Just coming to the end of a grueling but rewarding week working in India (is there any other kind?). As usual, it’s the characters that make doing business here so much fun.
One of my meetings was with an old industry don, head of a national association, who spoke non-stop for 30 minutes as if in a trance so I ended up just getting up and inching towards the door. Another meeting had 14 people sitting opposite me in a boardroom but only two of them spoke. Another, where I was dealing with different arms of a business, had three people that kept rotating, 15mins then swap, 15mins then swap, and so on for two hours. The other guys just waited at the door ready for their turn.
Funny thing is, there will be some great outcomes from all of these meetings. There’s an openness and a willingness to help that makes working in India a pleasure.
Don’t get me wrong, from a corporate perspective India remains a shockingly difficult place to do business. Only last month it was ranked 132nd out of 185 economies in the International Finance Corporation’s Ease of Doing Business report. A real kick in the Gangulys for a country with such lofty growth goals.
If this hasn’t put you off – and the lure of a 1.2 billion, largely English-speaking market with 6% growth rate is too hard to ignore – then it shouldn’t be difficult to source the data you need to guide your strategy. There’s plenty out there, much of it online, that can help you identify where the opportunities lie, potential barriers and competitors. When you have this in place, your mind will naturally turn towards how best to invest your Rupees…
Tactically speaking, B2B marketing in India can be a relatively straightforward. Due to being English-speaking and having some sound communication and technology infrastructures in place, you can often closely replicate the successful marketing programs from your domestic market (something you’re unlikely to be able to do in China, for instance, but we’ll talk about that some other time).
When it’s time to go to market, here are my experiences with some of the main B2B marketing channels:
Online
An estimated one in every 10 Indians are internet users, making the country the third-largest Internet market in the world after China and the United States. It will likely overtake the US within the next 2-3 years. Put any preconceptions aside, your buyers are online.
For SEO, there are local options but you may feel more comfortable starting with the usual suspects – about 84% of online Indians use Google and Yahoo. For PPC, I’ve seen consistently strong ROI from Adwords and LinkedIn investments. The conversion rates are around 20% higher than my firm’s global average.
Content marketing
The cliché is true: Indians like to learn. White papers, e-books, local case studies and blog posts are all well received. Whether email blasts, display ads, PPC or social media, there are plenty of channels available to reach prospects.
There’s also currently little resistance to providing contact details for gated content. When promoting whitepapers via email promos, I’ve seen up to 50% higher form completion rates in India compared to the US and UK.
PR
India has a large, free press, with established trade publications for every niche imaginable. It’s usually decent quality too, not just cash for coverage. Unlike in most Western countries, these publications are actually read (rather than sitting for weeks in their plastic wrapper). Find the right publication and you could be reaching tens-of-thousands of people with your articles.
Email & telemarketing
If you’re a fan of email prospecting campaigns, you’ll likely see good results. Compared to more mature markets, the BS detectors are generally low in India, giving higher response rates.
Ditto phone-based communications. Whether direct selling with Inside Sales or nurturing prospects with Sales Dev Reps, we’ve found this to also be a highly effective approach.
Events
Trade shows are big business in India, particularly in Mumbai. International B2B event organizers such as Marcus Evans and IQPC run a regular calendar of conferences usually aimed at higher level execs. A $10k investment can often secure you Gold sponsor status, with a speaking slot, booth, one-to-one meetings with 10+ target prospects, as well as the usual brand exposure.
We’ve also found self-run seminars to be effective, particularly if partnering with an established media or association brand. Webinars haven’t really taken off yet, which is surprising given the atrocious traffic in major cities.
These are just a few broad-based, mainly tactical observations to fuel some thought. If you do decide to dive in, good luck and hopefully these tips will help you go from slumdog to millionaire.
One of my meetings was with an old industry don, head of a national association, who spoke non-stop for 30 minutes as if in a trance so I ended up just getting up and inching towards the door. Another meeting had 14 people sitting opposite me in a boardroom but only two of them spoke. Another, where I was dealing with different arms of a business, had three people that kept rotating, 15mins then swap, 15mins then swap, and so on for two hours. The other guys just waited at the door ready for their turn.
Funny thing is, there will be some great outcomes from all of these meetings. There’s an openness and a willingness to help that makes working in India a pleasure.
Pre-entry planning
Don’t get me wrong, from a corporate perspective India remains a shockingly difficult place to do business. Only last month it was ranked 132nd out of 185 economies in the International Finance Corporation’s Ease of Doing Business report. A real kick in the Gangulys for a country with such lofty growth goals.
If this hasn’t put you off – and the lure of a 1.2 billion, largely English-speaking market with 6% growth rate is too hard to ignore – then it shouldn’t be difficult to source the data you need to guide your strategy. There’s plenty out there, much of it online, that can help you identify where the opportunities lie, potential barriers and competitors. When you have this in place, your mind will naturally turn towards how best to invest your Rupees…
Going to market
Tactically speaking, B2B marketing in India can be a relatively straightforward. Due to being English-speaking and having some sound communication and technology infrastructures in place, you can often closely replicate the successful marketing programs from your domestic market (something you’re unlikely to be able to do in China, for instance, but we’ll talk about that some other time).
When it’s time to go to market, here are my experiences with some of the main B2B marketing channels:
Online
An estimated one in every 10 Indians are internet users, making the country the third-largest Internet market in the world after China and the United States. It will likely overtake the US within the next 2-3 years. Put any preconceptions aside, your buyers are online.
For SEO, there are local options but you may feel more comfortable starting with the usual suspects – about 84% of online Indians use Google and Yahoo. For PPC, I’ve seen consistently strong ROI from Adwords and LinkedIn investments. The conversion rates are around 20% higher than my firm’s global average.
Content marketing
The cliché is true: Indians like to learn. White papers, e-books, local case studies and blog posts are all well received. Whether email blasts, display ads, PPC or social media, there are plenty of channels available to reach prospects.
There’s also currently little resistance to providing contact details for gated content. When promoting whitepapers via email promos, I’ve seen up to 50% higher form completion rates in India compared to the US and UK.
PR
India has a large, free press, with established trade publications for every niche imaginable. It’s usually decent quality too, not just cash for coverage. Unlike in most Western countries, these publications are actually read (rather than sitting for weeks in their plastic wrapper). Find the right publication and you could be reaching tens-of-thousands of people with your articles.
Email & telemarketing
If you’re a fan of email prospecting campaigns, you’ll likely see good results. Compared to more mature markets, the BS detectors are generally low in India, giving higher response rates.
Ditto phone-based communications. Whether direct selling with Inside Sales or nurturing prospects with Sales Dev Reps, we’ve found this to also be a highly effective approach.
Events
Trade shows are big business in India, particularly in Mumbai. International B2B event organizers such as Marcus Evans and IQPC run a regular calendar of conferences usually aimed at higher level execs. A $10k investment can often secure you Gold sponsor status, with a speaking slot, booth, one-to-one meetings with 10+ target prospects, as well as the usual brand exposure.
We’ve also found self-run seminars to be effective, particularly if partnering with an established media or association brand. Webinars haven’t really taken off yet, which is surprising given the atrocious traffic in major cities.
These are just a few broad-based, mainly tactical observations to fuel some thought. If you do decide to dive in, good luck and hopefully these tips will help you go from slumdog to millionaire.
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