#VocalForLocal: Will Indians be changing their brand perspective to support Swadeshi?

India has had a long history, back from the days of our fight for independence, against Videshi. When Gandhi asked people to adopt Swadeshi, it was an economic strategy that aimed at removing the British empire. It also wanted to improve the economic condition of the poor and loyal middle class. The revolution wanted to equalize the haves and have nots.

And the nationalism, the movement was successful. Thus, PM Modi lit the same torch of the Swadeshi Movement in the name of "AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan".

Why go Local?

Various handicraft merchants and designers are affected due to unavailability of raw materials. The sales have gone down and Coronavirus probably hit the unorganised sector the most. Over 50% of the Indian population works in the unorganised sectors. They are daily breadwinners and use passed-down skills more than acquired ones.

The Government has launched various programs like Make in India, but the reality has not been that of roses. These handmade and skill-based industry is capital and labour-intensive. Farming, weaving, hawking and peddling, these require manpower. Experts opine that Rural economy is the way to survive the economic impact of the Coronavirus. Thus, Modiji opined the idea of Swadeshi. He said that the COVID-19 crisis taught us the importance of local manufacturing and supply chains.

After 1991, the Indian Government started hoarding foreign companies, MNCs and large corporates to make India a more global economy, we somewhere lost touch with the small industries. Sure, there have been provisions for SMEs. But how much attention did they get? Not much, to be sure. With Amazon, we forgot the importance of local ration shops. With Adidas, Bata and Lakhani became "middle-class" brands.

But this was bound to happen. Because Indians believe in quality service, more than quality products. Thus, to ensure we develop globally and speedily, we choked our industries. But in this time of crisis, they came to our aid. Micro Indian services kept the country-men running.

Imagine if we could just add demand, technological infrastructure and capital to that. We could change the perception of India from "efficient workers" to "great businessmen".

But, for that, we will have to forego the brand attitude.

How Brand-affected is an Indian consumer?

After the Rao Government approved Globalisation in the LPG policy, Indians have had a penchant for branded goods. From clothes and mobiles to food and furniture, everything, that we use today is a brand. According to a Qualtrics, who conducted a Brand Trust study found that during the COVID-19 outbreak 50% of the respondents said their trust in the brands had increased. Most of the brand users believe in the company when they interact through WhatsApp (63%), Facebook (58%), and online media (55%).

This benefit of communication is not available to local shops and SMEs. On the other hand, using local products does not provide societal satisfaction to consumers. They cannot boast about it, nor can they showcase it in shelves. We are way too much affected by the technological ease that brands provide; from home delivery to cloud facility.

This can change though, with the help of one of the five pillars stated by PM Modi- Technology.

Use of Tech to make potential customers go more Swadeshi

Online advertising has always been an important part of any brand’s marketing strategy. Local brands can build their value and demand using simple tools like Social Media and Google My Business. The cost is less, the benefits are more. Local brands should also incorporate the digital payment structure. This will get more consumers who prefer going cashless, shop with them.

Local shops can use apps and websites to help people order through them. The "Add to Cart" feature makes it more likely for consumers to connect. Then if local brands home-deliver quality products, a consumer can willingly change his/her taste. There can be an option to live chat and solve their grievances.

I know it won't be easy for local shops to become tech-driven. But some can start, and let the digitization wave do the rest. The entry of technology will bring down transparency issues and creates a level-playing field for locals, and perhaps, change the brand perspective of consumers.