Understanding the Indians

Hi again!!

First of all, hurrah!!! i bought the laptop.. and its my first blog from my laptop...
it has been 3-4 weeks, so the xcitement z a bit subdued.. but watever... i still m happy bout it...

today i choose to write about a topic, which i ve been thinking bout for quite some time...
actually the origin starts a bit differently... i ve been thinking bout the success of Big Bazaar really... i had the opportunity to deal with them a few years back, when i was in loreal..
we had counters in Big Bazaar which i looked after...
honestly speaking, its a lotta mismanagement there...still it apparently is one the the most successful ventures across industries..
so i ve been asking this question.. Why??
Why people stand in queues to buy stuff from there??
Of course the simplistic answer is "Is se sasta aur acha kahin nahi"... but its a too simplistic answer... i feel there are a lotta other reasons for it..
Kishore Biyani (or 'Bania' or 'KB', whatever u call him, i m in awe of the guy) has recently come out with a book "it happened in India", which, of course, i immediately bought with expectations to understand the reasons. But i was very disappointed. The book hardly shares any insight. It is a blatant attempt to hardsell his organisation and to attract people.

So now, that i didn't get anwsers from there, i would like to purport my own theories on why Big Bazaar has been a success. KB says, they have a deep understanding of behaviour of Indians. I would like to point out what those differences are. These differences can be used in any field, and i think KB has used them fantastically.
So with that long Background, let me start with my theories. I will try to basically point out the differences between Indians and Foreigners (primarily of developed nations). These are not in order of importance, just what is coming to my mind right now and whatever i ve learnt from my limited interaction with 'whites' ( and i ve never gone abroad, so u know these are very limited interactions)..
1. Yesterday, i was reading an article, that Indians are the second worst tourist in the world. They are loud, noisy and litter. This is really one of the key difference. We are loud and noisy. Our marriges, festivals, functions are a testimony. We talk loudly, laugh loudly, during sports matches, we make all sorts of noises... even in sports like tennis, see the difference when sania is playing and when say sharapova is playing.
So what did KB do, once he actually had people with 'Bhopu' announcing the schemes. This is unthinkable anywhere in the world. Indians feel comfortable in noisy atmosphere.
Firangs, prefer silence, no disturbance kinda atmosphere.... we Indians dont.
2. Unlike firangs. we dont strive for perfection all the time. We are mediocrates and we accept mediocracy. We dont expect people to deliver xactly what they commited, we dont accept vendors to deliver on time. We invite guests in any function 1hr early, coz we know everybody will come late. In every field of life.. we dont feel bad if others dont do 100% of what they promise.
Big Bazaars, if u ve gone in the morning, take their time to settle down. And nobody feels bad about it. If a mall is not fully operational at the time of opening, it might create a ruckus.
Have u seen a Opening of a Big Bazaar?? u ve to see it to believe it. I ve read stories of hi-tension wire falling at the opening of first Big Bazaar, sound system not working on the day of opening of BB at bangalore... Indians dont mind that at all.....
3. We are Emotional people. I dont think this point has really been taken up by Big Bazaar, or anybody else.. but i think this can work, if somebody uses it properly. I hope, i dont need to substantiate on emotional Indians, Bollywood is the biggest testimony.
I think the international campaign of "we are no.2, we try harder" would have been a humungous success in India. Actually, its still up for grabs. only we need to add some Karan Johar 'tadka' in it. We love underdogs
4. We love to bargain. I dont know how it can be used by BB or by anybody else, but we Indians love to bargain.
5. We have a more holistic view of beauty. We really understand beauty is within as much as its outside. That is actually the reason why cosmetics and specifically color cosmetics hasnt been such big in India. Color Cosmetics is just 350cr in India. This comes up often in researches as well, where people say, "all these cosmetics wont help if we dont eat properly".
6. Most Important point, which i was almost going to miss is Marrige and its importance and implications. I think it needs to be talked about in detail.
i. Marrige is sacred and sacrosanct in our culture, unlike in west.
ii. People spend their earnings of lifetime for marrige.
iii. Women stop caring about themselves after marrige, their families are the only priority
iv. Infidelity, is still limited and looked upon as worst thing a women can do. Though it is still consider tolerable for men to do.
v. Even if marrige doesnt work, and partners live in misery, they dont divorce easily. They continue to live with each other.
vi. Men and Women, stop worrying about their physical appearence after marrige, primarily becasue its rarely seen as a reason for separation.
vii. Kids are a responsibilty of parents till mid twenties, and their staying separate in same city is considered unacceptable.
viii. Concept of giving surprises to partners, gifts etc is hardly existant.
ix. Women look at their husbands for approval of everything and feel that their position in society is determined by the position of their husbands.
x. Independence is not of primary importance. Indians love to live tied to their family, their houses, properties etc.

There are more differences, but i am mentioning, what came to my mind right now.

Now the question is, how is it relevant to marketers like us?? how they effect their buying behaviour (which is our primary interest)... i cant explain all here.. but i would mention the key things.

One, the cosmetics is not such a huge market, because of this... people use less and less of cosmetic as they grow older, while it is the other way in developed countries.
Two, the male needs to approve everything tat is bought. Women need their approval.
Three, Marrige is a huge market, which remains largely unexploited.
Four, you have to impress kids, if u want women to buy ur products. In Hindi, there is a saying "Guy ka dudh nikalne ke liye, bachde ko pataana padta hai". Those who have seen how a cow is milked, will understand that.
Five, the decisions regarding teen population is still a family decision and will remain so for some time.

7. We dont understand complexity. We understand and therefore appreciate simpicity. That is
the reason why most award winning ads are not the most successful ones. If you look at foreign Ads, most of them will not cut ice with Indians. This is another reason where i appreciate KB. the ads are simple and straight-forward. "Is se sasta aur acha kahin nahi", no faff at all. this is the language that indians understand.
Even in our movies, we need long dialogues to express emotions, unlike in Hollywood movies.

I think Indians wont mind long ads if they are simple. Hutch Irfan Khan Ad being a case in the point.. the thing is that it needs to be simple and straight-forward. We shudnt need to think what the Ad is trying to say.

I think it has become too long already... will continue later