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The opening up of the Indian market to foreign company ownership (100% for single-brand owners and 51% for multiple-brand owners eg supermarkets) signals that international supermarkets and luxury goods brands will be seeking to understand the consumer drivers of the middle-class and growing high-net-worth Indian population.
With such cultural complexity (check out how the West and India differ on Hofstede’s cultural indices here) and other country-specific considerations, the risk of error is very high. If you are thinking about entering or expanding in the Indian market, you should check that the consultants you work with understand how to adapt your research questions, and ways of asking them, to this emerging market. There is a lot to think about, and some of the things FreshMinds would always consider are listed below:
1. Language
While English is the official language of business, there are 22 other official languages across all of the Indian states. Forcing your respondents to speak or write in English may seriously compromise your results.
2.Online methods
If you plan to run an online survey, you need to remember that under 10% of Indians use the internet, so this fieldwork method can work efficiently only for urban mid-market and higher-end companies.
3. Pricing studies
Indians love bargaining, so be very careful how you phrase your pricing questions to avoid getting their ‘first best offer’!
4. Quality issues
Literacy in India is now over 75%, which makes pen and paper interviewing possible. However, to minimize the risk of unreliable results, you should always employ additional quality control and the questions you ask should be short and straightforward.
5. Power cuts in the monsoon season
If you decide to use an Indian call centre for phone research or interviewing, you need to remember that power cuts caused by monsoon rains can have an adverse impact on your timelines (as can the monsoon rain itself – individuals facing floods are unlikely to want to take part in market research!).
6. Gender roles
Male interviewers and moderators can make female respondents uncomfortable. Moreover, outside of work females are unlikely to arrange going to meetings unaccompanied, so you might want to consider conducting friendship groups as opposed to individual interviews or focus groups. Conversely, in a male-only group you will get best results using a male moderator.
7. Legal issues
Check that the local law allows market research. Bear in mind that you might be asked for a ‘facilitation payment’ when applying for licences and permits.