Bottom-of-the-Pyramid Marketing Strategy: Dewesternising Marketing Concepts

-B.V.Raghunandan, SVSCollege, Bantwal, Managlore Dt-Karnataka-India

International Conference on Marketing Research,

Sri Venkateshwara College of Arts & Science,

Peruvarani-Tanjavur Dt., Tamil Nadu

A Long Time Mutation in Western Concepts

• Huge Size • Straddling World Market• Cutting Edge Technology• Intensive Market Research• Interesting Findings• Image Building• First Movers

Indian Marketing Practice

• Practised as a need based one

• Studies were more towards spiritualism

• Individualistic Approach

• Family Practice• Often Kept a Secret• Less Hype and More

Practice

First Generation Marketers

• Passion• Building up the

Corporation• Cost-Conscious• Consumer-Friendly• Core Competence• Less Marketing

Expenses• More Intuition

Second Generation Marketer Onwards

• Empire Building• Personality and Egos• Market Penetration and

Product Diversification• Marketing Wastage• Anti-Consumer or

Indifference to Consumers

• Board Room Politics• Incompetence clothed in

Hype

Competition and Consumers• Price Fixing Entity:

Competitor is a Friend and Consumer is the Enemy

• Monopoly Creator: Competitor is Enemy and Consumer is the Prey

• Technology Driven: To Have First Mover Advantage and Consumer is an Ignoramus

• Monopolistic Competitor: Consumer is to be Conditioned through Psychology, Market Segmentation, Brand Loyalty

MNCs and Conglomerates

• Take the Market Away from Perfection• Render Governments to be less powerful• Indulge in Activities Detrimental to the Interests of the Society• Having Footprints all over the World• Occupy Different I Industries and Product Category like Octopi• Their Activities affect Countries and the World• Quality Impairment

Marketing Wastes• Launching Unsuccessful

Products• Media Planning

on Personal Libido• Lobby Creation• Brand Extension• Brand Building & Creating

Brand Equity• Cut-Throat Competition• Litigation

• Non-Professional Boss Culture

• Highly Paid Managers

• Need to Have Huge Volumes

• Expensive Organisations

• Promotion of Wasteful Products

• Converting Seasonal Products into All Season

• Wasteful Activities & Expenditure

Consequence

Bottom-of-the-Pyramid Marketing Strategy

• Targets Lowest Strata

of the Society• Affordability is the Main

Criteria• Also attracts value for

money segment• Finding ways of Cost

Cutting• Scalability• Reverse Engineering• Segmentation for

Affordability

Who Did It

• Many Indian Products (Amul,IFFCO, Mahila Udyog Nirman, Velvette, CavinKare, Gopal Toothpowder, Gokul, Aravind Hospital, Modi Eye Camps, Indian Bannk, MNCs operating in India)

• Chinese Products (Low Cost, Low Profile Brands, No Promotion, Untapped Market and Innovation)

• Many Companies in Emerging Economies

Strategic Value• Essential Products• Need to Have lesser

Volumes• Stable Demand• Lesser Expenses• No Need to have

Expensive Managerial Personnel

• Constant is the Only Change Needed

THANK YOU