Several respondents
The market research was conducted in cooperation with the company AC-Sun from Horsens. The aim of the market research was to get an insight in the Indian market and partly find out if there was basis for selling AC-Sun’s product. Manpreet: “You can find a lot of information about India and the Indian market if you read books and search the Internet. But we wanted to go to India to get a first-hand impression of the country, the culture, the people and the market for air-conditioning systems. And we actually talked to a lot of potential customers and companies, and at the same time we got a great insight in the Indian market during our stay”.
Immature market
After talking to a large number of respondents, Manpreet and her fellow student got the chance to visit the company Mamta in Ahemdabad-region. Mamta has prior tried to produce and sell solar-powered air-conditioning systems at the Indian market, but it turned out unsuccessful. The visit at Mamta validated the theses that Manpreet had set up, based on the interviews with potential customers: “The results of the interviews we conducted was very much confirmed when we talked to Mamta. Mamta had already tried to sell solar-powered air-conditioning systems at the Indian market, but found that they could not sell the product. Their conclusion was the same as ours; that there might be a demand for solar-powered systems later, but that the market is not mature yet. The Indians are astounded by the high purchase cost and neither the environmental advantage nor the long term saving, is reasoning enough for them at the moment”.
The Indians like to show wealth
The difference between an electrical and a solar-powered air-conditioning system is first and foremost that a solar-powered system has a smaller environmental impact and is cheaper to run. On the other hand it is expensive to purchase. Exactly the high purchase price showed to be a significant obstacle in order to sell the product in India: “The Indians were more focused on the cost price, than the fact that the overall expenses after three years would be less with a solar-powered system than an electrical system”, tells Manpreet, who during the visit in India became aware of the fact that wealthy social groups like to show their wealth: “There is a lot of prestige in showing wealth. It is important for Indians to show visible evidence of their wealth to others. And gradually an awareness of the environment has slipped into the society – some people like to show that they are ‘good people’ by purchasing green products – but still not enough to create a market for solar-powered air-conditioning systems yet”.
Could implement several aspects from classes
In preparation for the market research Manpreet could use several of the skills she had gained in classes: “We have learned a lot about cultural understanding and which impact different cultures have on how companies can sell their products. But what I have learned about ‘customer- and business segmentation’ has in particular been a great help while developing the template we used as guide to our market research. From the beginning we were very aware about which aspects were important to examine and which were not so important to examine. It is not necessarily about asking a lot of questions and examining a lot of things, but about asking the right questions and examining the right things in order to make the best market research”.
In India not everything proceeds as predicted
Patience is a virtue in India, where everything does not always proceed as predicted. And contacts and networks are essential no matter what you are doing or who you want to talk to: “One of the things we learned is, that it is extremely important to know the right people. Networks were essential when we were interviewing different respondents. That was also one of the things we could have done different from home – we should have used more time on establishing contacts before we went to India and we should have made more interview arrangements. That would have saved us a lot of time. In return, we learned how important it is to the Indians to build a relationship of trust. Trust is important to achieve arrangements, but if you want to sell products before you are trusted by the Indians, you will not be able to do business” tells Manpreet.
The trip became three weeks longer than expected!
Manpreet felt on her own body how important it is to know the right people. On the way to the airport (to fly back to Denmark) Manpreet’s fellow student found out that her passport was gone: “I did not think that it would be a problem to get a new passport. But we were sent from one place to another, without any changes to the situation. At one office they sent us to another office four hours away and when we got there, we were sent to a third place. It was frustrating” tells Manpreet who finally got help from her Indian dad in Denmark. He has a large network and contacts in India which he was able to draw on. Finally, the new passport was made and the two girls could return to Denmark, three weeks later than expected but with great experiences in their baggage.