Decoding The Indian Rich

DECODING THE RICH

‘KHWAHISHONKA KAAFILA BHI AJEEB HAI; GUJARTA WOH HI SE HAI, JAHAN RAASTE NAHI HOTE!

These lines are very much applicable to middle and lower income classes and not to riches. The critical issue is - rich in India do not want to be labeled publically, barring of course few exceptions. I always asked question (while discussing market segmentation) to students- How many of you are from rich class. Barring a lone exception, I have never found anybody confessing publically that he or she belonged to rich class. This is typical of an Indian- While our attitude to earn money is positive; confession in public about our financial status is unreal.

There are various reasons for such response. One is overall negative attitude in India towards rich. This is evident during accident scenario between bicycle/scooter with car. Bicycle/scooter rider may be at fault, but crowd gathered immediately starts abusing car owner. Wealth can be created with legitimate means is a concept not digested by many Indians. Anger against rich is portrayed in many Hindi films, which have lot of impact on masses. Another angle is we have our own unique standards of judging financial status of individual. It can vary from number of raids by income tax department in past few years, amount of money spent in marriage of son/daughter or donation to temple. There are some communities where first reference to individual is on basis of his net worth only. The punch line is-Party is worth 50 crores! This scenario makes understanding of rich class both challenging and interesting proposition. A note of caution- Rich class referred in this article does not include super rich falling under Forbes list. They are rich by global standards and exhibit very different lifestyle and spending pattern. Rich referred here are from Maharashtra only. Rich in north India show different pattern from one in south India. Also please note that RICH is one who has both – wealth and mentality to spend!

Matrix developed as under might be of some help to marketer of luxury products.

1-      TRADITIONAL RICH	3-ELEVATOR RICH
2-      WINDFALL RICH	4-STAIR CASE RICH

Rich classes consume wide range of luxury products. They broadly fall in two categories - public luxury such as high-end car and private luxury- cosmetic products, fragrances etc. Difficulty marketer faces while tapping rich class is –REACH. Once we categorize them into different quadrants and understand their spending/consumption pattern, reaching and preaching them may become easier.

1-TADITIONAL RICH: - Marketers have no difficulty in identification of this class. Society in which they live knows them as KHANDANI RAIS. They do not need income tax raid to prove their financial worth. The ADAB is evident in their mannerism and demeanor. Their turnout is always good and they are connoisseur of luxury products. They donate generously and help needy. They are proud owners of luxury products such as vintage car or crystal idol of Lord Ganesh. They are members of social clubs but visit it occasionally. They are careful while choosing social company. Politics is not their cup of tea. Barring few exceptions, many of them are in spending mode while few others are in wealth accumulation mode. They believe in concept of lifetime employment while offering job to person for their personal duty. They normally do not count monetary value of villa or flat in which they live (in posh locality) while assessing their own financial status. They welcome visitors in Diwan-E-Aam or Diwan-E-Khas depending upon relation.  Daughter in laws from this class had tough time earlier. Things have changed for better now.

2-WINDFALL RICH:- This niche ( not segment) can be found near metros or in towns. Be it Hijewadi near Pune or Raddhana village in Haryana, some land owners have become crorepatis overnight thanks to infrastructure development. Those who win bumper lottery also fall in this category. Windfall gain initially makes them nervous. After euphoria is over, they make rational investment again in land, palatial houses and fixed deposits. They cannot be immediate buyers for private luxury products. They are not very comfortable with other rich people with same worth. Few join English-speaking classes and wives join finishing schools so that they can be comfortable while socializing. During public conversation, they may suddenly throw an English sentence. They also take pride in their hygiene habits, which do not change because of sudden rise in fortune. They are attractive buyers for interior decoration of newly bought house. They are good prospect for luxury cars. Few donate part of their fortune to temples because they believe that the sudden gain is due to wish of God.

3- ELEVATOR RICH: - This segment exhibits different pattern of spending and consumption. Their rag to riches story has some dark shades. However, once wealth is accumulated in quick time, they want status need to be satisfied instantly. Earlier, we had incident from Goa where few persons who amassed wealth through illegal means became Special Executive Magistrate after getting their police records cleaned. They announced this elevation by writing SEM on brass nameplates outside their villas. Car they own(readers know which brand and model I am referring to), diamond studded rings in fingers,  golden chain around neck, and bracelet in hand all speak loudly of character of person. They donate generously to public functions, health camps, festivals such as Ganeshotsav and Dahi Handi. Entering into politics is their prime ambition. They normally wear white clothes. Their kids can be seen driving big cars with stereo on with full volume. They are immediate buyers of public and private luxury products; only challenge is identification and reaching them. Greater challenge is making them understand concept of luxury. While buying a high-end car, they buy vanity numbers such as 007 or 8055 (BOSS on fancy number plate) to let world know that they have arrived. Their vacation is normally to places such as Tirupati or Shirdi. Their wives and kids spend lot on personal grooming, entertainment and socializing. Competitive spirit and one up-man ship is common with them. Male dominance is common among this class and relatives (blood relations) play crucial role in handling their wealth.

4-STAIR CASE RICH: - This set of customers is ideal for marketer of private luxury and public luxury products. They normally do not show ATTITUDE because they have reached ALTITUDE through hard work and knowledge. They are well aware of difference between them and traditional rich and rarely copy them. They again are connoisseur of luxury products and buy cars, lady handbags, costly mobile handset and perfumes only after thorough understanding. Investment in education of kids is on top priority because they themselves have been successful through this model. They, like traditional rich, give good treatment to their employees but always keep them at distance (In case of traditional rich- employees become part of family). While sitting in car driven by chauffer, person (woman) will always prefer seat on left at rear. Unlike their counterpart- elevator rich, they never allow their kids to drive car unless eligible. While registering car, they may opt a number, which is not vanity number, but may be combination of date, month and year of birth. They enjoy vacation in U S A or Europe. They are aware of flop side of social networking sites such as face book and are careful in declaring identity and uploading of photos of family functions. They are not publicity savvy and local community may be unaware of their financial status.

Having categorized rich among four quadrants, marketer must understand who is a nerd- who understands luxury. As is said by a famous marketer, nerd buys luxury because he/she understands it. Herd buys because nerd has bought it. Reaching out to nerd hence is crucial.