Petrol prices hiked. Inflation at a new high…Kya karega aam aadmi, are statements that one sees at least once a day on the television and in at least one section of the print media. Mehengai is not only part of every Indian’s generic conversation but we also get poetic and musical when we talk about it. Sometimes as baki kuch bacha to mehengai maar gai and sometimes as mehengai dayan khaye jaat hai. In fact, for any typical Indian, if cricket is his first love, mehengai is his pet peeve. The aftermath of this grouse is that as a community we seek to defeat this evil by maximising value in every transaction and getting the best in every deal. This value that we seek is typically translated in two forms.

Paisa vasool: As human beings the definition of value that we universally understand is that one gets more than what one gives. A pan-India case in point is the kabbadiwala — who is a constant factor no matter what the social class. We seek value even from the old newspaper, which we sell by the kilogramme. As true value seekers we love to squeeze the last bit from our toothpastes and the last drop from the ketchup bottle. So the 20 per cent extra scheme always works with us — whether it comes from Colgate, Garnier shampoo or Pepsi. So if it is dus rupaiya ki chhoot on do kilo Surf we do not hesitate in buying the extra kilo. And in case the marketeer decides to give us a bucket with the deal it is manna from heaven. If Big Bazaar makes an offer the purana do naya le jao scheme, it hits the bull’s eye as the language is of value plus.
This value-seeking pattern is a conscious, rational and analytical behaviour. And this fact is well recognised by the marketeer, who disseminates information as large full page prominent inserts which spell out the various bundled deals and subsidised offers from Reliance Fresh, Vishal Mega Mart as well as the big daddy — Big Bazaar. The objective being to let the reader understand the value and then seek the deal. The radio is another value driven and massive coverage medium used very actively. This background, non-descript passive player is perfect for dropping a “valuable” sale or deal information on the local channel. And for sure Pammi aunty, Kamla ben and Fatima tai are definitely listening, so it works wonderfully.
Also of late there is a new kid on the block, actively exploited to reach the DD (deal driven) consumer —the Internet. So you have an entirely new set of players who exist only to serve you the best deal of the day. You can call it Snapdeal or Timesdeal or Ibibo or Mydala the name is immaterial, the intention is to give you a never-before offer. And sometimes these are time-driven offers, which add to the thrill of your being a proactive, smart consumer. The fact that you did not need the relaxing oriental massage at the exotic spa is of course elementary.

Phayada vasool: The other definition of value involves getting a tangible or intangible benefit from the deal. For example, the LPG delivery boy gives you the good news about 30 rupaiya ki bachat on the buy. And the mother and daughter-in-law are riveted by the information, as this is really value against the rising cooking gas prices. And he enlightens them by saying this is in the hands of the efficient housewife, who uses fuel-saving practices. Similar is the behavioural benefit provided by the Indian Oil petrol attendant who advocates saving on your fuel expense if you switch off the engine at the traffic signal. The saving on the electricity bill by using zyada din chalne wala ECE and other CFL bulbs are other value delivering products. Phayada is what we seek and this is further illustrated by the fact that even today after almost a decade-and-a-half we still remember the super value queen — Lalitaji — who was always saving pennies and yet buying the oh-so-expensive Surf viz. Nirma. And pat came the explanation about the getting more with less strategy, therefore bhai sahib Surf ki kharidari mein hi samajhdari hai!
And you are mistaken in case you think she is history. Because even though we eat, drink, smell exotic, use and wear branded stuff, we try to balance the splurging by samajhdaar kharidari. And at heart we remain the paisa vasool, small statured (figuratively) common man from R.K. Laxman ki duniya…
The writer is professor, marketing, IMI, Delhi