Praveen explains how a country's brand shapes global sales. The US dominates in buyer perception for manufactured and IT goods, while India fights the stereotype of being an "IT sweatshop." Asian sellers face cultural bias entering European markets like Germany.
Chapters
You've touched on a very, very interesting subject. That is the brand value of your country.
Right.
Okay. So the US has a brand value, immaterial of the product, immaterial of the person.
And I would even say it's like only one of maybe 4 countries in the world that really have solid brand value for manufactured goods right now, right?
Correct. From the IT world, it's the US.
That's it.
If you look at the IT world, it's always the US.
Right.
Whether we like it, don't like it, agree, disagree, it's the US. If you're from the US, then you're pretty much up there as far as the customer buying list is concerned.
Right. You've taken one step forward ahead of the competition without even trying.
Exactly. Correct. Just simply because you're from there. And that's a good thing. Something we should learn. The second, when I did go international, India was on that cusp of moving up. They knew India, but the brand positioning was really different. Right.
Yeah.
We were the sweatshop, the IT sweatshop of the world. They always thought of us as, you guys do services. I cannot imagine you guys doing products. That is like, we are good in IT. What makes you think we cannot make a product? Ah, but you guys do software services, you said. So when they're thinking, they're thinking bodies, people, sweatshop, IT, that's one. Second, if you're from IT, it should be cheap.
Right.
Why should it be cheap? I mean, it's a product, it has value, doesn't mean it's cheap.
Right.
So why should— so the first thing they think is price should be down. There's no reason.
Oh yeah.
So the positioning is different at those days. everything was different. Third, and I do not mean to be politically incorrect in any way, but it is a fact of life you must understand, is that I am going from Asia to Europe.
Oh, right.
Culturally, I am disadvantaged.
Oh, yeah.
With all due respect, my color is on the wrong side.
No, I understand that, because as You know, you could— everybody knows a really politically correct German friend. That said, 80% of Europe, the first thing they're going to see when they think of you is— they're not going to think of you— there's a lot of racism, right?
Right.
And there's a lot of— there's much more immigration in the working-class level than there is in— you know, in America today, We talk about, you know, Indians being doctors and so on. But 40 years ago, it wasn't like that. And in Germany today, you know, there is racism, right? So you're dealing with that. And that has to be, you know, again, you're starting from a huge disadvantage.
Right.
And the fact that you're successful is really interesting starting from this disadvantage, right?
