Strongly increasing growth rates, an ever-growing middle class willing to consume and numerous government investment incentives. India is becoming increasingly attractive as a location for German and European companies. If companies like Bosch, Siemens, VW and Daimler can look back on a long history in India, the subcontinent is also becoming increasingly interesting for medium-sized businesses.
What makes entering the market easier: Products 'Made in Germany' traditionally enjoy an excellent reputation locally, despite often higher prices. What are the strengths and opportunities of the world's sixth largest economy? India as a beacon of hope for medium-sized companies?
From practice: “Tips and Tricks”
Even more true than usual in India: knowledge is power!
As a rule, many of your partners, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders from your industry are also active in India. Benefit from their experience and their “market intelligence”. This way you can find out which projects are really hot and which projects you should stay away from. Also take advantage of synergies that may arise in sales - this way you can wisely expand your strengths and possibilities. Spin your own informal networks – just like the Indians do. It's no big secret that the only way to do business successfully in India is through personal relationships. This does not just include regular formal exchanges and mutual visits in an official setting. Get to know people outside of their role in the company and develop friendships. By consciously creating informal situations, you can - if necessary - switch to a personal level without any problems and speak plainly - away from company policy protocol, among friends, so to speak.
In India, people like to trust testimonials and base their own behavior on leading figures, often with a certain tendency towards herd instinct. Take advantage of this phenomenon and initially focus primarily on leads that enjoy status and recognition in the market. When you gain such “lead customers,” the spell is often already broken. A good reference customer is worth more than any certification in India!
“Real-time” market research plays a crucial role
Ten to fifteen years ago there was hardly any useful information about the Indian market. That has changed fundamentally in the meantime. Today, all sorts of national and international associations and institutions regularly publish countless market studies, industry reports and economic reports. The data presented therein on the absolute market size and growth rates certainly provide an initial indication of future market development in India. However, this does not yet provide an answer to an entrepreneur's most burning questions:
- How big is the market for my company really?
- Which projects are really hot (and where am I just wasting my resources)?
- Which customers and networks should I even avoid (for various reasons)?
- Who are my direct and, above all, who are my indirect competitors?
In short: Where official market research ends, real market research begins in practice. Most European entrepreneurs get the market assessment of their business directly from their current or future partners on site in India. After all, the general view is that they are the ones who know the Indian market very well. Unfortunately, it is often forgotten that in India you basically have to assess every piece of information as filtered and subjective.
The Indian sales partner will always have a plausible reason why business in the last quarter went worse than planned. And a lost lead certainly won't tell you the real reasons why they ultimately decided against your offer. This is not necessarily due to India, but simply in the nature of the matter: someone directly affected cannot maintain objectivity. In India, however, people still tend to exaggerate.
One of the most important methods in market research and market analyzes in India are expert interviews: the official and systematic approach of all market participants such as industry experts, competitors, associations, sales intermediaries, employees, potential customers and suppliers to obtain information. But: This directly obtained information must also be fundamentally critically questioned and validated using additional sources. However, the informal communication channel is often the best and only way to find out where there are realistic sales opportunities in India.
Think outside the box
It may make sense for your business to sell a related service in India instead of your actual product. It may happen that the market actually doesn't allow anything else and you have to rely on new ideas. For example, there are several German mechanical engineers who are successfully engaged in contract manufacturing in India (and only there!). Since Indian customers have repeatedly had massive problems with the operation of German machines - incorrect handling resulted in defects and, in turn, high maintenance costs (see above), numerous European machine builders have also started to offer training services. The decisive factor for success is ensuring quality and the ongoing training and further education of machine operators and operators.
A German manufacturer of concrete pumps also set up its own academy in India to train employees and other trainees there. The customer no longer just buys the pump, but also gets a well-trained operator.
