The consumer is not your wife!

Remember the legendary phrase by Ogilvy who said,"Consumer is not a stupid. She is your wife." This advice may be great (Obviously the stupid bit is quite true everywhere) for developed markets. In the developing nations like Venezuela, India, Afica, the consumers are definitely not like any other consumer from USA, UK or Australia. Especially the wife of the person who is working for a FMCG brand is not like his average consumer at all.

Future marketing people from India need to engage with the consumers in a whole new way. They can not just rely on the principles taught by western academicians. First thing to do it is to start interacting with the consumers in their own habitats. While we believe that the customers are not ready to open up & talk, in reality they are ready to talk about all sorts of things from birth-control to weirdest imagination about your brand if put in the right context.

Talking to a consumer in a natural setting is often a rewarding experience. At times, half an hour spent with an articulate customer is worth its weight in gold.
The legendary campaign of Camel cigarettes came from such brief golden interaction with such consumer. When the customer was told there are no Camel cigarettes and was offered other brand, but the customer said that he had rather walk a mile for a Camel. The brand manager heard a consumer saying this and went back to the marketing HQ to create the legendary campaign for the brand.

So one needs to send their brand managers out in the market without any agenda to find the ideal customers in their natural settings.