STRATEGY

'AAP' - CORPORATE RELEARNING

IN MA AGEMENT
A study of the new political party can demonstrate how to position a start up in a competitive market and remain ahead by breaking norms
BY SUMESH RAIZADA
am Aadmi Party (AAP)through its recent triumph in the elections of Delhi state assembly has not only created a clutter among the political parties but has also initiated a new trend in the politics ofthis country. Moreover it has redefined the strategies on how to manage the organisations in present global environment. Performance of AAP prior and after its formation, is a study not only in its excellent marketing but almost in every aspect of management, be it 'HR' in mobilising and motivating volunteers, 'finance' in managing limited financial resources, 'logistics' that involved campaigning in different locations, and lastly in 'entrepreneurship and leadership'. AAPis also a perfect learning for any entrepreneur on how to launch a new product in a saturated
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr Sumesh Raizada is professor atJagan Institute of Management Studies (jIMS), Rohini, Delhi

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market and succeed among the established competitors. Its strategies were impeccably researched, planned, organised and executed.

Background
AAPstands for party of a common man however, as a pronoun in Hindi it denotes 'you' in formal and polite way. It came into existence in 2012, inspired by anti-corruption movement held in Delhi, earlier. Its founders entered into politics with the distinct agenda of establishing a corruption free society. They gauged the sentiments of people, who were dejected due to poor governance and were desperately looking for alternate leadership. AAP symbolised the aspirations of youth, who are not complacent and demand quick results. It provided freshness in politics with average age of its members being much lesser as compared to other parties. The subsequent paragraphs shall study some of the strategies followed by AAP and relate them to the management fundamentals that are often ignored but are extremely vital for success of any business.

people empathetically and looked for their effective solutions. This was in contrast to the current leadership that had somewhat become disconnected, arrogant and unconcerned with the problems of electorate. Learning 2: Leaders must set an example through strict discipline, simplicity and integrity. They should listen to the problems of their employees, customers and other stake holders. Agood leader should be capable of taking everyone along with him in setting and achieving targets.
Mobilising and managing manpower

Management learning
Entrepreneurship

Any start up organisation has lot to learn from AAP that achieved spectacular success just within a year of its incorporation. It was set up to establish alternate politics and ethical governance in the country. Some of its supporters parted ways due to disagreement on agenda but the founders remained unfazed and moved ahead audaciously without any fear of failure. It drew attention of media and government on issues such as electricity, water, sanitation or road, through demonstrations, fasts, protests and rallies. This was in contrast to the conventional politics of caste, religion, muscle power and favouritism, being practiced by others. Learning 1:Entrepreneur must do his market research and planning well, have faith and conviction in himself and begin the venture without fear of risks and failures. Resources can be easily managed if efforts are sincere, consistent and honest.
Leadership and team skills

AAPadopted innovative approaches in recruiting and motivating its volunteers. Membership was offered both online as well as through personal meetings by paying just no and each volunteer was encouraged to add further members in their peer group. It approached the first time voters, migrants, unauthorised colonies, professionals or housewives through meetings, social media, text and voice messages, and e-mails, A feeling of ownership was infused among the volunteers who worked selfA manager must build lessly for the common cause. a team of competent Learning 3: A manager must and sincere build a team of few competent and sincere subordinates who subordinates who could further extend his vision, could further extend among employees and business his vision among associates. Top executive should also communicate directly though business associates social networking, e-mails or company newsletters. Involving stakeholders in planning and implementation of strategies, helps in imbibing a sense of responsibility and ownership among them.
Organising and managing finances

Leaders of AAP exhibited enormous courage, sincerity and diligence. They did not get disturbed by the threats, legal actions or allegations and created huge awakening among the poor and lower middle classes on their privileges. Their supporters came from all sections of society, including slum dwellers, industrialists, auto rickshaw drivers and MNC executives. Party leaders listened to the problems of

In Apri1'20 13, party set a target of raising ~20 crore for election campaigning. Donations were initially invited online but later also done through the donation camps in which party leaders used to meet people directly for the financial support. In September 2013, a Hong Kong based NRI infused confidence in the party by donating ~50 lakh. That opened a new avenue for funds and online meetings were held with NRls in USA, Singapore, etc. By mid November'2013, the required funds were raised and party stopped further collection. AAP maintained complete transparency by issuing receipts and displaying donors list on its website. Its strategy of door to door donation drive served

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Learning 5: Organisations must keep strict control over their supply chain expenses and should explore innovative and cost effective means of reaching their customers. Multiple channels including online retailing, M-commerce and kiosks may be used for attracting teenagers, working women and elders, who want comfort and flexibility of time. Manufacturing firms may opt for online procurement as it provides considerable savings besides providing sourcing options from anywhere.
Market environment

multiple purposes such as, updating voter's data, understanding local issue and conveying party ideologies, all during the same visit, thereby saving considerable expenses. Learning 4: Organisations must budget their expenses considering available resources. The accounting records should be transparent so as to sustain the trust of creditors, shareholders and government. When short of financial resources, more than one activities may be clubbed together to optimise the expense. This can be done in market research, sales promotions, product development or in overhead expenditures.
Controlling logistics

