International marketing, india outline

International Marketing, INDIA Outline India is one of the rapidly developing economies in the world. Many people believe that India will become a superpower in the near future itself. The recent economic crisis has not affected India much and hence many of the international companies and marketing people were shifted their focus towards India now. This paper outlines the various factors an international market needs to focus while preparing marketing strategies for India.
Diet and nutrition
India is a country in which 28 states and six union territories were there. Most of the states have their own culture and local languages even though the national language of India is Hindi. Because of this diversity in population and culture, the food habits of the Indian population are different. India is a secular democratic country even though the majority of the population are Hindus. Most of the Hindus are vegetarians whereas Muslims and Christians are non-vegetarians. “ Indias meat consumption is very low – currently 4. 5 kg per capita – and it has grown by only 1 kg in the last 20 years” (Prospects for the livestock sector) whereas in vegetable consumption India became one of the prominent countries in the world. Typical meals in India are prepared from wheat, rice, barley, vegetables etc. “ From 1997 to 2003: per capita food availability did not increase, and child malnutrition rates remained at very high levels, with more than 46% of children under five being underweight” (The Financial Express). An international marketer should take note of these food statistics of Indian people seriously while formulating marketing strategies for different regions of India
Housing
Most of the Indian people are living below the poverty line and hence they may not have adequate housing facilities. Many of the Indian people are staying in temporary huts and their housing needs were not properly met by the governments till now. Most of the Indian people live in one-family or house even after their marriage because of their lack of financial abilities to purchase independent houses. Since India is a huge country with different climate zones, different types of houses are built by people living at different regions. For example, in the southern region, concrete houses are more prominent whereas in the northern regions, wooden houses are more common. The awareness about the housing types and family setups in India will give the marketer some idea about the cultural traits of India which is necessary to develop proper marketing strategies.
Clothing
Since India is a diverse country with respect to people, religion, climate zones, traditions etc, the clothing habits are also different. Traditional Indian clothing for women are the saris in the southern regions and salwar kameez in the northern region whereas southern men wear mostly traditional clothes like Dhoti, Lungi or whereas the northern men opt for Kurta. Most of the Indians nowadays wear pants and shirts while taking office duties whereas they wear different dresses while working at agricultural fields. Clothing habits of the Indian people are important for a marketer to develop adequate advertisements to promote their products.
Recreation, sports, and other leisure activities
Even though, Hockey is the national sports in India, recently Cricket has gained much popularity in India. The living Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar is considered as a god by many of the Indians. Apart from sports activities, Indians are very much interested in cinema. Bollywood superstars are the idols for many of the Indians. The awareness of the popularity of these film and sports personalities is necessary for the international marketers to generate ads with the help of these people as their brand ambassadors.
Works Cited
1. “ Prospects for the Livestock Sector”. 06 October 2010.
2. The Financial Express. Wed, 6 Oct 2010. “ India Has Very High Child Malnutrition
Rates: Study”. 06 October 2010.