I am associated with Aid-Et-Action (Changing The world through education) in the capacity of member South-East Asia Advisory Council and India Board. Suman Srivastava’s second book, ‘Don’t Beg, Inspire’, resonated with me. The subtitle- ‘How The Social Sector Can Raise Money, Create Social Change, Advocate a Cause and Engage with People’ was very persuasive. I ended up ordering a copy on Amazon and absolutely loved reading it. Suman, the innovation artist and a batchmate from IIM Ahmedabad, has this wonderful capacity to simplify complex thinking and concepts which he did even when he was the agency head and I was the client.
THE FOUNDATION.
Every SPO; Social Purpose Organization have one of the four needs. Fund Raising, Advocacy, People Engagement and Social Change- many have all the four needs. They need to identify their audience and then make the audience identify with their needs, motivation, compulsions, and pressures. Communicate and press triggers for the people to help them get their results. And marketing is a definite need for them. However, marketing is somewhat underplayed and complicated for the lack of funds. Being a change agent and having a purpose alone does not cut ice. The result, yes, most of the SPO approach fundraising as pleading and pushing. Begging is a strong word for it- but indeed, it is not wrong.
MARKETING AND BRANDING – SPO.
Marketing and branding appeal to both the internal and external audiences to get them towards the larger purpose. Branding aims to create cohesion among these people, rather than only the customers’ loyalty to the service or the purpose. When the identity matches with the external image through such efforts, then magic happens. The organization ends up creating additional capacity and hence a more significant impact. Should magic not happen. The book provides a framework for the magic to happen.
Suman IN ‘Don’t Beg – Inspire’ draws upon the book ‘Start with Why by Simon Sinek and his well-acclaimed TED talk. He makes the point to start with the why. Explain the purpose and then talk about how they are different and end in the product or service they offer, instead of the other way round. Suman is Justified as most SPO defining ‘WHAT’ they do and ‘HOW’ they do before coming to ‘WHY’ they do it. To simply, Suman proposes using the pillar or the HUT model- with the roof defining the purpose of the organizing in an insuring way. The pillars that support are the values and the processes resting on the foundation of the organization’s intervention.
To make the reader comfortable and ease the understanding, Suman picks four different SPOs working in the same area of education. Teach for India, Educate Girls, Pratham and eVidyaloka. And then proceed to demonstrate how they differ in their models of Why, How and What?
WORKS WITH INDIVIDUAL – BRAND-i.
And I, the proponent of Individual branding, BRAND-i, is maha pleased when he asks the reader to try the model at an individual level. I will plagiarize this for my next BRAND-i workshop- promise to give credit at the right places.
Before taking the magic pill, he warns that defining the brand is the first step. Which is helped with the Why-How- What model. It does not mean that the world sees you that way- but it helps to clarify how we want us to be perceived, and it helps to measure how far we are from the desired position.
EMPATHY MAPPING.
Suman Srivastava IN ‘Don’t Beg- Inspire’ asks you to do the empathy mapping. Define What the audience says, thinks, does, and feels. Identify the most relevant and easy to influence audience segment instead of spraying masses with your appeal and communication. So, he proposes and, through stories, vigorously defends his approach. Again, the storytelling at work. So, the four steps are – Define the brand, Identify the desired behaviour change, understand the audiences and Generate the Strategy.
EXAMPLES AND STORYTELLING USED TO EFFECT.
Suman picks up live examples to demonstrate the power of purposeful purposing and marketing in the sector. The examples as storytelling are quite a powerful tool to make the point, and Suman uses them judiciously. These examples are essential “people get defensive when you point out their mistakes, but when you tell them a story about someone else, they are free to work things out in their own heads. This way the lessons are learnt more easily and stay a bit longer. Skilled storytelling is a key to behaviour change. The brain processes stories a lot differently than rational facts and figures.
MY FAVOURITE EXAMPLE.
