"The poor is the next big market."
This is what the famous Harvard Business Review writer, India-born Prahalad, says.
Most business people disagree. They point to the fact that 80% of the world's population never made a phone call. People in third world countries are extremely poor. They have no money.
The conventional wisdom says, Go where the money is. The more money people have the more likely they are to buy. But rich people have no true needs. They are saturated with gadgets. Arguably, this product saturation is a contributing factor to the current economic slowdown.
In these circumstances, what does the conventional businessman do? He sells "toys to the rich."
Hewlett Packard is taking a different tack. I am happy to say they are adopting the philosophy of helpfulness. $1 billion worth! They are investing in the third world. They plan to show poor people in the developing world how to
"use technology to develop measurable social and economic benefits."
HP intends to get involved in 1000 villages during the first year of its World e-Inclusion program. HP does not plan to do it all alone. It is gathering partners to help in its quest.
One partner they have is People Link, which is helping Napa Indians off the coast of Panama set up a website to sell their colorful clothing and decorations.
The number of possible partners, all over the world, is endless. HP will help them; they will help HP. All will benefit.
Bill Gates, of Microsoft, disagrees. He says:
"The percentage of growth that an IT firm like HP will get from people whose income is less than a dollar a day is not going to be that significant."
This statement highlights the difference between Microsoft and HP, with reference to helping the poor:
- Bill Gates believes in helpfulness through charity. He donataes millions of dollars for vaccinations and other basic needs of the poor.
- HP believes in helpfulness through marketing - By supplying information to poor people in developing coountries, they help them learn. The more these people learn the greater the economies they may build. Also, the greater their appreciation of HP. As their economies grow, so will HP's business. Eventually HP will build a huge market.
Take a lesson from HP. Adopt the Helpfulness Marketing philosophy. It can work for small as well as for large businesses. Concentrate on these 3 words:
- LEARNING - Do as HP does: Work on true needs. Find out what they are and supply learning experiences to serve these needs. Don't manufacture needs, such as the ability to turn off a coffee pot at home with a device at a workplace.
- COOPERATION - HP is cooperating with other companies, many of them in the poor regions they want to serve. They will learn from each other and as a result do a better marketing job. Cooperation can help you too.
- COMMUNITY - To help the poor people learn better HP will, no doubt, build a community to enable villagers to help each other learn. For you building a community is easier.
I salute HP! I salute all who adopt the philosohy of helpfulness to their marketing program!
