Competing for a top spot in a marketplace like India where survival of the fittest is the law – companies need to come out with various evolving innovative strategies to capture a place in the market. While many companies are looking to China as the next growth market for online marketing, Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, predicts India will be the country to watch as it will become the largest and fastest growing internet market.
The process of Internet marketing itself is vital in today's business society in order to not jus keep up with, but be ahead of all others, they must undertake this new media avenue which has overtaken Indian markets.
Internet online marketing in India have helped multitude of website owners to boost traffic, gain higher rankings and increase ROI. There are many strategies to successfully market your product online if you have a well-researched plan based on your specified target market in India. Examples include link building which is one of the most popular services that helps increasing the web traffic towards your website and enhances rankings in Google. Linking marketing strategy is a type of “relationship marketing” where your site is listed on other complimentary sites linking it to them which cater to more traffic and higher perceived popularity. It requires a perfect link building campaign which gets good results when undergone the professional way. Search engines are another advantage that can be made full use of. Internet promotion can be done in various other ways such as paid advertising; this is where advertisement banners are paid to be put up on certain websites. Where a viral marketing strategy is designed, it that encourages others to carry your marketing message preferably by their own network relationship similar as to how a virus would work.
Website designing is an art and the design of your website marks your first impression on its visitors, thus the features of the site must be clear to the average Indian consumer. Many people use search engines to get what they need or what they are looking for therefore an indexed website will help promoting it. Networking helps growth of business, and is initially done amongst new groups and would help build a base around similar sites in India in order to be successful. Getting media attention is vital step in site promotion thus public relations are also an important aspect to consider. While you get media attention and press coverage, you will definitely experience quality traffic. With India still using traditional media as a major advertising, in order to promote your side it may be important to consider placing promotional material on traditional media to reach your target market.
Internet marketing helps you explore new market segments and generate leads you may have not considered. It is also much more cost-effective than maintaining a regular sales force. With Internet based product promotion, your links start come up on more web sites, also having many other options flash banners and contests which are new to the Indian online market. Bulk emailing, video, sound, and better accessibility are some of the other strategies that could be used in order to promote innovatively.
All in all a successful Internet marketing campaign will improve your search engine rankings, bring targeted 'qualified' visitors to your site and convert more of your visitors to customers.
Key Economic Indicators
- India has third largest GDP in the entire continent of Asia.
- India is the fifth largest economy in the world
- Population: 1.12 billion with a retail market of $286 million
- • Breakdown: Services equal 54 percent of the GDP; industry and agriculture equal 46 percent
- • Purchasing power: In 2006, approximately 180-200 million people had growing purchasing power, thus creating a growing middle-class consumer population
- • Youth Power: Over 58 percent of the Indian population is under the age of 20.
- • Growth: Estimated 8 percent or higher in 2006-07; 7 percent in 2004-05
- • GDP: $804 billion (2006 est.)
Other Information
GDP (PPP)
$4.726 trillion (PPP) (2007 est.)$1,089.94 billion (nominal) (2007)
GDP growth
9.0% (2005/06)
GDP per capita
$820(nominal); $3,700(PPP)
GDP by sector
agriculture: 19.9%, industry: 19.3%, services: 60.7% (2006 est.)
Inflation (CPI)
5.3% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line
25% (2002 est.)
Labour force
509.3 million (2006 est.)
Labour forceby occupation
agriculture: 60%, industry: 12%, services: 28% (2003)
Unemployment
7.8% (2006 est.)
Main industries
textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software
Exports:
$125 billion (Financial Year 2006-2007)
Export goods: textile goods, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures
Main export partners:
US 18%, China 8.9%, UAE 8.4%, UK 4.7%, Hong Kong 4.2% (2005)
Imports:
$187.9 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Import goods:
crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals
Main import partners
China 7.2%, US 6.4%, Belgium 5.1%, Singapore 4.7%, Australia 4.2%, Germany 4.2%, UK 4.1% (2005)
Public debt
$132.1 billion (2006 est.)
