With a new Patanjali store opening up in every locality in the country, the tremendous growth of the brand can teach every aspiring entrepreneur a great deal about building business. Baba Ramdev started his chain of herbal and ayurvedic products called Patanjali way back in 2008. Currently, the brand is still at a maturity stage and the annual turnover accounts to 150% profits. In the coming years, finance specialists have estimated the growth to surpass 200%. Working closely with AcharyabalkrishanJi, these two unlikely but very successful entrepreneurs who lack business education have become a huge threat to the biggest FMCG multinationals functioning in India.
Some great lessons one could learn from his venture are:
1. Success is a long and difficult road
Through intelligent marketing tactics functioning since 2008, Patanjali has been growing till this day. The brand teaches a very important lesson which is that there are no shortcuts on the path to success and one needs to keep striving daily to achieve his/her goal. The brand also teaches the importance of hard work and honesty.
2. Defining principles
From the time of its inception in 2006, the two partners were very clear about their objectives. They aspired to establish the science of Ayurveda and chieved their objectives through a perfect merger of the latest technology and ancient wisdom. Their clear motives won them a lot of loyal customers.
3. Don’t be afraid to do something different
Patanjali was started in an era when FMCG goods by multinational companies were already doing well. However, the decision to mix Ayurveda and technology was a risky choice which they decided to make anyway. The entrepreneurs were willing to take the risk and today as a payback, it has earned them an Rs 4000 crore company.
4. Variety is the key to life
Once an entrepreneur sets up his thing, he needs only move forward with it. If variety isn’t provided to the customers, the business isn’t labelled as a successful one. This is clear in Patanjali’s expansion strategies as they have ventured into every kind of market: beauty, food, lifestyle and medicine.
5. Extensive sales and distribution channels
Patanjali has over 4,700 outlets all over the country today and has tied up with the Pittie Group and Kishore Biyani’s Future group in 2009. As per this merger, Patanjali products are available in all Future group outlets. Through more mergers, Patanjali products are trending in Reliance retail, Hyper city and Star Bazaar as well. This extensive channel of sales and distribution is a major contributor to the brand’s success.
6. Understand the market and cater to it
Patanjali aspired to understand the Indian consumer and accomplished the art. The company doesn’t hire MBAs or experienced marketers, instead, it hires people who are actually good at their job like medicine, production etc. In this way, they save on production and marketing costs and keep the prices of the products low. Since, price is a major factor in the Indian market, the products do so well here.
7. Always give credit where it is due
In numerous interviews, we’ve heard Baba Ramdev and other Patanjali officials praising their manufacturing units in Haridwar and Nepal for doing an amazing job. Praise and credit are major factors which influences and motivates the employees to a better job. Securing symbiotic employee relations leads to a good work-culture and affects production in a healthy way.
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