CHAPTER THREE

Contemporary Indian Marketing Environment

 Topics Covered

Why study India’s marketing environment in detail?

A snapshot of India’s macroeconomic fundamentals
Reforms by the government in recent years
Basket of specific schemes/initiatives
World today views India as an economy offering big opportunities
India’s marketing environment as of 2018
A tough marketing environment, yet full of opportunities
Marketing challenges posed by the new environment
 Why Study India’s Marketing
Environment?
Marketing is a totally environment-specific subject/practice.
It has to respond to the conditions in the marketplace.
These conditions differ from country to country, depending on the
following:
• Stage of development of the markets
• Buying behaviour/purchasing power of the consumers there
• The marketing infrastructure available there and so on
So a marketing book should mirror the state of the given society.
Another reason: India is right now going through phenomenal
changes. A student of marketing has to understand these changes.
 India’s Macroeconomic Fundamentals
Performance of the economy (Figures 3.1 and 3.2)

Fiscal consolidation and better fiscal discipline

Trends indicate that fundamentals will get stronger

There are some areas of concern too:

Job situation, ‘Make in India’ not taking off as expected, slowing down of
investment and so on
 Reforms in Recent Years

Chart 3.1 ‘Reform Initiatives Ushered in by the Government in

Recent Years’ lists some of the reform initiatives
introduced/implemented in recent years.
Aadhaar and DBT (Exhibit 3.1)
Digitisation (Exhibit 3.2)
DeMon (Exhibit 3.3)
GST (Exhibit 3.4)
Insolvency law/Bankruptcy Code
Recapitalising PSBs (Exhibit 3.5)
Ease of doing business (Exhibit 3.6)
 Basket of Specific Schemes/Initiatives
Chart 3.2 ‘Basket of Specific Schemes/Initiatives’ lists the schemes brought in by
the government in recent years.
 Swachh Bharat Mission
 Jan Dhan Yojana (financial inclusion)
 Ujjwala (free LPG scheme)
 Ujala (The village electrification scheme)
 Skill India
 Startup India
 Make in India
 Digital India
 BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) app
 JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile)
Exhibit 3.7 ‘Specific Schemes Brought in by the Government in Recent Years’
explains the details of the schemes.
 World Views India as a Country with
Big Opportunities
Exhibit 3.8 ‘How the World Views India Presently’ explains how the
world views India presently:
 An emerging global economic power with abundant talent

 A big economy changing for the better

Exhibit 3.9 ‘India, a Big Economy Changing for the Better: Views of Paul
Polman, Unilever CEO’ presents the views of Paul Polman.
Exhibit 3.10 ‘Global Technology Firms Emerge as Key Investors in Indian
Internet Sector’ explains how global technology firms are emerging as
key investors in Indian Internet sector.
 India’s Marketing Environment—2018
 Consumer goods: Good growth (Figures 3.3 and 3.4)
 Infrastructure

Huge investments (Table 3.1)

 E-commerce

Online retail flourishing (Exhibit 3.11)

 Media scene (Figure 3.6)

M&E industry makes big strides; social media ascendancy

 Rural markets—game changer for Indian marketing
 New privacy law to Impact the marketing practices (Exhibit 3.11)

 A tough environment, yet full of opportunities

 Marketing Challenges in the New
Environment
Chart 3.3 ‘Marketing Challenges Posed by the New Environment of
India’ lists some of the major challenges posed by the new marketing
environment.
 Disruption makes strategic response crucial

 Value delivery becomes ever more crucial and more difficult

 Has to be an effective player in the digital economy

 Managing data, meeting norms of ethics and privacy

 Competition gets harder; its boundaries change by the day

 Bringing back the glory of the brand