One of the examples of approach and marketing, one that I was not aware of (in addition to a few more) till I read the book, was covered in Chapter 24- Rap vs Unilever. About the Ponds thermometer factory in Kodaikanal, India and its impact. And when there was no action, the Chennai based rap singer Sofia Ashraf created a rap song that went viral on social media- with a hashtag to Boycott Uniliver. And it worked magic with Global CEO Paul Polman acknowledging and taking action. A song made Unilever give up!
THE SUMMARISING PIT STOPS.
There are PIT STOPS- yes, Suman calls the chapters summarizing the learnings or the argument and examples in each section of the book- Pit Stop. While reading – it is advisable to take the title at face value- and really stop- reflect and then get recharged to attack the next section. Maybe reading these pit stops later is an excellent way to revive your learnings.
I just hope that the book chapter on these examples dwelled more and shared their communication and efforts in many details. I am happy to note that few of these examples or the foundation- approach behind them were eye-openers to me- a person who prides himself in knowing and following such communication.
And with his art of simplicity draws upon the book ‘The Little Book of Green Nudges’ and asks you to go EAST, Make it Easy, Attractive, Social and Timely.
THE MISSING LINK- THE MAGIC KEY.
The donors ‘ customers are somewhat obvious magic but always missed key in SPO marketing. Because they are the key to getting the corporate donors interested. SPO mostly seems to focus on and about the underprivileged group- their audience or consumers they are working with, and the corporate donors.
‘Don’t Beg – Inspire’ tells you that Instead of trying to convince everyone and hence target masses- the way is to start with the group that is most likely to change (Nudge theory). Once they change, they will encourage others to join them. As the crowd grows, more and more people join in.
SUMAN HAS SOMETHING FOR THE ELEPHANTS.
Suman seems to love elephants. They were part of his earlier book- ‘Marketing Unplugged’– and they are here in ‘Don’t Beg, Inspire’- for a different perspective and objective. Here are some elephant notations from the book. Suman draws upon the analogy of the Elephant and the rider and the rider.
The Elephant represents System-1 thinking, and the rider represent System-2 of the decision making. The Elephant is emotional and easily distracted. The rider is analytical and rational in approach and can guide the Elephant to the destination. Elephants will only go on a path when motivated to do so. If the course is challenging or there is something to distract, the Elephant may wander off. The Elephant always wins when there is a difference in the desire of the Elephant and the rider.
- The Elephant has a long memory and doesn’t change very fast. But, once it does change, then it keeps a new memory for too long.
- Elephants like to move in a herd, and that’s their comfort zone. It is the same with the Elephant of the mind.
- The rider of the Elephant is analytical and logical. But also tends to do too much analysis and sometimes gets into a bind as a result. Gets into analysis-paralysis. So, it is vital that the rider gets a clear direction and not be burdened with too many choices. Then the rider and the Elephant is more likely to proceed to the desired behaviour.
- The Elephant likes to take the easy path, and he’s also playful and prefers the path that is more fun.
- The Elephant sometimes listens to its readers. Especially when the rider is someone it respects for lovers. In short, an authority figure.
NUDGE TO START THE MOVEMENT.
I had read the NUDGE THEORY and thought I understood it reasonably well, but Chapter 66- on FAQ’s in Nudge Theory was somewhat of a revelation. It is a well thought out chapter- as Suman banks a lot on Nudge theory in making his model. In the current world where instead of reaching across a larger audience, the idea of approaching a smaller- but easy to change audience- followed by them converting others is important. What is important is the quality of the ideas/strategy and how it can be good starting a movement. That is as simple as community building. The focus should remain on ‘Infecting’ a small number of people and getting them to spread the message. The message must resonate deeper with this smaller section of the audience. And then, they will spread the idea and the movement to many others. In the end, that is the task and the objective.
NUDGING YOU FURTHER.
So, if you are an SPO or involved in the social sector, read the book ‘Don’t Beg – Inspire’ . But, if you are in corporate marketing, still read the book. Maybe the book will remain in my not to be UnCaged list for some time. On the other side, you could ask Suman to help you with the process- do a workshop for you- help shift from Begging to inspiring. And would that not be great?
‘Don’t Beg, Inspire’. Suman Srivastava. Notion Press. INR 299. 227 Pages. Available at Amazon.
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