Summary of the "Life is Hard" presentation

Khilchipur village, Rajasthan, India, December 2006

• Life is hard at the bottom of hte economic pyramid. Make it easy for me to choose what to buy. Make it easy for me to use. Make it easy to understand how this will benefit me. Many companies fail simply because they're so focused on cheap/low cost alone that they don't touch the essentials, which are very different at the BoP than for the well fed, so BoP consumers simply assume "oh that's not for me, its not speaking to my needs"
  
• Every decision to purchase is a trade off, when you have a limited budget and only so much to spend. You want to minimize the risk and ensure that you get the biggest bang for your buck. i.e. Max your ROI - you cannot afford to buy something unreliable, that breaks frequently and needs maintenance.
• Environment conditions are harsher, much harsher. We saw products that might break once in a 1000 in the UK, for example, break frequently and quickly, say within three months because dust gets in and there's wear and tear.
• Lower my cost of ownership. I can't afford a loss on my investment.
• Trust, reliability and commitment build a brand's reputation, no amount of advertising will. Proof of performance is mandatory, bullshit meters are very sensitive to the scam or 'con'.
  
• Word of mouth spreads like wildfire, so if your product doesn't perform as promised, its dead. There's no wriggle room for risk.
• Get back in touch with your essential humanity. Empathy is a must.
  
• Life is on the edge. One endures war and famine. One survives disease and malnutrition. Help me make my life better and I'll invest in you.
• Bridge the values gap between mainstream consumer culture and the worldview at the base of the social and economic pyramid created by a life of adversity and uncertainty.