AAPwas able to achieve remarkable success within a short span of time possible due its perfect understanding of the social, economic and political environment of the country. It could timely gauge the frustration and growing anger among middle class against corruption, which others failed to notice. Its agenda of Swaraj aligned well with the aspirations of youth and marginalised. AAP began campaigning six months prior to elections and since its candidates were mostly local. they were able to bond with the electorate comfortably. Learning 6: Customer's changing needs are often ignored by even the established marketers who at times are unable to foresee or comprehend the changing trends and business environment. However the new entrants who often come with such understanding succeed due to innovation in product and promotion.
Market segmentation, targeting and positioning

AAP volunteers mostly used public transport for campaigning and held meetings at public places without spending much on infrastructure arrangements. It interacted on local issues through exclusive Facebook page for each constituency. Instead of hoardings or newspapers, it used relatively cheaper, banners, pamphlets and posters for campaigning. Party offices were generally located in the economical premises to save expenses. Accepting donation of even n helped it in creating a huge database of potential voters who were later approached through e-mailers and messages. Party also negotiated hard with its suppliers and one of the suppliers had to bargain hard with the top leader just for the margin oHO.25 for its first order of 300 number of caps.

AAP came out with a separate manifesto for each constituency and one combined for the whole state. The postings on area specific Facebook pages helped it in identifying several key issues. Its candidates were from across journalism, engineering or social service and thus brought novelty in their campaigns. Though party had a core agenda of eliminating corruption, it packaged the message differently to appeal diverse voter segments. Its volunteers used to participate in Mohalla Sabhas, Citizens call campaign or debates to raise issues related to electricity, sanitation, potable water or college reservation. This helped in reaching to almost every segment including housewife, youth, marginalised or professional. New ideas and strategies from its volunteers were encouraged and implemented.

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Learning 7: Start up or small companies should come up with the offerings that could simultaneously target different customer segments. The benefits and ingredients suited to each segment may be highlighted in their promotional strategies. Companies should establish positive image among its customers by sincerely engaging in social welfare activities.
Branding

if product is to be sold in smaller geographic area or to an identified market.

Strategy

The branding ofAAPwas perfect, right from the name to its election symbol of Broom that also signify cleansing of society from corruption. Its candidates were chosen strictly on 3'C' criteria of character, criminal and corruption background thereby conveying message of being ethical and unlike others. Party conducted independent surveys and disseminated the analysis through posters, banners and radio. The AAPcap worn by the volunteers irrespective oftheir social or economic status associated well with its plan of promoting classless society. Volunteers actively promoted the brand, by becoming human banners or through social media by discussing issues and posting events. Learning 8:Abrand and its logo should align with the personality and aspirations of the consumer. It must signify sincerity and capability to deliver on its promises. LikeAAP,a brand should be able to convey characteristics of 3'H'- honesty, humility and hope, and 3'D' -determined, daring and diligent.
Promotion and public relations

AAP was founded with the mission of bringing Swaraj; creating equality in society; and establishing a strong authority to punish the corrupt. To fulfil the mission, AAP set its objective of contesting the elections, starting with Delhi state. For each constituency, a separate vision statement was prepared in the form of a manifesto. Party assessed its weaknesses of being novice, having limited resources and lack of established support base. However, it turned those weaknesses into strengths by utilising innovative and cost effective means of campaigning. It channelised the energy of youths constructively, by involving them in surveys and strategy formulations. It utilised social media, emails and voice messages to remain technologically ahead of competitors. It established 31 policy committees on diverse issues for advice and encouraged professionals instead of politicians to contest the elections. Learning 10: The vision and mission should convey the character and personality of an organisation and should be fully imbibed in its each employee. Through close monitoring of business environment, trends, technologies, policies and customers, organisations can often turn their threats into opportunities.

Conclusions
The above study provides enormous learning on how to position a start up organisation in the competitive market and to remain ahead simply by breaking conventional norms. Established business houses should also reinvent themselves in the current globalised environment, as society, technology and customer aspirations are changing rapidly. Organisations must realise that customers can no longer be served through false promises or promotions but only through reliable services and innovative products. Considering that the new generation of customers is going to be technology savvy, companies must focus on mobile and internet for promotion as well as business transaction. CEO should more often engage in direct communication with employees, customers and other stakeholders to understand problems and explore their solutions. Leaders should be honest and sincere in their pursuit of achieving organisational goals and be able to inspire, motivate and take people along with them by practising their own principles. 1M

The resource constraints of AAP led to some very interesting and successful campaigns. It adopted a three tier promotional strategy to convince potential voters. The top leadership interacted through media debates; Volunteers at grass root level directly with the locals; and finally IT team through social networking sites. Some of its strategies like radio messages, banners on flyovers or at the back of auto rickshaw, were even replicated by its opponents. No celebrity endorsement was done by AAP, rather volunteers worked as influencers among their peer group, family, locality and workplace. Through Facebook and Twitter, its core team of about 15professionals and another 500 volunteers across the world engaged in making an issue trend. Learning 9: Below the line (BTL)advertising and carpet bombing strategy should be employed for the new product launch. With growing popularity of internet and mobile, organisations should aggressivelypromote on these mediums, as well. Direct marketing and personal selling are perhaps most effective

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