Marketing tips for India?

I have got a job! Finally!

And it is all about marketing. That is what I do best right?

The only thing is that marketing in India is working with different rules.

It seems you have two sure ways to attract customers with your marketing campaign: Use your wide network of social contacts (you have one right?) or hire a Bollywood star!

 
Example: An Indian friend of mine had a wonderful business idea: she wanted to set up a toy library. She invested in a stock of new toys including books, games, memory games, puzzles etc. and invited parents to borrow the toys for their children for a fixed membership fee. Great idea! The library was opened in a school building where she used to work and from where she also got a bunch of loyal member parents.

However, she wanted to promote the library to much wider public. So she decided to advertise it with a flyer that was distributed in between the daily news paper to all the houses in the neighbourhood. Guess how did this campign work? She got zero leads, zero inquieries and zero parents visiting the library! How is this possible?

Indians are suspicious about new contacts. There are always cases when someone tried to cheat someone. It is better to ask your friends and colleagues for recommendations than look for unknown offers. It is all about trust that needs to be built before people come to buy your products.

What happened to my friend? In the end she got a rich and loyal customer base as the parents using the library recommended it to their friends and so on.

In addition, marketing campaigns here in Mumbai are bigger and literally done in Bollywood style.

Many local brands fight for the most famous Bollywood stars to become the flagship of their campaigns. Good examples are the actresses Deepika Padukona and Priyanka Chopra. I was reading the latest Grazia- issue and noticed Deepika Padukone’s face appeared five times in different contexts: adds, gossip, competitions, fashion, beauty tips….these actresses have become true role models for Indian women and true advertising value for Indian brands. And very rich. A positive thing is that these women are not skinny skeletons but actually look healthy. Models here are basically replaced by Bollywood stars. Famous male figures are Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan who will do the same trick for the male audience.

 Sony with Deepika Padukone

 Garnier ad with Priyanka Chopra

Salmar Khan

Amitabh Bhanchan

Bollywood stars and other celebrities are also used to draw audiences to “smaller” events: an artist friend of mine Kirstin Green who has been working on a big mosaic at Oberoi International School had a sculptor Arzan Khambatta unveiling her mosaic. A Finnish author, Pia Heikkilä who recently launched her first book “Operation Lipstick” in Mumbai had Bollywood actress Tisca Chopra as one of the speakers at the launch event. A sure way to get journalists around!

What have I learned?

1. Don't take advertisement for granted. Advertisement can work wonders in Europe, but in India you need to have a trusted brand or a familiar face to promote your product through ads.

2. Check your contacts. Ask the people you know to recommend your product or inquire if they know someone who could be interested.

3. Use influence to get contacts. People who lead businesses and have wide social networkds can help to promote your product if you argument the benefits well. This could be more efficient than any type of advertisment.

12/12/12 - a Magical day

India is not only known for different religions, cultures and languages but also for superstitious beliefs!

In India, 12^th of December 2012 aka 12/12/12 is taken seriously.

What is so special about 12-12-12? The Ancient Mayan calendar speaks of 12-12-2012 as the end of times and the beginning of a new cycle of evolution for planet earth, humanity and the cosmos. Mayan elders say that the Ancients were informing the modern world to be ready for a giant transformation for the human race. In addition, other religions such as Buddhism, Tao, Hopi and Vedic knowledge predict a ‘Golden Age’ in their calendars more or less the same period. December 2012 is therefore considerd a significant spiritual event and a shift in the collective consciousness of the planet.

Here in Mumbai families expecting a baby have made reservations in hospitals well in advance for both unnatural and natural births. They want their child to be born on the lucky day. Men are planning to propose their girl friends on 12/12/12, the most special day of the year. Restaurants are fully booked and many venues are organizing special events.

Moreover, 12/12/12 will be a commercial event: several online shopping platforms are offering special deals on the special day. Indian Google is organizing a Great Online Shopping Festival - GOSF on 12/12/12. Ebay, Flipkart, Makemytrip etc. are all offering irresistible deals for 12 hours. This is a sure way to attract customers. I will certainly check flight tickets availability tomorrow, flights available for magical rate of 1212 rs inclusive of all taxes!

I check 12/12/12 offers for Finland but for some reason I don’t find similar buzz around this day. Oh wait, this is not needed, Christmas sales have been going on the whole month of December!

That office building crashed down!

