Evolution of marketing concept in
Indian Context:
Concept of
marketing origins long back in India to year 3300 BC during Indus valley
civilization where in most of the marketing was done through street shops,
street markets and traveling salesmen called as feriwalas. Most of the products
were home made i.e. cottage industry was predominant and almost every village
was an independent economic entity. Products though home-made, carried an
excellent quality as same business or profession was carried over generation by
generation. Children of goldsmiths became goldsmiths and this enhanced the
fineness in their skills generation to generation. Most of the marketing
concept was exchange oriented and people used to do barter exchange i.e
exchange of goods with goods, though currency was established by then.
Currency
which was initially limited to gold and silver coins later on diluted to
cheaper currencies which could be spread in masses and thus use of currency
increased and barter exchange started reducing. However, even today the tribal
regions of India
are involved in barter exchange system as they are deprived of basic facilities
like currency and commodities. Barter is also partially practiced in corporate
marketing environment with concepts like buy-back ( ex : Thermax boilers) ,
exchange schemes where old & used commodities are exchanged with new
products ( ex : Big Bazaar )
Even after
the fall of barter system and rise of currencies, street markets and hawkers
continued to operate. Mela & Haat were the concepts of marketing which
later on evolved in to modern product exhibitions. This was the initial stage
of retail marketing in India.
Melaa & Haat are operative even today in rural parts of India. Famous
example of an Haat is DELHI HAAT.
Marketing
was not an aggressive function and product features were considered to be the
main reason of why a customer should buy a product. Thus we can say that after
exchange concept, product orientation was predominant in India.
During the
medieval age, India was also
active in exports of products like shawls of Kashmir,
jute, silk, and other textiles and handicrafts, agricultural products like
pepper, cinnamon, opium and the major product was Indigo Dye. It is this
product Indigo Dye from which India
was named India.
Agriculture was the predominant occupation of the population and satisfied a
village's food requirements besides providing raw materials for hand based
industries like textile, food processing and crafts. There were no formal
business organizations but mostly there were joint family business houses,
glimpses of which we can still observe in regions like Gujarat and Punjab. Till the end of Mughal empire and 1700 and
Maratha empire in late 1800, India
was the largest economy in the world leaving behind China
and republic of France. The fall of economy stared with
Biritish Raj in 19th century and India is yet struggling to come out
of it.
The
Industrial revolution in Europe had adverse effects on Indian territory as India was
forced to adopt the new products manufactured in European factories and this
lead to the fall of Indian handicrafts and cottage industry. Like other
colonized nations, India was
dragged into the industrial era on terms that were not of it's own choosing and
many of the technological developments that have since taken place in India have been
geared more towards the export market than bringing about all-round
improvements in the quality of life for the Indian masses. This situation still
continues. After inception of the forceful industrial revolution, Indian
marketing moved to production oriented marketing.
Jamshedji
Tata, the indigenous and pioneer of Industrial revolution in India started his two cotton mills one in Mumbai
in 1869 ( Alexandra mill) and another in Nagpur
in 1874 ( empress mill) and installed first steel factory in 1907. Jamsetji Tata is regarded as the "father
of Indian industry".
A mix of
product and production orientation continued after Independence of India and
till 1970s when selling concept
dominated and continued till 2000 i.e. till emergence if integrated marketing
concept where in all activities of marketing were integrated and consumer
orientation was then the main focus.
India was under social democratic-based
policies from 1947 to 1991. The economy was characterized by extensive
regulation, protectionism, and public ownership, leading to pervasive
corruption and slow growth. Since 1991, continuing economic liberalization has
moved the economy towards a market-based system. A revival of economic reforms
and better economic policy in 2000s accelerated India's economic growth rate. By
2008, India
had established itself as the world's second-fastest growing major economy.
The economy
of India
is the eleventh largest economy in the world by nominal value and the fourth
largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). In the 1990s, following economic
reform from the socialist-inspired economy of post-independence India, the
country began to experience rapid economic growth, as markets opened for
international competition and investment. In the 21st century, India is an
emerging economic power with vast human and natural resources, and a huge
knowledge base. Economists predict that by 2020,] India will be
among the leading economies of the world.
Author :
Prasanna Shembekar
PC: Shrirang Thaore 
