How to Walk a Mile in Your Customers Shoes: A Story of Gillette in India

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Have you ever heard the phrase walk

a mile in someone else's shoes?

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It's a timeless piece of advice,

urging us to empathize with others

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before making judgements or decisions.

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But what if I told you that it's

not just about empathy, but also

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about authenticity and innovation?

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Welcome to episode one 90 of this shit

works podcast dedicated to all things.

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Networking relationship building

and business development.

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I'm your host, Julie Brown.

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Speaker author and networking coach.

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And today I'm discussing why it's

essential to feature yourself

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in your client's narratives to

walk in your client's shoes.

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And I'm doing this by drawing

inspiration from them.

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Remarkable story of albert

Carvallo and his transformative

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journey with Gillette in India.

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When Carvallo assumed leadership of

Gillette's emerging markets division,

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he encountered a significant challenge.

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Despite technological innovations,

their products were failing to

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resonate with consumers in India now,

conventional wisdom and the historic

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way of trying to mitigate this.

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I would have been to assign the

task of understanding the Indian

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market to a junior employee.

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But Carvallo chose a different path.

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He made a groundbreaking decision.

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He would immerse himself

in the culture firsthand.

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The decision was met with skepticism

and resistance within Gillette,

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but Carvallo persisted recognizing

that to truly understand the needs

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of Indian consumers he needed to

experience their reality firsthand.

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Here's where the magic happened.

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Carvallo and his team observed Indian men

shaving in their homes, revealing insights

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that data alone could never provide.

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As Carvallo ventured into the heart

of India, he witnessed firsthand

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the daily rituals of shaving

in low income neighborhoods.

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The experience was eye-opening men

shaved in makeshift spaces, facing

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unique challenges, such as water

scarcity and storage issues for razors.

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This intimate understanding

became the catalyst for change.

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Cavalos journey.

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Didn't just end with observation.

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It sparked innovation, his team's

insights from the field paved

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the way for a revolutionary

product tailored specifically to

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the needs of Indian consumers.

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By incorporating a simple,

yet crucial feature.

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A hole in the razor handle so

that Indian consumers could hang

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the razors on a nail on the wall.

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Gillette was Gable to capture the market,

like never before, because of this.

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But what's truly remarkable about

Carvallo story is it's not just the

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tangible results, which was significant

increase in market share, but the

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cultural shift within the organization.

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By featuring himself in the narrative

of change by walking in his client's

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shoes, Carvallo challenged the status

quo and fostered a culture we're

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understanding customer needs to

precedence over technological prowess.

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Carvallo his journey teaches

us that personal involvement,

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breeds, authenticity, and empathy.

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By stepping into the

shoes of those we serve.

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We gain invaluable insights that shape

not only our products and services,

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but also our organizational culture.

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As we wrap up today's episode, I

encourage you to immerse yourself in the

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experiences of your clients or customers.

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Remember the power of storytelling

lies, not just in the story

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itself, but in the storytellers,

willingness to walk the talk.

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This remarkable story was just

a short part of a longer article

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in Harvard business review.

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Titled create stories that

change your company's culture.

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Written by Jay Barney, a professor

at the university of Utah,

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David echo, school of business.

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And please forgive me if I am pronouncing

your name, wrong men, Noel, a Morem, a

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founding partner at N X F investments

and Carlos Julio, an entrepreneur.

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And a director of several

Brazilian companies and also

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a commentator for CNN Brazil.

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I'm going to put a link to the

full article in the show notes.

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Okay.

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Onto the drink of the week,

which what will it be?

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See, I decided to feature tamarind.

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In the cocktail.

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See tamarind is a staple of any

south Indian kitchen and also Mexico.

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The meaning literally means

sour in the Tamil language.

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And so I got this spicy tangy tamarind

cocktail from the immigrants table.

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Here's what you're going to need.

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One ounce of white rum,

one ounce of spiced rum.

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One ounce of fresh lime juice,

two ounces of tamarind juice.

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You can usually find this in this

Spanish section of your market.

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That's where I find it in mine,

half an ounce of simple syrup, one

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inch piece of ginger soda, water,

um, a slice of lime innocent.

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And instead what you're going to do.

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Isn't a cocktail shaker

combined, the tamarind juice.

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That.

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Simple syrup.

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Fresh squeezed lime

juice and graded ginger.

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Add the white rum and the

spice rum to the shaker.

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Phil the shaker with ice cubes and,

you know, get that top on tight and

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then shake vigorously for about 15

to 20 seconds to chill the cocktail

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and infuse all those great flavors.

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Strain the mixture into a cocktail glass

filled with fresh ice cubes and then

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top with soda, water, and then garnish

with that lime and cinnamon stack.

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All right friends.

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That's all for this week.

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If you like what you heard

today, please leave a review

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and subscribe to the podcast.

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Also, please remember to share the podcast

to help it reach a larger audience.

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Actually, you know what,

I'm going to go back.

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I haven't gotten a new review on

the podcast in a really long time,

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and people are listening to it.

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You know, the, the listenership is

growing, but I haven't gotten any reviews.

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So if you have time, would

you please put that review in

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for me, if you'd be so kind.

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Okay.

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If you want more, Julie

Brown, you can find my book.

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This shit works on Amazon

and Barnes and noble.

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You can find me on

LinkedIn at Julie Brown BD.

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Just let me know where you

found me when you reach out.

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I'm Julie Brown underscore BD on

the Instagram, or you can just

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pop on over to my website, Julie

Brown, bd.com until next week.

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Cheers.