For such a large consumer market, companies like (rather love or desperate) to sell all their products. If you can recollect, we have so many products on the self of the shops which were not at all there few years ago. Consumerization is picking up the pace and Indian people are shopping things like never before. In fact, it’s going more towards American type of consumerization where market will sell you things which you actually don’t need (‘need’ is different from ‘want’). And for such large people, this is how they sell things. You can also take points from here and can sell ‘your’ things to your target people.
In India if you want to sell things, follow these steps
- Show them there is a ‘big’ problem in life and you are a part of that problem. Hitting emotions is the major part here.
- Tell them, you have a solution for that.
- Solicit it with few people saying problem is solved. (It can be some known/trusted people like, celebrity, so called scientific results, or your local re-seller/shop keeper)
- Show them its value for money (people love it). This is only when you can show the problem is ‘so big’ or competition is high.
- Just to support that, show them it’s a trend. All are doing it. (If you don’t, you the only one who would be behind)
- Giving something extra. Tell them it will solve some more problems for you… (just to compete with others, people like free things)
- Play the trump card at the end. You have multiple variants suiting to your skin/personality/… (Just change the color/smell/look)
That is what companies are doing these days. You can take few example of the products like, anti ageing products, hair fall treatment/product, ‘natural/herbal’ face/skin products, anti-dandruff products, health drinks/products and at the end, insurance/pension products (remember, Na sar zuka hai kabhi… ad)
There are other ways of doing sale. One of them is pushing the products so much to the people it becomes a trend and people who don’t have it, feel backwards. Like adidas/RBK/Nike types of products, iPods, mobile phones (especially big ones), bikes, chocolates, noodles, cereals, hair gel, etc. But that also many times follow the above mentioned techniques for selling as people gets trapped easily there.
There are few products which actually have improved the quality of life and I am not denying that. My point is, if you want to sell anything, these steps can help you. Some people will always be there to take it.
I do agree with your views and would like to add a few points. Rather than usability of products, the major USP in india for a product to sell is the branding. The consumers are made to believe that they are out of race if they miss to be part of brand. Adding to it is the brand ambassadors who propogate false image for product for their own benefit(mainly monetory)and we belive them blindedly.Here we also don't have strict and measured regulations. Here a product claims to be a contributer of height and another promises to make you fairer in 7 days.
ReplyDeleteQuantitave parameters should be strictly defined and declared to check against false claims and advertisements. Consumers need to be active and make a smart pick rather than getting fooled by products!!
Just to quote an example,as samsung tab hits one million sales mark in the global market,Indians too have an aspiration gap the desire to bridge which propels them to possess the coveted in-vogue device.
ReplyDeleteRecently,I saw a lady in Mumbai bargaining the device for 35K at a local electronics shop originally priced at 38K.Even in aspiring to own the product,looking for the value for money and bargaining are some of the practices Indians can never forgo.But the companies I am sure have a huge margin and would not mind giving away such discounts.
True Rajat. Indians like value for money...
ReplyDeleteBut sometimes companies also take wrong advantages of that. Wherever people see some % discounts in big malls, you find crowd there... even though they end up paying more.
very truly written!!!
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