It is true that the rapid growth of internet use in India is catching the attention of global brands, as well as drastically altering the way domestic business houses are marketing their products and/or services in India.Toward the end of the previous century, the concept of digital and Internet marketing in India seemed like a losing battle that would soon die out.
Traditional marketers were highly skeptical about it, and business investors and marketing consultants proclaimed that the Indian online market was nothing more than a Silicon Valley idea that would soon go bust. But the Indian consumers proved all the online marketing strategists wrong.In the present day changing scenario, to reach elite markets and professional audiences – the internet has to be an indispensible component of the selling strategy for Indian marketers.
In India the web and e-mail are already recognized as a mass market media channel for targeting the upper educated classes.Mobile (for SMS) is a mass market media channel across many parts of India as mobile users have steadily risen in recent times.The number of people with internet access is ballooning and so does the time Indians spend online. Broadband access is growing enormously and the number of home connections is experiencing an upward swing.
It is time business houses worldwide sat up and took notice of India’s shift towards online buying. Business enterprises will do well to remember that India ranks as the world’s second fastest growing online user population with 30 percent annual growth – six times the average global rate, according to reliable surveys.
As more and more people connect to the Internet in India, time spent social networking understandably is on the increase on all popular social media sites. In both rural and urban India, social networking is proving to be a key driver of internet use.
Growth of email marketing is witnessing phenomenal increase and e-mail marketing campaign is gathering momentum. In fact, the importance of email marketing is expected to flourish with the integration of social media, mobile and content marketing.The emphasis will be on the content marketing and content strategy. The marketing managers aiming at the Indian buyers – instead of doing a blind run will –begin focusing on contextual targeting through ad networks.