Deconstructing the Market and the Consumer Psyche

Murali of BL reports... “Markets are shaped by both consumers and companies — now is the opportunity for responsible marketing, for delivery of better value to consumers,” independent market strategy consultant Rama Bijapurkar said at the Tenth CII Annual Marketing Summit today.

Addressing the Summit session on ‘Deconstructing the Market and the Consumer Psyche’, Ms. Bijapurkar added: “I think we’ve had no recession, we’ve not had a meltdown, but we now have the opportunity to deliver value to the consumer.”

The Summit, which is being held over August 18 and 19 in New Delhi, examines the impact strategy for the Indian market, while providing expert insight and practical strategies for Indian firms to sustain growth in an economically-straitened environment.

Commenting on why India seems to have survived the meltdown better than most countries, Ms. Bijapurkar said: “There are mini Indias within India and these are increasing in number. I think a key reason why we survived better than others is this existence of these mini Indias.” Further, she opined that most of India is yet to begin its consumption journey and that marketers should tap the many island markets that India offers.

On the way ahead, Ms. Bijapurkar, India's leading market strategist and expert in consumer behaviour, said: “Steady, modest income growth will continue and consumption desire would continue to be strong.” She stressed that the evolution of the Indian consumer would depend on how suppliers/companies evolve the various consumer segments.

Ms. Bijapurkar, author of Winning in the Indian Market and We Are Like That Only, also said that the global slowdown had not impacted the Indian consumer and that “marketers should now go where no man has gone before — deeper and deeper into the hinterland”.