the new hr

consumer
behaviour
The myth of the challenger
Popularity is a big selling point in India; it is a
surrogate for good quality. Natural Ice Creams is
a popular chain that started out in Mumbai with a
small outlet in Juhu. It now has over 100 outlets,
but their slogan refers to the popularity of its first
outlet, which opened in 1984: ‘Natural Ice Cream
of Juhu Scheme.’ Guptaji ki mashhoor kulfi (famous
ice-cream from Mr. Gupta) is a roadside stall
near my house that does brisk business. Guptaji,
the ice-cream vendor, has cleverly referenced his
popularity in the branding of his shop. People who
do not know him are assured of quality because
of the reference to his popularity embedded in
the name of his shop. Both Natural and Guptaji
understand that India’s way of assessing quality is
through popularity. If it is so popular, it must be
good; in fact, ‘popular’ is an oft-used name by local
brands and shop owners.
In this India, people buy you because they
see other people buy you. There is a comfort in
numbers. Since so many people are buying a Maruti
or a Hyundai car, they cannot be wrong. Hence,
more people go out and buy them. Typically, most
people would wait and watch until a brand or a
product has proved itself in the market before
they jump. Even the early adopters here need the
assurance that the new launch will be a success. This
behaviour may change as the market matures and
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people have more experience with consumption.
But as of now, India is a market for conformity, not
standing out.
Such patronage of size and scale on the part of
the Indian consumer has a flip side. It leaves very
little room for challenger brands. Smaller players
do not make the cut on the conventional criteria
of size and scale. The values of being small and
nimble-footed mostly fail to inspire confidence in
the consumer. Across categories such as FMCG,
automotive, telecom, and even insurance, smaller
players have not been able to make any significant
dent in the market. For instance, Maruti Suzuki
rules the roost with 49.24% market share, followed
by Hyundai, Honda, and Tata Motors with 21.44%,
6.56%, and 6.18%, respectively. Most other players
have had to contend with 1% or 2%. Players such
as Fiat, Nissan, and Skoda have 0.6%, 1.24%, and
1.19% share of the market, respectively.
How do you win in a market where underdogs
are seen as weaklings? The consumer today may
have little regard for challenger values. But all is
not lost for new entrants to the Indian market.
Challenger brands need to display leadership values
if they want to become players of significance.
There are no gains in hiding behind small
ambitions, taking tentative steps, and being invisible
under the garb of being a challenger. The consumer
sees small play as a lack of conviction, boldness as a
sign of success. You need to position scale internally
in your mind, and externally in the marketplace.
You might be a new entrant, you might be unsure
of the market, you may even have meagre resources
compared to the competition, but you must think
dominance if you want to win the game. If you are
low on resources, choose your segment wisely: a
smaller playground is relatively easy to dominate.
It allows you to dominate a chosen media, making
you look like the biggest guy in the segment. Front
load your launch and make it look bigger than
you are.
(Based on the book India Reloaded – Inside the Resurgent Indian
Consumer Market.)
54 INDIAN MANAGEMENT NOVEMBER 2015