Business success in India: overcoming common pitfalls
Published on 02/10/2017
A growing economy, population, and middle class make India prime pickings for companies looking to expand into new markets.
The country’s unique business environment, however, can be daunting to newcomers.
We've compiled some top tips to help you reap the benefits of this promising market.
1: Compete on quality
With a large proportion of India’s imports coming in at low price points from China – 16% – there's strong price competition on the low end of the market. Entering the mid to high end of the market and emphasising the quality of your products and clients’ longer-term cost savings would be more beneficial.
2: Spread the message
Internationally-made products can often solve problems that local suppliers can’t, but companies operating in India need to make a big effort to ensure their potential customers know about it.
“We are looking to convince civil engineers of the benefits of high quality PP products,” Belgian Fibres told us.
“We are opening their minds that price isn’t the biggest factor, quality products will offer a long term better result, quality has no price. We need to take the time to convince the market about the long-term benefits of the product.”
3: Recruit multiple distributors
Recruiting multiple distributors is essential for promoting to all regions effectively. One distributor operating from a major city will only offer a starting point to reach India’s huge and diverse market.
4: Find a partner willing to provide credit
With some small businesses expecting credit, either take the price hit in the early stages or partner with an Indian distributor willing to be more elastic in their financing.
“Most products are sold on credit and you get the money after a month or 60 days, but European companies are not comfortable giving credit to unknown people. For us, however, we know the market and people in India so we can give the credit. We can leverage risk, so can take a risk with new customers when we have a high proportion of customers we know. We know where and how to do the sampling,” explains Maris Polymers, Greece.
5: Persevere
Cracking the Indian building market won’t happen overnight. It could take several years of research, networking, exhibiting, selling, and educating the market to get a foothold. But once that happens, the demand is huge and the initial costs can be easily recouped.
“It takes a long time to start business but once you start you can make a very good profit as the country is huge and there’s a lot of people with purchasing power,” reports CzechTrade, Czech Republic.
6: Absorb the cost of shipping or manufacture in India
Either work shipping costs into the export plan – shipping rates are still low thanks to vessel oversupply, so this option is more viable than it was previously. Or manufacture in India – but this requires a large initial outlay. Another option is to find a partner in India willing to manufacture your products and distribute them from India – but this requires care that standards are upheld.
We’ve covered the solutions to common challenges, now find out more about the business culture in our
Guide to doing business in India and
6 excellent tips for sure-fire Indian trade show success.
If you’re looking to tap into the Indian market, meet India’s buyers and specifiers at
WorldBuild India 2018, India’s key B2B exhibition for the building industry.
Enquire now to secure your place.