In this publication you will find out what companies in India often suffer from. A guide to successful localization.
The term Product-market fit originally comes from the startup environment and was coined in 2007 by Marc Andreesen, a well-known investor in the Internet sector. He claimed that you should only think about growth and scaling once you have the Product-market fit has found.
What applies to innovative business models on the Internet also applies, figuratively speaking, to companies that internationalize and venture into new markets. As a rule, these companies find a new market - at least in the case of India clear - differs.
In order to do business, these companies can either hope that the (Indian) market will develop as quickly as possible in line with the domestic market, which will purchase existing products in larger quantities. OR you approach the market to some extent and, based on your own technology, develop intelligent solutions that solve local problems better and earlier.
Successfully develop and sell products for the Indian market
Are you dealing with the growth market in South Asia or do you already have a branch, sales partner or representative office in India?
Then you have probably already gotten to know the peculiarities and special challenges of the market. The market is large and constantly growing. Nonetheless, most European companies are struggling. It is not uncommon for market share, sales and/or profits to fall far short of expectations.
In addition to all the sales challenges that we regularly report on in this blog, the reason for modest business in India is often the aforementioned lack of product-market fit. The Indian customer (whether B2C or B2B) often has completely different needs. It is not uncommon for customer wishes to differ from those of other “emerging markets” such as Brazil, Russia or China.
Since it is unlikely that the market will adapt to the product, the product remains the primary starting point. We are therefore convinced that the degree of localization of a product has a much greater impact on market success than is generally assumed in the export economy (especially in industry). Only through local value creation in India can you reach a broader market that goes beyond the absolute premium segment.
You can find more articles on sales and market entry in our blog category Market Solutions.
Indovation
Principles of product development for India
In the publication India Reader: “Indovation” – How to innovate for India we explain the most important success factors and principles for product development and marketing in India.
Learn more:
- How to innovate for India?
- Why companies fail in India
- Acquiring Market Intelligence in India
- India-centric product development
- Market Entry
- Innovation
