Via the excellent book of the above title.
Anandh Balasundaram, the managing director of AstraZeneca India, described the difference between Western and Indian consumers:
“Indian consumers are a lot more value conscious than anywhere I’ve seen. I think we always viewed it as being cost conscious, but I see it as value. They really dig into the details of what value is by asking, ‘How is this product going to change my life?’ Consumers in the U.S., for example, will spend ten dollars to try something out. But Indian consumers, they’ll ask hundreds of questions-will it do this? will it hand that?-and they ask, ‘Do I really need it?” before they spend even a small amount. So as a marketer to the Indian consumer, this constant value consciousness requires us to think hard in terms of what is the value added, as well as the differentiation you are bringing to the marketplace.”
According to Guillermo Wille, managing director at General Electric in India, “the beauty of the Indian market is that it pushes you in a corner… it demands everything in the world, but cheaper and smaller.” In other words, India’s budget constrained customers have allowed the emergence of capabilities for a certain kind of innovation in India. Tata Motor’s launch of the Nano, the cheapest car in the world to make, is a prime example.
