A Lifetime in a Decade

A Lifetime in a Decade

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Awareness of the seven paradigm shifts in the Indian consumer behavior between 2005 and 2014 and what these transformative changes mean for the  companies in general and for marketers in particular
• Understanding of the marketers’ responses to the changing consumer preferences and how these changes have forced innovations
• Understanding of how millennials are setting new agendas and reshaping marketing agendas for companies

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I. Indian Consumer Behavior: Paradigm Shifts

1. The base article’s1 author highlights seven important trends transforming the Indian consumers. What factors do you think would have contributed to this metamorphosis?

2. The first paradigm shift highlights the consumer as a market maker than being a market taker as was the case earlier. Is this phenomenon age-agnostic or is it to be found more with a specific age group of consumers/generations (traditionalists/baby boomers/Gen X/Gen Y or millennials)?

3. The second paradigm shift highlighted in the base article is associated with millennials. Is this tradeoff unique only to millennials or is the same trend noticeable among the four generations?

4. Referring to Theodore Levitt’s “The Total Product Concept2” (TPC), what is your assessment of the product requirements of the new age Indian consumers?

5. ......................

II. Paradigm Shifts in Consumer Behavior and Marketers’ Responses

1. Can you illustrate with appropriate examples how some of the Indian marketers/companies have responded to the seven paradigm shifts highlighted in the base article?

2. What have been the three most important Indian marketers’ response channels/mechanisms to appease the discerning Indian consumer?

3. Are marketers’ responses an outcome of the demanding consumers’ aspirations/expectations or vice versa?

4. .................

III. Millennials and the New Agenda

1. The mandatory reading at the end of the case flyer argues that millennials are imbued with intriguing contradictions. Do you, as a millennial, endorse or despise the views expressed in the article?

2. Millennials are characterized by intriguing contradictions (for instance, despite the only thing that matters to them is they themselves, they are aware and concerned about the issues around them). In light of this, does it make sense for companies/brands to orchestrate their responses based on millennials’ expectations?

3. .............

A Lifetime in a Decade

Synopsis

The Indian consumer has undergone considerable change in terms of his/her self-perception and expectations from marketers. These changes have particularly become stark in the last decade (2005-2014) on account of rise in incomes, made possible because of liberalization, and proliferation of social media. This case flyer dissects these changes witnessed in the last 10 years in terms of the key trends in the consumer attitude-change and the marketers’ responses to these changes. It also details the challenges that marketers are confronted with in the light of the consumer changes and the opportunities that they can take advantage of and capitalize upon the humungous changes. The consumer attitude change-canvas is made all the more complex due to the growing prominence of the millennial consumer base for the marketers. The case flyer also throws light on how marketers should respond to certain other important demographic changes happening in the country such as the increase in the number of women entering the work sphere and men taking up a more active role in the kitchen.

Prerequisite Conceptual Understanding (PCU)/Before the Classroom Discussion

This case flyer presupposes an understanding of the complicated psyche of the Indian millennials. The participants were asked to read the following article to help them better connect the concepts:

• • Delshad Irani, “The millennial paradox: How to deal with a generation packed with contradictions”, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-12-11/news/45080590_1_millennial-gen-ytough-nut, December 11th 2013 (accessed date: March 3^rd 2015)

Case Flyer Positioning and Setting

This case flyer can be used for the following:

• • In MBA program: This case flyer can be used for Consumer Behavior course to understand some of the most defining and transformative characteristics of Indian consumers. Ideally suited to be one of the inaugural cases in Consumer Behavior course, this case flyer can set the tone for Consumer Behavior landscape, especially in Indian context.
• • In MDPs/EDPs: This case flyer can also be used in Management and Executive Development programs to illustrate the transformative nature of Indian consumers over the last decade.

Suggested Accompanying Case

It is highly recommended that this case flyer may be used after a detailed analysis of the ET CASES case study “The Indian ‘Consumer’ Market: Deprived to Democratic?” (Product No.CB-1-0002, CB-1-0002A).

Case Flyer Analysis and Classroom Discussion

The classroom discussion and analysis for this case flyer was facilitated under three broad sections as explained in [Exhibit (TN)-I]..............

Case Flyer Analysis

Preamble to this Case Flyer

This case flyer’s primary objective is to sensitize the students/participants to a few of the paradigm shifts in the Indian consumer over the last decade (2005-2014) and what do these paradigm shifts mean for the marketers? Ideally positioned as one of the inaugural cases in Consumer Behavior course, this case flyer’s purpose can be quite pronouncing when a thorough analysis (along with the mandatory and additional readings) is carried out. Accordingly, this case flyer can be orchestrated in the classroom along the lines mentioned in Exhibit (TN)-II...............

To broad base the classroom analysis and discussion of this case flyer, the faculty can focus on the anchor point discussion outlined in [Exhibit (TN)-I]. While each of the three segments/sections has some logically sequenced questions, the anchor provides the pivot around which other questions are structured. Accordingly, while the participants/students should be encouraged to delve deep into analyzing all the questions in each of the segments/sections, the focus should be on the anchor point.

I. The Seven Important Shifts in the Consumer Behavior

The purpose of the first segment/section is to take the participants/students through some of the most defining paradigm shifts amongst Indian consumers over the last decade.

• There are certain enablers that have resulted in the paradigm shifts in the consumer behavior. These are the implementation of economic reforms, the increase in employment opportunities, increase in disposable income and technological adaption. The economic reforms implemented in 1991 resulted in an increase in employment opportunities and disposable income, an important effect of which has been an increase in technological adaption. A broader impact of these enablers has been the increase in the adaptation propensity of consumers [Exhibit (TN)-III]. Besides the aforesaid enablers, certain changes in the market have also resulted in the paradigm shifts in consumer behavior. These are the explosion of the market, increase in the product variety and entry of new companies. The explosion of the market, in terms of the increase in the number of product categories, has resulted in the varieties and choices available to consumers. This expansion of the market has also implied an increase in the number of companies that have entered the market apart from the growing phenomenon of private labels........

Exhibits

Exhibit (TN)-I: Classroom Discussion Dashboard

Exhibit (TN)-II: Orchestration of the Case Flyer.

Exhibit (TN)-III: Economic Enablers and Consumer Adaptation Propensities

Exhibit (TN)-IV: Marketers’ Responses to Shifts in Consumer Behavior

Exhibit (TN)-V: Indian Marketers’ Response Channels

Exhibit (TN)-VI: BASIC Millennials