Consumers Aren’t Consistent — Context Shapes Choice

Marketing today operates in an era of fragmented consumer identities — minimalists, maximalists, sustainability-driven shoppers, luxury tribes, and niche digital communities. How should marketers rethink segmentation in such a diverse landscape?
Consumers have always been unique individuals with different consumption behaviours. However, about 30–35 years ago, the markets were very different. There were only a few brands available for most products and services, so choice was limited. Consumers mainly received information through non-digital media, which was homogeneous and mostly one-way, meaning
marketers communicated to consumers without much interaction. People also followed societal norms closely, which meant consumption behaviour was more or less uniform and differences were less noticeable.
Today, consumption behaviour has evolved dramatically. With many brands, digital media and interactive platforms, consumers express varied preferences and identities. These include minimalists who prefer less, maximalists who enjoy abundance, shoppers focused on sustainability, luxury brand enthusiasts, and many niche digital communities. The paradox is that an individual consumer often exhibits contradictory behaviours, adopting a minimalist approach in one context while leaning maximalist in another.
Given today’s diverse market, relying on traditional demographic segmentation is insufficient. Marketers must pivot to focus
on deeper factors — individual values, lifestyles and attitudes. This requires segmentation to be flexible and dynamic, leveraging
robust data analytics and digital insights. By doing so, brands can move beyond broad categories to create highly personalised
experiences and forge stronger, more relevant relationships in the current fragmented consumer landscape.
When faced with so many distinct sub-groups, how can firms decide which segments to prioritise without diluting their core brand identity?
Firms can decide which segments to prioritise without diluting their core brand identity by using the ‘Brand Resonance Pyramid’ provided by Keller (2016). According to Keller, marketers can build a strong, loyal relationship with customers via the four phases:
Identity: Marketers should ensure that their brands are identified by their target customers and remain at the top of their mind
awareness (TOMA) in multiple situations.
Meaning: Marketers should focus on establishing the full totality of brand meaning in the minds of customers via rational and
emotional routes.
Response: In this phase, marketers should focus on eliciting appropriate customers’ rational response (measured by
judgment) and emotional response (measured by feelings) to the brand identity and brand meaning.
Relationship: Marketers need to strengthen emotional bonds by encouraging active customer participation and making them
feel part of a group or community.
You’ve written extensively on salesforce structure and overqualification. How can organisations align roles, skills, and expectations in today’s rapidly evolving marketing and sales environment?
Employees feel “overqualified” when they believe their skills and knowledge exceed what the job requires. This sense of
overqualification arises because of:
Poor fit between the job and employees’ skill sets;

Slow career progression;
Constant, selective exposure to lucrative job offers on multiple job portals and social media;
Lack of opportunities to utilise expertise and skills in the current job.
Organisations should understand the heterogeneity of the motives and skills repository of employees at different career cycles
and assign roles accordingly. Firms should provide challenging opportunities to such perceived overqualified employees, such as
involving them in creating challenging marketing and sales campaigns, marketing research and mentoring new employees in their
exploratory stage. Managers should share career paths, examples of internal promotions and market volatility to neutralise the
external ‘illusion’ of lucrative jobs.
Your cases, RPL, Saligram, and others, highlight deep insights into consumer behaviour and organisational design. What inspires your case-writing, and what role do you believe case pedagogy plays in shaping future marketers?
We leverage feedback from alumni in marketing, sales, HR and analytics who often discuss their current operational struggles as the critical starting point for developing relevant case studies. To effectively write case studies, we require material that moves beyond the typical textbook oversimplifications and accurately demonstrates the difficult, multi-faceted trade-offs faced by marketing professionals.
Case pedagogy moves learning from a passive absorption of textbook theories to an active engagement with real-world
complexity, which is essential for success in a dynamic field like marketing. Case studies deliberately present situations with
incomplete data, conflicting objectives and uncertain outcomes. Students are expected to analyse the case and defend their
recommendations logically, persuasively and concisely against colleagues who hold different views. Students move beyond
memorising theoretical frameworks to understanding when and how to apply them under specific conditions.
What strategic shifts are required for Indian heritage sectors to transition from volume-driven models to premium global positioning?
The volume-driven and thin margins in Indian heritage sectors are primarily explained by the interaction of fragmented supply
chains, followed by lack of economies of scale, lack of quality controls, low intellectual property protection, inadequate creation of brand equity, and a failure to capture premium value from authenticity.
For these heritage sectors to evolve into premium global brands, they need rigorous quality practices, sharper segmentation
and targeting, and authentic storytelling rooted in India’s heritage. Coupled with premium pricing, distinct value creation and
robust intellectual property protection, this will enable a successful shift from volume to value.
In your view, what can India learn from countries like Japan and South Korea, which have successfully transformed their cultural heritage into global soft-power industries?
What India can learn from Japan: obsession with quality (Kodawari), continuous and incremental improvement (Kaizen),
consensus-based decision-making (Ringi-sho) by involving relevant stakeholders.
What India can learn from South Korea: setting the sights on global dominance from the outset (Segyehwa), harmony
(Inwha) and emotional connection (Kibun) at the workplace to transcend from mere professional transaction to long-term
commitment.
For young marketers entering the profession, what essential skills or mindsets are needed to navigate a world defined by digital
complexity, cultural fragmentation, and heightened ethical scrutiny?
Three essential skills or mindsets for young marketers entering the profession are as follows:
Core skill: Being customer-focused and developing a marketing strategy.
Technical skills: Digital integration, product management, customer experience, partnership marketing, monitoring
and measuring effectiveness, risk and reputation management.
Behavioural skills: Collaborative, influential, creative, entrepreneurial, innovative and inspiring.