As with all other markets, India with a large industrial base has a highly segmented market. The customer segments are quite diversified and can be put into 3 main categories:
“Premium”- Multinational Companies, Original Equipment Manufacturers and customers having specific applications (large Indian Corporate, Research Institutions, Defense , Airlines etc) – These customers have a specific need to use high specification products- either due to their internal control and processes, stringent application requirement, demand from the customers (who could be from global market) or high cost for replacement/ failure.
“Value for Money” – These are Indian Corporate, Multinational Companies and Institutions who have a limited specification needed. They want good quality performance and reliability but might need a standard specification product.
“Base Market” – This set of customers buy products based on “technical” and “commercial” considerations. Brand may not play any role at all –most of the times. The technical requirements are very basic, allowing a large number of companies to be eligible and the ‘commercial” decision is then made based on tendering process, with the lowest bidder winning the largest chunk.
The volumes and visibility of the base market is the largest, and that’s why when most of the firms enter India, they come across such requirements and feel “Indian Market is price sensitive”. The longer one stays and digs deeper into the market, they realize the presence of other segments of customers who need higher product specifications. These customers are difficult to find, as their suppliers are limited and secret, compared to the other segments which have a much higher visibility.
So to conclude, India has a much diversified segment of customers wanting the products with latest technologies, and functionality on one side to the bare minimum/ low cost on the other. The important question is where are you looking?
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