The Indian middle class has always been a marketer's delight. While most marketing strategies have seemed to be spinning around them, catering to their basic needs had always been the primary focus. But not anymore! Marketers appear to have left their mass-oriented middle-class dreams behind and moved beyond conventional clichés in almost every aspect. Changing customer demographics and cultural shifts have led to this transformation of market dynamics. The marketer seems to have donned an all-new `avatar', experimenting with product as well as customer categories, all set to explore new niches.

A beverage specially for dieters, an insurance plan for pensioners, a fairness cream for men, low-cost airlines and more; new product categories are multiplying by the day. What appeared to be unimaginable and distant just a couple of years ago, seems to have become an accessible, fathomable reality for the Indian customer and for the unstoppable marketer who has graduated from chasing mass middle-class dreams and aspirations to searching for newer, bolder and more challenging options which can be catered to.

The fact remains that India is a massive market with an extremely diverse outlook. Whether it is a cost-oriented approach or a more value-driven approach, tapping and targeting the perfect segment has always been a challenge for any marketer. It is out of these intricacies that the marketer seems to have learned his lesson and come to the realization that to thrive in the ever-growing competitive scenario, it is imperative to break free from the typically conventional tried and tested humdrum segmentation patterns and leap on to something more exciting, and discover new avenues within the available options.

Marketing Mastermind Magazine, Marketing Paradigm, Customer Demographics, Humdrum Segmentation Patterns, Communication Programs, Traditional Segmentation Process, Stereotypical Approach, Mass Market, Niche Marketing, Decision Making Process, Customer Dynamics, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, FMCG, Mass Market Strategies.