Jhakkad
Thapa, one of the contestant of Nepal
Idol audition has garnered a cult following. Fans are talking and discussing
him in all subsequent Nepal Idol videos. Even a call for wildcard entry,
straight into the final has been called by fans, though unlikely. The intention of this post, however, is not to
diagnose his singing prowess nor comment on his personality. This post seeks to
take business insights from Jhakkad Thapa and reasons for his cult following.
Here, I
present to you five business lesson from Jhakkad Thapa presentation.
Get a Brand Name that Simply Rocks
Any
brand name should stick in the minds of audience. This could be achieved by
simplicity like Apple did or by its peculiarity. Jhakkad Thapa is a name that
sticks and is so unique that it makes people ponder and ask questions.
Brand
name allows businesses to put meaning behind that name, starting from a clean
slate.
Engagement
begins with the brand name.
“If
somebody automatically associates your brand name with positive emotions,
you’ve earned yourself a customer for life.” - Rader
No bullshit,
Cut to the chase!
Meandering
around with generic content works if you are unprepared but over long time it
turns fatal. Time is money and these days even more so.
Beating around the bush bores audience/clients
and in both show biz and business, being boring is the new sin.
Be Confident on your USP (Unique Selling Point)
Your
product may be unorthodox, new and naturally you could have some reservations
about it but that shouldn’t ooze out of you, you have to have confidence in
your USP. If you aren’t sold to USP yourself, don’t expect the audience/market
to be sold to the product/idea. Positing
your USP, among competitions in the market is equally important. Businesses without a USP struggle
to form an identity, and ultimately fail to market the benefits/value they
offer.
Jhakkad
Thapa sang songs, many of the audience had never heard and he did so with such
confidence, hence the charm.
Engage through Emotions
Your
brand should trigger emotions to your customers. Emotional branding means
customers stay loyal for the long haul. Emotional branding helps to create deep
intrinsic relationships between brands and consumers. Relationships with an
emotional dimension are more likely to resist the temptation to defect than
comparatively superficial price or convenience-based ones.
Coca cola over the years have tried to make itself
synonymous with happiness.
Vulnerability
creates trust.
Humor sells.
Jhakkad
prashad, due to his originality, innocence triggers mixed emotions in judges
and the masses.
Charles
Revson, founder of Revlon, always used to say he sold hope, not makeup.
Sell your Story
People
tend to root for underdogs because there’s a story, a good old story where the
underprivileged challenges status quo. People crave for stories and invest
themselves in it. Humans are wired to recall stories. Stories make deep connections
with people, increasing the brand’s strength. A good persuasive story is
inspiring, challenging, educating, emotionally stirring or combination of these.
A
good story is the backbone of word-of-mouth marketing.