Be regional, Think national: Will this strategy workout for marketers??

Local or regional marketing always helps especially it depends upon the representative of the company in that particular region, because for the people of that region that person is the representative of the company, also the people know only that person & not the vision & mission of the company because these are the things looking better at HO & not in the remotest place.

Every company wants to be national from regional. But to be national one has to be regional and should think national. By keeping in mind the target of becoming a national player offering nationwide services, 1st has to be full fledged regional meeting the demand and supply of the it and emerging a winner in it. But while thinking so, one has to understand the position of its company, what is their target, what will be the cost, who will be the potential customers, what is the targeted area and what is the goal of the organization. To be regional and implementing the strategy of national which ultimately result in huge cost and loss for the company such as if the target customers are in region and one is advertising on national level will not be fruitful as regional customers will be covered but covering the nationwide customer through advertisement and not proving them product/services will only increase cost.

I support this statement as regional marketing focuses on gaining the attention and interest of the customer.  You wouldn't market the same product in the same fashion as you would a city vs. rural individual.  Each region would have different demographics that include job types, education levels, etc.  You would have to support regional marketing to support the customer-centric strategy.

To become National especially consumer durables, Food items, Food products,consummer durables studying the regional markets  tastes can enhance the understanding.

It helps in becomming good natioanl players. For example pani puri taste differ from place to place.

When I worked in a consummer durable company an item used to have nil sale in a particular state whereas the same product used to have bumper sale in someother state. 

I think it's true that to reach to everyone in such diverse(in terms of culture, traditions, economic status, moral values blah blah) world, an universal marketing strategy can never be successful. So, It is pretty Ok if the companies are moving towards regional marketing schemes. After all companies are doing all these to to sell their products.

I completely agree with this agrument. In fact what was on my mind is put aptly in word by Mr B.V. Krishnamurthy.

In fact it is an irony!!"The World is flat / The Globe is one Big Village" is now in vogue due to advances in technologies. But come manufacture of Products (Marketing--identifying needs!!) and the Selling process (occupying mental space) is Regional.

Just look back at the introduction of small cars for the Middle Class in India by US/European companies.Fell flat!! Why?? Could not identify what a Middle Class in India is opposed to the Middle class in US/Europe.Once the care manufacturers'thinking became Regional (read--Indian) they are better off identifying the Middle Class.

Similarily,even if the product is Global the Promotion has to be Regional (remember--the cardinal rule of Communiation--convey the message in a language/method the consumer understands !!)

Hence,Think Globally but Act Regionally!!

Agreed Mr. Makrand, but this is a fact & we have to accept it. Previously companies used to focus on a broader scale & neglected prospective regional clients & customers. With increase in competition, all companies tried their best & targeted national & international markets neglecting regional markets. This led to a stagnation in the market trend & consumer behaviour.

And now companies have identified opportunities in regional markets & they are fighting to grab that opportunity. And for the information companies are doing much better in regional markets than national.

Professor Theodore Levitt argued in the 1960s that the future belonged to organizations that could provide the same product or service, at the same price (in PPP terms), with similar promotion and distribution because of the forces of globalization. This is what you will find in textbooks as the Etnocentric concept. Thomas Friedman in his book The World is Flat used examples from the ICT sector to illustrate that borders no longer matter and that any firm, of any size, anywhere can compete with any other firm anywhere else. Though the book was a bestseller, the argument has since been dismantled ruthlessly by several scholars. Cultural, Administrative, Geographic, and Economic differences and "distances" do matter. The performance of Star TV in China and India is an example of the first difference. Google's problems in China points out to administrative difficulties. Many Indian companies in the manufacturing sector cannot compete with their Chinese counterparts because Long Beach, California is much closer to Shanghai than it is to Chennai. Finally, economic disparities will continue to determine the type of goods and services that will succeed. Empirical evidence shows that to move on to the fast track of development, the threshold of per-capita income is US$1000/-. We have a long way to go while China has achieved it over the last 25 years.

Now cut to a large country like India. The differences that you witness across countries can be seen across regions and in some cases in different parts of a state. Therefore, standardization may not work even within the country. In fact, the trend today is towards customization as opposed to standardization. In extreme cases like web pages, certain services, products like computers, individual customization is possible. Automobile manufacturers are vying with each other to provide some custom-made features.

Thus, the future belongs to organizations that can look at smaller and smaller segments (ultimately leading to the individual) and tailor-make their offering to suit the micro-segments. The days of commoditization are numbered if one looks at the trend today.

I completely agree with Jayanth...as this strategy will definitely work out for the global marketers.

Yes ....regional marketing with regional relevance has more efficiency from ROI stand point of view.

Simply going global often does not give the fine edge to the marketing strategy that respect for regional ethos does.

Think global and go regional is the best way. However it will task the strategy with the need to have multiple micro strategies with local relevance.

I agree with you Mr.Jayant Vishnu. The marketing policies and strategies are almost same to be implemented across the country. Of course with slight change to suit the regional level environment. But however, the regional and the national level are strategically linked for the good performance. The marketing efforts are always dynamic and flexible to suit the different type of business environment which prevails in a particular target segment that relates to regional or national. The ultimate aim is to have more business, more market share, and more customer base. 

 Jayant , Good point for dicussion.  To bocme more successful , more viable as u said culture of the poeple, tastes of the people , nostaligas should be studied.

In one state we find different eating habits, cultural habits, tastes etc.,

For any company to become more sucesful they should  study & understand the differnt habits even ads should be catchy to the taste of that place. 

Agree with you Jayant .. and this will definitely work for marketers ...

Hey Jayant. To create one is STRATEGIST, and to make it happen is MARKETERS. Just to quote an example. Assuming POLITICS as an industry and Mayawati as a player. To be a CM is being regional and to think of PMship is being national. She created one being a strategist, how far her marketers go to make it happen is a thing to see.

I definitely agree with Mr. Jayant.