vying with myself? And if I am vying with myself then where is the advantage. How can a person have an advantage over himself/herself? ---- a mind wobbling  questions?? like what comes first egg or hen?? or is the glass is half full or half empty??

The day also marked the first open house of our beloved placement committee of the year. PlaceCom a acronym for our placement committee is the most prestigious and hard-working student body in our college. We take their words as "pather ki lakeer" and we treat PlaceCom people as our "Mai-Baap".  They have their own office with everyone on the campus to assist them. We always support them. We stood by them because we know they are the best people on the campus and they are devoting their precious time for our placements. It is a selfless social work. We all trusted them from our hearts. But things are not always remain same. Daylight turns into darkness and spring turns into hot and itching summers.  

The slotting details of the companies was discussed ........ sorry .......... was announced in the open house. I was very confused. Should I get excited or should cry or should blame my fate. Though the number of companies were 50+ but I was worried about the certainty of the companies turning on the given day. It was a mixed feeling. I thought it was best to get placed on day 1 only because the chances of getting good companies with good profiles and packages would be narrowed as the placement week reaches its end.

I slept with lot of hopes in the heart and pray to God to provide me the best opportunities.

It is the hope and aspiration which one sells and other buys. Placecom sold us the hope and aspiration of getting placed and we bought it. It is the hope that creates your world and it is the aspiration that makes your world. It is the hope you communicate to others and it is the aspiration that receives from others. This stands true for every product and service and therefore every marketing activities. 

This is the first principle of marketing - "Sell Aspiration in the package of Hope"