The focus of the book is the central question of all marketing and strategy thinkers as well as managers: how large really is the Indian market, and how can we reach it profitably? For, surely there is no altruism or developmental orientation at all in the eyes and minds of Big Business be it Indian or international. The fact is that the bottom of the pyramid, presented most recently and forcefully by C.K. Prahalad, is a chance for them to make a fortune.
Rama Bijapurkar’s book provides, among other things, some directions as to how one might define this as well as the rest of the pyramid, starting from the creamy layer on the top. Much has indeed been said in the past decade, and since 1991, about the mammoth consumer market of 300 million people. Some chief executives of foreign companies and money men have been foolish enough to think of this as a market the size of the U.S., all speaking English and reachable by television. No wonder so many companies came salivating over the prospect. Yet, reality soon caught up with them, through the slowdown in the late 1990s. What they did not have is an appropriate mental model, a picture that was true to the reality of the Indian market — in terms of both its structure and behaviour. They used analogies, at best, of experience in countries such as Brazil and Thailand, to size the Indian consumer market.
Rama Bijapurkar’s book provides, among other things, some directions as to how one might define this as well as the rest of the pyramid, starting from the creamy layer on the top. Much has indeed been said in the past decade, and since 1991, about the mammoth consumer market of 300 million people. Some chief executives of foreign companies and money men have been foolish enough to think of this as a market the size of the U.S., all speaking English and reachable by television. No wonder so many companies came salivating over the prospect. Yet, reality soon caught up with them, through the slowdown in the late 1990s. What they did not have is an appropriate mental model, a picture that was true to the reality of the Indian market — in terms of both its structure and behaviour. They used analogies, at best, of experience in countries such as Brazil and Thailand, to size the Indian consumer market.
Fallacies
What they should do, as Rama argues is to see the fallacy of facile simplifications and clichés about market segmentation. Many are irrelevant to India. It is fashionable to say that there are two Indias, and the sound-bite makers have coined the terms, India and Bharat to describe them. The truth is that there are far more than two types of India, perhaps a dozen. Much depends on what parameters you are looking at in segmenting and aggregating the target population.
To the CEO of a newly entering multinational, the issue is of great importance because it is a major step and a significant commitment of management time. Assessing the true potential means making adjustments to one’s lenses and seeing the reality as it is, not drawing inappropriate European or American parallels. She makes the point strongly that the sheer variety and diversity of the population is more than that of continental Europe.
Yet another fallacy is the great rural foray that everyone is so convinced about today. It is easy to think that the rural areas comprise mainly farmers and therefore incomes come mainly from agriculture. This is yet another fallacy that needs to be exploded, as the author does, showing the power and the growth potential of the self-employed and trader segments of the population. In fact, the purchasing power of the rural middle income group in the aggregate is as large as that of its urban counterpart. What is more the purchase and consumption of durables amongst the non-farm rural population follows a pattern not dissimilar to that of the urban counterparts.
Insight, the key
I like this book personally for the reasons that we like most things; because it says what one wishes one had done oneself. For instance, her persistent use of the new and more research based mental models is very encouraging. The fact of the matter is a good marketing strategy in India of today demands a combination of the skills of a sociologist, anthropologist and economist, which is quite rare in any individual and difficult to come by among the permanent staff of a company.
Insight rather than information or statistics should guide thinking on any relevant, innovative marketing strategy. It is a lesson that many CEOs tend to learn slowly and somewhat reluctantly. Here is a book that should help along the way, if they are so persuaded.
A common friend once described Rama Bijapurkar’s chief strength as the ability to popularise difficult concepts and turn research findings into layman’s language. I thought that it was a perceptive remark, considering how she has used a career in marketing research, and understanding the complex entity called the Indian consumer market as a springboard to becoming a well-recognised publicist for marketing and a strategy consultant.
After reading the very interesting volume full of insightful arguments and convincing data, one tends to agree. The book demonstrates that “Rama is like that only.”
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