Revenues
$109.4 billion (2006 est.)
Expenses
$143.8 billion; including capital expenditures of $15 billion (2006 est.)
Economic aid
recipient: $2.9 billion (FY98/99)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 31.8% (male 188,208,196/female 171,356,024) 15-64 years: 63.1% (male 366,977,821/female 346,034,565) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 27,258,259/female 30,031,289) (2007 est.)
Median age:
total: 24.8 years male: 24.5 years female: 25.2 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.606% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:
22.69 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:
6.58 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.098 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.061 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.908 male(s)/female total population: 1.064 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 34.61 deaths/1,000 live births male: 39.42 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.59 years male: 66.28 years female: 71.17 years (2007 est.)
Internet hosts:
2.306 million (2007)
Internet users:
60 million (2005)
Did you know that India:
-is the world's second largest small car market
- is one of only three countries that makes its own supercomputers
- is one of six countries that launches its own satellites; one hundred of the Fortune 500 have R & D facilities in India
- has the second largest group of software developers after the U.S.
- lists 5,000 companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange; only the NYSE has more
- is the world's largest producer of milk, and second largest producer of food, including fruits and vegetables
-Has a movie making industry, Bollywood which produces the most number of movies a year, some with extremely high budgets.
(taken from website)
Market Potential
India is one of the few markets in the world which offers high prospects for growth and earning potential in practically all areas of business. Even today though,the climate in India has seen a change actively seeking foreign investment, many companies still see it as a difficult market. "India is rightfully quoted to be an incomparable country and is both frustrating and challenging at the same time. Foreign investors should be prepared to take India as it is with all of its difficulties, contradictions and challenges."
Diverse Market
The country has 17 official languages, 6 major religions, and wise ethnic diversity thus, tastes and preferences differ greatly among sections of consumers. Research firms in India provide information to determine how, when and where to enter the market. Companies which can guide the firm through the entry process from start to finish also exist.
Links to useful business and marketing magazines/sites - India
Top 10 Indian Newspapers
India internet usage as of November 17, 2006
Interesting fact - Broadband in India
"February 16, 2006 - Broadband usage in India is growing 20% per month, according to the Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI). Thanks to the progress in the past two years and especially, the Broadband Policy announced a year ago, the term “broadband” has entered mass lexicon and most Internet users are aware of faster speeds
Due to high growth rate & success of existing online companies, new companies have emerged with backing of good VC funding. This has resulted in growth in demand for manpower in online industry both from small companies to large MNCs. This has particularly increased in past 3 years and tends to grow at this rate for few more years.'
Due to high growth rate & success of existing online companies, new companies have emerged with backing of good VC funding. This has resulted in growth in demand for manpower in online industry both from small companies to large MNCs. This has particularly increased in past 3 years and tends to grow at this rate for few more years.'
News - Indian women and the internet
July 7, 2004 - Women lead rural India's internet rush. The internet is beginning to have a revolutionary effect on the 700 million people who live in villages in India - and the charge is being led by women. A project set up by one of India's leading technology institutes has put women in charge of forging the way across the digital divide as the proprietors of a fast-growing number of internet cafes or kiosks around the sub-continent. In total 80% of these new kiosks are run by women, many of whom have had very little or no acquaintance with technology before
The Major categories of Companies having presence in Online Industry are:
1) Indian Online Businesses
2) Successful Indian Offline Businesses with Online Presence
3) Indian Online Agencies,
4) BPOs, Web Based Services.
5) MNC online businesses with Indian Operations
2) Successful Indian Offline Businesses with Online Presence
3) Indian Online Agencies,
4) BPOs, Web Based Services.
5) MNC online businesses with Indian Operations
In nine years from 1998 to present there has been an increase of 3.6% of the population using the internet in india. From 1,400,000 to 42,000,000 users