'AUNTY' MARKETING

Gujarat is a very affluent state of India and people of Gujarat are known for their business tactics and marketing strategies. Here is an example of one such desi marketing/sales strategy that no 'kotler' or 'Wolfe' would have ever thought of or administered in their numerous years of research.
A number of Kiranas(general/grocery stores) can be spotted in the much warped, distorted lanes and by-lanes of districts like Vapi, Valsad, Amreli, etc. One commonality amongst these kiranas is the fact that they are all made of aluminium roofs, are unkempt, are faced with spatial problems and portray a rather rickety picture. But of course! how could I forget, The 'Aunty'?!
Since most of these kiranas are family ventures, the galla(cash counter) is generally managed by a woman, invariably the eldest member of the family, in other words, the Baah(grandmom) - the Protagonist in this story. This lady is perpetually seated on a cushioned chair( a recliner), is clad in a shiffon saree draped in the Gujarati style. While most of us take her to be the naive-looking-cashcounter-aunty, she turns out to be an unbeaten sales women at the end of the day. Ask me how?.....read the example below....

Suppose you are a young man/woman, say anywhere between 20-40 years of age.

Scene I
You enter the kirana to purchase some pre-decided grocery. The boys at the store help you collect all that you want. Making sure you have got all that you wanted, you proceed towards the cash-counter.

SCENE II - Enter Character 'Aunty'....

Aunty: Beta, aur kuch lena hai? bread ? Jam? theplaa?(a gujarati delicacy), papad vageraa....??

You: Nahi aunty, bas...

Aunty(glancing at you with a motherly look), "Aaj sunday hai, thepla khao....Abhi ekdam 'fresss' aaya hai...naya flavour hai...."

You are about to reiterate that you dont want it....

Aunty: (Instructing the store boy to get the thepla packet), "Tum khake toh dekho,taste toh karo, acha nahi lagaa toh math lena, koi vaanda nahi."

You: nahi chahiye aunty, baahar ka khaana manaa hai....

Aunty: (breaking open a pack, pinching a piece, lets you taste the theplaa), "Arre homemade hai, baahar ka nahi hai, bachchon ko bohot acha lagega, thikha-meetha dono hai naa, isliye....mera beta bhi tumhaare jitna hi hoga, Ahmedabad rehta hai naa, jab bhi idhar aata hai, hamesha bachchon ke liye le jaata hai, meri bahu ko bhi bohot pasand hai.....blah....blah......"

With this and many more mollycoddling lines of seeming concern and affection, 'aunty' does her job with ease and by this time you are already into the 'trap' hypnotized by her talk.

So you ultimately walk out of the store, buying a couple of theplaa packets along with your grocery. This is not all....If you are one of those cant-say-no-with-a-stern-face kinda person, 'aunty' is sure to add a lot many more stuff from the store shelf to your grocery bag.

Heard of Direct, Indirect, Ambush, surrogate, etc??? Now, thats what I call - 'AUNTY' MARKETING!!