I was shocked to read the news paper this morning: an office building called "Victoria House" where I went for several interviews had crashed down.  Two people died and six others got injured.

I am so happy I didn't get the job.

The accident happened because the pilars of the 115-year old building got damaged during renovation work. Moreover, it is going to be a law case as the renovation work was done without permission...

The whole story here.

Office lunch in Mumbai - Dabbawallas

Mumbaikars are not used to take their lunch boxes to the office, neither do they go out for lunch at noon. Instead, they have it delivered straight from home to their work place. This is all done by Dabbawallas, people from the villages who have developed a special supply chain delivering lunch for busy office people from the other side of the city.

How does it work?

1. Lunch (= dabba) is prepared at home by inhouse cook or wife.
2. Dabbawallas pick up the dabba from each door step at a certain time.
3. They transport it the the nearest train station where the dabba is put in the right train for its final destination.
4. Each dabba box has a code. At the other end another dabbawalla picks up the dabba with the right code and deliveres it in the office.

  All the dabbas received from the train ready to be loaded on the bikes.

 Dabbawallas loading bikes 

 

  Ready to be delivered!

  

Amazingly, lunch is almost always on time and dabbas don't get mixed or stolen in the train! Check out also the PopUpCity blog, which has a great post about this topic.

Eating at an Indian office is a fun and relaxing experience. No one has sandwiches in front of their PCs like in a certain office I used to work in Brussels. At the FWWB office in Ahmedabad everyone would sit around a big table and discover the content of their lunch boxes, chat, laugh, tell stories and playfully tease each other. Each time people made me taste different delights from their home kitchen. There was always someone who ate the remains of someone else or dipped his roti in someone else's curry.

In another office here in Mumbai food was ordered only for me and still I ended up eating others' Diwali sweets and homemade rice. Lunch here is all about sharing and enjoying!

How to prepare for a business meeting in India?

During these two months in Mumbai I have met several people and visited several companies and still each business meeting turns out to be a lesson to learn!

Happened once in Mumbai: 

I was supposed to meet a Vice President of the CSR unit of a big Indian corporation on a Tuesday morning. I had confirmed my meeting with a call and an email with a title mentioning the exact date and the timing of the meeting. However, when I turned up his secretary showed his agenda and said: "your meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, tomorrow". I could not believe what I just heard. I mentioned my email, but the secretary seemed indifferent and suggested he could check if the person is free right now. And he was, for 20 minutes. When we were introduced he just shrug his shoulders and stated "this is India". 

Happened also in Mumbai: 

I had a second meeting with a person to whom I had done a couple of sample newsletters to demonstrate my project proposal. He praised the letters and said it was just what they needed. We started planning the project organization and fix deadlines for the implementation. At the end of the meeting he promised to come back regarding the compensation details the same evening or next day the latest. He never came back. Not even to tell me the plan had changed. 

Here a couple of tips on how to prepare for a business meeting in India:

1. Arrive on time, but don't take it personally if the person you are supposed to meet is late. He could be stuck in traffic, in another meeting or someone in his family got sick. Family always comes before business.
2. Small talk.  People like to talk first about their family and holiday preparations etc. instead of going straight to the business like we Finnish people like to do.
3. Shake hands with everyone if your meeting is in a bigger city like Mumbai or Delhi. In some more traditional locations men and women don't shake hands. Cheek kisses are an absolute no-no.
4. Be patient. Do not expect to conclude anything in your first meeting. Indians like to invest in building relationships and trust before making any major decisions.
5. Remind. Indians are used to multitasking and might forget they were supposed to call you. It is normal to call after people here.
6. "Yes" can mean yes or no. Indians avoid saying no even if they had to lie on your face. Low expectations are the key to happiness.

This is India!

More reflections about Indian business culture can be found on Communicadaid Cross cultural training blog...

Indian Business Culture

During the last months in Mumbai I have learned so many things about Indian business culture and habits - without planning it. The experience has been on the one hand very interesting and on the other hand really frustrating. Everything here seems to work differently than back home in Finland. The only way to discover this has been through experience and learning from my mistakes!

For certain people India is a country where you can talk directly to the companies' CEOs, get a job in one day and get paid a lot; you just have to know the right people.

For others India is a country where everything moves slowly, it is possible to spend months sending CVs without any response and get a salary that is hardly enough to pay the rent; unless you know the right people.

I have experienced both. This blog will share some of my experiences and hopefully give insights to those who are curious about the Indian business culture and habits.