Satyam Computer Services has come a long way indeed to become one of the leading global information technology services providers. As business evolves, so does the strategic paradigm. Communication to stakeholders plays a pivotal role in such a scenario; starting with employees themselves. Hari Thalapalli, emphatically acknowledges this, having moved from being the Senior VP (HR) to Satyam’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).

During his stint with HR, Hari spearheaded various attraction, retention and motivation initiatives for the 24,000- employee strong company that operates in over 46 countries. ‘Every Satyamite is a leader’ – as part of the Leadership Development Council, Hari was instrumental in making this Satyam vision come true.

In a career spanning 22 years, Hari has tackled the intricacies of people management and leverages this experience in his new avatar as the CMO of Satyam.

		“We are able to guarantee results for clients, and our maturity has helped us to enter into ‘risk-based reward’ contracts. This shift is what is reflected in our current positioning.”

How is the marketing function viewed at Satyam? What are the key marketing priorities?

Being a $2B company doing work with large businesses across the world, including about 160 Fortune 500 companies, we were largely driven by focused B2B marketing. However, that paradigm is now changing. We are now veering towards viewing the marketing function as a combination of B2B and B2C, the latter referring to one of our key stakeholders- the Satyam associate (employee).

As for the marketing priorities at Satyam, we are looking at strategic marketing initiatives that will enhance new market entry, pricing strategy as well as continued focus on positioning Satyam as a company that enables businesses to transform and compete effectively in their markets.

		“We were largely driven by focused, B2B marketing. However, that paradigm is now changing.”

What is your view on the challenges of building a unique services brand?

There are several examples of successful, differentiated ‘product’ brands – but there are fewer equivalents in the service industry. It is much harder to create a consistent customer experience when you offer a service, and this is the challenge many service companies in our sector are grappling with. Building an identity and the brand for a physical product is in some ways less challenging.

Satyam is known for encouraging an entrepreneurial style of functioning within. Given this background, how do you balance the goal of institutionalizing the Satyam brand while giving various business units the freedom to anchor marketing programs relevant to their area?

This is an issue we continue to work on and, to be honest, we may have, in the earlier days of totally decentralized marketing, had moments when we highlighted a service line or a sub brand even more. There has therefore been a felt need for institutionalization of branding. However, today, through a structure that links the central marketing teams with those in various businesses, as well as through tightly integrated processes and guidelines that stipulate the do’s and don’ts, we have managed to strike the right balance.

		“Through a structure that links the central marketing teams with those in various businesses, as well as through tightly integrated processes and guidelines that stipulate the do’s and don’ts, we have managed to strike the right balance.”

An important aspect of our distributed leadership model is that it works within a framework, where each unit’s goals are aligned with the overall company goals. The interdependencies and metrics orientation in this framework are very high, and its effectiveness is measured internally through a collaboration index. Thus, while our business leaders enjoy total entrepreneurial flexibility, they also appreciate and work within a cohesive corporate framework.

		“Marketing priorities at Satyam: initiatives that will enhance new market entry, pricing strategy as well as continued focus on positioning Satyam as a company that enables businesses to transform and compete effectively in their markets.”

How was Satyam’s new positioning – “Business Transformation.Together.” arrived at?

As businesses evolve, there is a need to revisit the value proposition in accordance with market needs as well as internal capabilities. This led Satyam to transition from “Our people make the difference” to “What business demands”. Now, as we evolve further, the difference we are able to make to a client’s business is real and measurable. The work we do impacts the core business operations of most companies we are involved with. Therefore, when we look at our client’s business, we are able to analyze it holistically, determine the levers of growth and facilitate execution through better process reengineering and/or automation. We are able to guarantee results for them, and our maturity has helped us to enter into ‘risk based reward’ contracts. This shift is what is being reflected in our current positioning.

What were the activities undertaken to communicate this new positioning to various stakeholders?

We validated this positioning with some of our long standing customers and other stakeholders.

Once finalized, the marketing team spent a fair amount of time in figuring out how best to communicate the message to our various stakeholders.

Our first priority was to communicate the new positioning and its implications internally to Satyam associates. Over a period of 45 days, we have conducted road shows and webinars to articulate the new positioning.

		“Our first priority was to communicate the new positioning and its implications internally to Satyam associates.”

How do you plan to measure the effectiveness of this repositioning exercise?

Eventually, as a greater percentage of our business comes through transformational engagements, where we make a remarkable difference to our clients (and thereby partake in their success), we would consider ourselves as having achieved what we have set out to do.

What is your view on the role of technology in marketing? Does Satyam have a web 2.0 strategy for marketing in place?

I must admit this is one area that has been under leveraged at Satyam till now. However, we have definite plans to plug this gap, and the next six months should see Satyam leverage technology significantly for its marketing reach.