In the field of marketing, there’s always a new lesson to learn and specially in the Indian market! Indian market is all about change- change in perception, preference and buy. Increasing competition in the market has led to increasing need of marketing in all fields.
Here are 8 lessons about Indian consumers that every marketing student or professional should know:
1. Materialistic and not guilty!
The youth of today is a firm believer in “Money can buy Happiness” which is what keeps them going on the route to achieve monetary success which is not all bad. What is important is that they own the badges of achievement. Their heroes in life are ‘vertical invaders’ who have achieved success despite their humble backgrounds.
2. Now is all they believe in!
Digital payments has made life easier. With everything just one click away be it car, phone, clothes or even grocery they need it all now!
3. Impulsive and Novelty Seeking
With the many merits of technology also comes the de-merits of it. The speed of technology has led the consumers on the road to impulse purchases and the travel industry is surely booming due to this.
4. A value conscious luxury market – an oxymoron of sorts
Luxury buys are mostly investments for the affluent consumers. Consumers are more likely to buy a wristwatch worth $8,000 than spending $10,000 on a suit.
5. The Women Power
Despite the fact that gender inequality and many prejudices persist, there has been a marked transformation in the role of women. Over the years, women have taken charge and are coming out as highly independent and financially secure individuals.
6. Vivid dramatisation makes for memorable communication
Indian consumers prefer dramatic characterization, colourful acting and emotion as compared to nuanced and subtle messaging. When measuring whether the advertising is working, it is best to measure the levels of enjoyment, relevance, differentiation and persuasion and compare this with a normative database of past advertising test scores.
7. Determining the right price is a minefield.
At times, popular brands respond more markedly to price change, which might appear counter-intuitive, but that’s because popular brands have shifted their demand curve outwards and to the right so that at every point it does better than brands with a lower share. Also, the context matters — when a high-priced brand revises its price further upwards, the mid-priced brand, which has not changed price, is re-positioned as reasonable and gains share disproportionately from lower-priced brands. Consumers don’t always behave as rationally as theoretical economists might believe
8. Increasing Affluence is not all good
Rising income levels and expanding consumption has resulted in at least one disturbing trend — obesity, along with related ailments like heart disease and diabetes. Strategies to promote a healthy lifestyle and eating habits have to take into account that there is a common misconception in India that a child who is chubby is healthy and looked after well.
