The idea is not to suggest that marketers could do away with marketing. It is rather to advocate that "functional utility and value" are more important than advertising blitzkrieg, especially when entry level markets are considered.
Colgate, Clinic, Cadbury's and Pepsodent are a few brands in FMCG categories which advertise widely to the respective target segment. While these brands have also introduced low priced SKU (stock keeping units) to enlarge their base of consumers, there are still several millions of consumers who may perhaps be aware of the brands but may not be able to afford them on a continuous basis.

The structure of Indian markets
The Indian population is classified into destitute class, climbers, aspirants, consuming class and the rich. The consuming class (which has an annual income between Rs.45000 to Rs.245,000) has around 32-35 million households and destitute class and climbers have even a larger base of consumers. There is a huge presence of unorganised markets in almost every category. Tiger (Britannia) in biscuits, perhaps MTR in ice-creams in Bangalore and A-1 in tea are brands which have successfully addressed themselves to the lower end of the market. Given the low-level of income and the flow of income (daily and weekly salary distribution), there is a greater need to address the lower end of the market and the focus shifts to product dimensions rather than the communication dimension. There is a need to research habits, beliefs and consumption patterns so that appropriate offerings could be developed. Vendee the edible oil brand dispensed in loose quantities was a good example of approaching such issues. While the success of such initiatives would depend on a hose of factors, it is such an idea which can open up mass markets. There is a huge segment of consumers who can neither afford branded edible oil nor afford to buy loose oil in huge quantities. Most consumers also experience adulterated loose oil when they buy it in loose form. Vendee provided these consumers good quality loose oil in the quantity they required at an affordable price.
The lower end of the market seems to be offering unlimited potential and the applicable product has to be backed up by an appropriate distribution network. The figures given by Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Tata and Sons, in one of his recent publications are, insightful in terms of the growth the entry level markets may experience in the years to come - in 1951 there were 2.5 lakh retail outlets in the country and today there are more than 5 million retail outlets. The number of retail outlets per million consumers has increased from 600 to 5000. The people in the unorganised sector will reach 430 million in the next ten years. Formulating the right product with a combination of performance, features and price and finding the right combination of distribution structure is probably more important than high decibel advertising for marketers attempting to win over mass markets.

The Challenges
The following aspects would interest mass market companies or companies (perhaps even regional brands or local offerings) which may be interested in developing offerings for the lower end of the market.
* Is the product category familiar to consumers?
* Are the lower end price points explored by existing offerings?
* What is the level of substitutability of a given product category? Would consumers be interested in upgraded offerings or would they use the upgraded offering sporadically?

Product category familiarity
While attempting to upgrade consumers at the lower end of the market there is a need for marketers to know whether consumers are familiar with the product category. When a large multinational brand of baby food entered a developing market, it found that consumers were not familiar with the category resulting in wrong usage of the product. One aspect is the usage and another aspect associated with familiarity is the appreciation of value. Unless consumers are familiar with the concept of washing machines, they may not be able to appreciate the 'value' based semi-automatic machine from a brand like Videocon. Consumers are familiar with quartz watches and they are able to perceive value in the new brand Maxima which has a number of watch models targeted at the lower end of the market. Shakti Bhog is a brand of atta (wheat flour) in the northern markets of India and it is perceived as a "value" brand. The same familiarity may not be applicable to categories like mouth wash or perhaps fabric softener. If the familiarity is low, an offering has to not only sell the concept to the target segment, it has to also design the offering in such a way that consumers would be in a position to try out the product in terms of affordability. Rexona's deodorant launch in low-priced variants is a very interesting example of this approach. Shampoo as a category which has at present reached very high levels of familiarity owes its success to sachets sold at very low price points. The category of shampoo traditionally was associated with luxury more than necessity.
Another significant element related to the familiarity aspect is the important given to a product category ("product ladder") among the segments at the lower end of the market. Mixers (used for processing food) have caught on among the middle class because it can benefit the consumer hard pressed for time in urban areas. Mopeds as a category is very popular in some semi-urban and rural parts of the country because it is a priority for the small trader to carry the merchandise and it also makes him mobile without being dependent on the infrequent (relatively) public transport. The importance given to a category is critical because of the generic competition where a number of products compete for the purchasing power of the price-sensitive consumer (who has limited amount of purchasing power in "fits and starts"). A typical average consumer at the lower end of the market may not regularly buy branded detergent, shampoo, tooth-pastes and soaps. He/she may alternate between branded offerings across categories and an offering perceived to be low on price and adequate on functional features would have a greater degree of being chosen more frequently.

Are lower end price points explored by current offerings?
In a number of categories the lower end price points may not be explored by marketers though some national brands have attempted this often and they have been successful during certain times. A brand built on a "low price-no frill" offering could use it as an extension to explore related product line items. Tiger from Britannia provides a good example of using this approach. After having achieved success at the lower end of the market competing largely in the unorganised sector, the brand has launched cream variants at (relatively) low price points. Household appliances, fans, plastic products for households, fast foods, snacks and ice-creams are areas in which low price points could be further explored to offer the "right" product for the target segment. In the area of fast foods and snacks some brands have been launched in the recent times but the price points (for a given quantity or volume) are too high to "touch" the mass markets and they are targeted more to the higher end consumer who prefers convenience, taste and hygiene and is prepared to pay a price for it.

Substitutability
Mass market consumers are likely more to "down-trade" (switch to lower priced offerings) than consumers at the middle or the higher end of the market. Any offering should decide on "value" after taking into account the substitutability associated with the offering. Last year there has been a marked "down-trading" in the category of tea and loose tea market experienced a growth at the cost of the branded offerings. Would a consumer buy an offering (which is based on value) more number of times if he/she perceives "value" taking into consideration the substitutes which may be used currently? In certain cases there may even be branded substitutes which need to be taken into consideration
(toothpastes and toothpowder are examples).Shampoo and certain herbal soaps which are being used for hair-care could be another example of substitutability. Facial creams and soaps which contain fairness ingredients could be one more situation where consumers may substitute offerings. One strategy of marketers would be to encourage consumers to increase the frequency of usage of the branded offering though in general consumers may down-trade to balance their monthly flow of income especially during times of recession. A consumer, who down-trades from a detergent like Wheel to a bar soap, could be still motivated to use the lower end brand of detergent for specific and selective occasions.
Home-made versus branded readily available fast foods could be an option for the consumer in entry level markets - when he/she desires convenience and speed there could be the branded offering for which a slight "premium" is charged and the consumer over a period of time increases the frequency of the branded offering provided value is perceived. The only precaution required in this case is that the price as perceived by the consumer should be within the "plausible range" - the consumer should not think there is a heavy premium. A good example of this strategy is the branded offering of curds in Bangalore (not the MNC brand) which charges a moderate premium over the price which the consumer may have incurred if it was home made.
Mass markets offer a huge potential to marketers who could develop appropriate offerings. The best advantage they would have is the positive "word of mouth" if the offering is accepted by consumers.

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