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Marketing a Business in India

Starting a business in India is more than just costs and procedures. It's more cultural acclimatisation than calculatory acumen. It's making sure your product or service fits the inclinations and idiosyncrasies of India; finding a way to culturalise your business in order to reap the same results your business has achieved domestically. This is accomplished through one simple step: effective marketing in India.

Marketing your business on indigenous soil is an art-form in itself; attempting to do it in India is nigh-on miraculous. Countries may be becoming more heterogeneous, but the foundations of a culture rarely budge for anything: their sensitivities, traditions, humour, discourses, protocols are essentially unchanging and stubbornly unaccommodating. Therefore, the identity of your product or service needs to seamlessly fashion itself upon a nation, not the other way around, shoehorned in, hoping for the best.

Advertising and Sales promotions in India

Arrangements with local agencies are recommended. Newspapers are often used for advertising various goods including consumer goods. There are a number of English language papers including economic dailies. Additionally a few English language magazines have a wide readership all over India. Correspondence and trade literature are commonly in English.

The typical Indian consumer is demanding, and just using the brand name of the product is not sufficient. The consumer wants real value for money as India is a very price sensitive market. A popular way to introduce new types of goods in the market place is to participate in Trade Fairs, which are now being held regularly in metros like New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

Cultural Sensitivity

Cultural sensitivity and understanding of protocol is paramount to effective marketing in India. The intricacies of a nation its beliefs, even its superstitions can make or break your business. Know the market; immerse yourself in it. Never assume your marketing strategy will be transplantable to a foreign country. There is only a slim chance language will translate well. Anglophonic countries may be susceptible, but if your product or service plays on a quintessentially British characteristic or joke the chances are, it will not be well received.

As for other countries, don't bank on using the same strap-lines or gimmicks. Unless they are perfectly transitional, your product or service could suffer especially if it relies on humour.

Unless you are certain your product or service can sell itself on indigenous merits, it is probably wise to revise its selling-points for the Indian foreign market. As always, however, only your own fastidious research can conclude this.
Indian culture has strong influences of Hinduism. Tradition and caste system emphasizes hierarchical relationships. Social order, status and family structure society.

All relationships involve hierarchies. In schools, teachers are called gurus and are viewed as the source of all knowledge. The patriarch, usually the father, is considered the leader of the family. The boss is seen as the source of ultimate responsibility in business. Every relationship has a clear- cut hierarchy that must be observed for the social order to be maintained.

Indians do not like to express 'no'. Since they do not like to give negative answers, Indians may give an affirmative answer but be deliberately vague about any specific details. Rather than disappoint you, Indians will offer you the response that they think you want to hear. This behaviour should not be considered dishonest. An Indian would be considered terribly rude if he did not attempt to give a person what had been asked.
The ability to familiarise oneself with local conditions is therefore extremely important. Take time to learn about the culture, history and customs of the region of India you want to make business into BEFORE starting contacts and deals.

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