“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win” — Mahatma Gandhi
For those of you not familiar with the recently held February 2015 Delhi Elections, a common man in India won elections in New Delhi with a landslide victory, virtually crushing his opponents with 96% of votes. Arvind Kejiriwal, Delhi’s next Chief Minister, has pulled off something which six months ago was an insurmountable task. One year ago, he became Delhi’s chief minister through a coalition government that lasted only 49 days. His party ‘Aam Admi Party’ ( Common Man Party ) wasn't able win enough electoral votes to form a government on it’s own. So, he joined hands with India’s Grand Old Party, Indian National Congress, which has a dubious reputation of being one of the most corrupt political organizations in Independent India’s history and formed a government that was shaky at best.
Fall from Grace
Kejiriwal’s party was anti-establishment, anti-corruption and pro-common man. He was an ex-IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer who quit his lucrative job to fight corruption and clean politics. So, it was quite a surprise when Kejiriwal decided to take INC’s support to form a government in New Delhi that would fight the corrupt. Taking the help of the goons to eliminate crime isn't a best strategy. No wonder, the marriage didn't last long. Fed up with not being able to pass any laws, he resigned as a chief minister in 49 days.
Nobody expected him to win any seats, much less form the government. His victory brought forth the emergence of new India and the hopes and aspirations of it’s people for good governance, free elections, clean politics and crime free, corruption free societies. His resignation was a shot in the arm for his rivals. They named him ‘Bhagora’ (quitter), who is incapable of running a government. People dissed him. Opponents made fun of him. Media crucified him.
When he contested in the National elections, later that year, he won less than 1% of the votes ( 4 out of more than 400 ). That was it. Everybody wrote obituary for Kejiriwal and his political party.
Rise from the Ashes
Being a a chief minister of India’s capital is no easy task. Fighting against the establishment and bringing radical changes in society, to fight against corruption isn't going to happen over night. It’s bound to piss off lot of people, who enjoyed those benefits. It’s going to take more than will power, more than muscle power, more than a government that’s formed out an alliance with a party that was the epicenter of corruption for decades. With such a fractured mandate and fragile coalition government, he wasn’t able to pass any anti-corruption laws he promised in the run up to the elections. He figured the best way to get out of this mess and get re-elected was to quit. That move backfired. People were unforgiving. They felt cheated.
After the debacle of national elections, he was down and out. Even the most optimistic political pundit couldn't have given him any chance of coming back anytime soon.
“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity” — Albert Einstein
Thereafter, he scripted one of the most astounding success story of Indian Politics. Delhi held elections once again on Feb 7th 2015 to elect their new government. Kejiriwal won an impressive 67 out of 70 electoral votes in an election where even his ardent supporters haven’t expected more than 50. His competitors sank without a trace. It was like a Goliath against David fight. The tactics used by AAP’s volunteer and marketing team will set a new trend in India’s political campaigns. Other political parties spent crores of rupees on advertising, bribing and propaganda. Compared to that AAP’s budget on marketing was peanuts. Yet, they achieved incredible results.
Here’s what we can learn from him :
- Start early and maintain consistency : One of the main advantage AAP had over their opponents is they started preparing for the D-Day 6 months before their opponents. They started very early and campaigned relentlessly until the very end. By the time their opposition realized, it was too late. When building a startup, don’t wait until the launch date. Start building customers and keep them posted on the progress of your product with social media updates, blog posts etc., Keep them engaged. When you are ready for BETA testing, you’ll already have a list of people ready to test your product.
- Generate buzz on social media : Social media played a major role in AAP’s win. Their team of volunteers created lot of buzz on twitter and Facebook by exposing corrupt political rivals and promoting Kejiriwal’s unscathed reputation. They openly engaged in debates with their opponents supporters and weren't afraid to answer tough questions. Creating a buzz on the social media can go a long way in helping build the brand reputation. Engage with potential customers and give them freebies. The early adopters teach you lot of valuable lessons.
- Prepare viral campaign : AAP’s supported created the hash tag ‘#mufflerman’ on twitter and Facebook and launched a viral campaign projecting him as a new ‘Superman’ who has the will power to change the politics. It got lot of attention on the media and brought a lot of attention to their campaign. That also gave his supported enough ammunition to bombard social media with #mufflerman hash-tags.
- Understand your customers needs and pain points : Customer is king. Your product is only as good as your customers perceive it. Listen to them. Understand what they have to say, their key issues and problems. Then work towards resolving those issues and pain points. Kejiriwal campaigned at grassroots level. The most affected people due to corruption in Delhi are it’s poor. They also vote in large numbers. By understanding their needs and creating a manifesto that appeals to them, he was able to garner lot of support. People crossed social, cultural, religious barriers to cast their votes to AAP.
- Pick a niche area : Don’t try to sell your product to everyone throughout the world. There’s no way you can grow in that kind of market without first getting real feedback from real customers. Perfect your product based on insights gained from your niche audience and grow it steadily before expanding. Kejiriwal learned his costly mistake when he fought national elections in 400 constituencies. He was decimated, winning less than 1% of the votes. Post 2014 national elections, he set his eyes on Delhi, his niche market, and campaigned relentlessly. The results are for everyone to see.
- Don’t do negative marketing : Even when his opponents indulged in negative campaign, he didn't react. He didn't get involved in mud slinging. Instead, he focused on his positives and that had a telling effect on the people. They could clearly see who is right and who’s wrong. When promoting your startup, you don’t have to put down your competitors. Instead, focus on your strengths and what your startup can do to help your target customers. That’ll have lot more effect than negative marketing.
- Create an emotional hook : Your product should have some kind of a hook, that makes your customers come back and use it. Kejiriwal’s marketing team ensured their target audience had an emotional attachment with AAP by creating a link between AAP and India’s Father of the nation — Mahatma Gandhi. AAP’s party workers and volunteers wore the same hat championed by Mahatma Gandhi during india’s struggle for independence against the British. By creating an association, he was implying that he was fighting for different kind of independence. Independence from poverty, corruption, inflation and crime. That stuck a chord with the electorate.
8. Don’t be over confident : No matter how good you think your product is, don’t ever be over confident. AAP’s opponent BJP was riding on the success of their national elections and automatically assumed their leaders star power is enough to attract the voters. Kejiriwal proved them wrong and they learned a costly lesson. ‘Failing to plan’ is ‘planning to fail’.
9. Dedication, Motivation and Perseverance : It goes without saying, to achieve anything in your life, you need to have dedication, motivation and perseverance. When AAP was down and out, Kejiriwal persevered. His dedication and motivation to win the elections was un-paralled.
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—
Preetham Reddy
info@expresso.co
