Country Promotion and Image Building Process

Training Programme on Commercial and Economic Diplomacy

22 August 2007

Gautam MahajanInter-Link Services Pvt. Ltd

K185 Sarai Jullena, New Delhi 110065mahajan@interlinkindia.net

The Process

• Who is the Customer• What do Customers Want• Creating value for the Customer and• Thereby, building image of country

– Value– Brand

Image/Brand/Value are perceptions

Target Audience

• Who is your Customer?

Target Audience

• Who is your Customer?– Countries– Lending Banks– Organizations– Companies– Individuals

Organization Structure

Needs of Target Audience

• Waterfall of Needs• Attribute Tree• Value Map

When is help Needed?

• Not thinking of India• Thinking of India• Entering India• Project Implementation• During project lifetime

Evolving Process: Needed within India and Outside

What do the Targets Want?

• Information• Help• Resolution of Issues

Information

• General or generic– Call centres– Web sites– Books/presentations– Media

• Specific– Where information can be obtained

Help

• Help Desks– Including where to go– What to do– Build resource companies

• Example: Go to ……..

Resolutions of Issues

• Tax• Legal• Visa

Image

• First Impressions• Easy to find and reach• First point of contact

– Knowledgeable– Helpful– Prompt– Keep promises

• Call Back– Build a relationship

What Do Customers Want?

• Accessibility

• Responsiveness

• KnowledgeablePeople

• Promptness

• Promises Kept

• Kept Informed

• Follow Up

• No Surprises

• Do It Right

A Relationship

What has Changed

• 2-3 years ago vs. Today

• Problems remain the same• Perception has changed

WHY? HOW?

Image

• Time is of Essence• What do investors want?

– Can they make money– Examples

• Positive• Helpful • Progressive• Issues of negative image

Competitive World

• Good touches and information – Often first point of contact– First impression of Country– Investment in India increases company’s

exports• Build the positives• Blunt the Negatives

Blunt the Negatives• Swadeshi• Slow• Pedantic• Bureaucracy n red tape• Infrastructure• political uncertainties• Non tariff barriers• Not trustworthy• Quality issues

• Tarriffs• Sanctimonius• MNC product bashing• Communal tensions• Slow reforms• Bloated Gov’t spending• Corruption

• Defuse current happenings…terrorism, Indians in bombing, Dabhol. Slow, bureaucratic, red tapeInvite to visit, reference sites

• Take them to – GE medical R&D lab in Bangalore– HP centre that builds cutting-edge telecommunication

software – ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), HAL– IITs, Infosys etc. etc.Show them once, show them again and when they've

seen it all, show it to them again.

Show them, Wow them!

Promotion

• Brand Ambassadors– Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Jeff Inmelt, Craig

Barrett Build local Ambassadors, small and big

• Local businessmen• Start Friends of India• Bankers

• Could be in India• Newsletters

Whom to Target

• Newspapers– Plant articles

• PR Firms• Opinion Leaders

– Colleges– Companies– Etc.

• Indian NRIs and Leaders

Get People to Visit• Promote

– Business Tourism– Medical Tourism– Educators– Students– Sports– Opinion Makers– People to People contact

• India Investments abroad– Indian investors, Mittal, Corus– TIE

Brand• Image is what represents India or what people think is

India• Brand is like a mark, a symbol, an identity

– Is brand important, or is image?– The country name is the brand

• Brand image? Country image? Country identity• Brand/Country equity

– Emotional Value– Reputation

What impacts Brand? How strong is a brand

What Impacts Brand India

• Indians (businessmen included) must be positive about India

• Those who deal with India• Country products, product brands • Central Message

– India on the Roll– Ignore India at Your own Peril

• Complete campaign of all concerned– Image building

What Impacts brand?• Indians themselves• Bureaucrats/Cosular and Commercial services• Involvement

– Former Ambassadors– Former Commercial Attaches– India Lovers– Tourism– Networking

• Sell India – Americans never learnt to sell themselves– Conferences, Trade Fairs/ Buyer Seller Meets– Success stories

• Bilateral Chambers of Commerce– American Chamber– Indo American Camber of Commerce– In USA fragmented

Brand =

• Trust• Image?• Experience• Bazaar Buzz• Association with

What you can Do

• You and your people should project India’s Image

• Change– Attitude

• Be accessible, knowledgeable, helpful, reliable and positive

What you can Do

• What you can do– People

• Friendly• Helpful• Non bureaucratic• Proactive• Knowledgeable

– Visa– Promotion

Just do things right

• Project a good image• Be available and friendly (including your

staff)• Answer queries and mail• Don’t forget you are India’s Ambassadors• Streamline your processes• And be helpful to other potential

Ambassadors

Just Do Things Right

• Learn to say No, positively