Early Intervention: The Key to Good Parenting & App Market Penetration in India

Everybody is talking about “The Next Billion,” meaning the next billion people coming online in the developing world, mostly via internet connected smart phones. As the smartphone marketplace for apps, in-app advertising and in-app shopping comes to life, the next billion people coming online represents an opportunity that is nothing short of massive.

As always, the devil is in the details and companies are searching for any kind of a sign to point them in the right direction. Where is that growth taking root right now?

All signs point to India.

MACRO DATA

India was the fastest growing smartphone market in Asia Pacific over the past year, shipping 186% more smartphones over the past year. And the Indian smartphone market is poised to continue growing at a very exciting rate, while the market share of not-so-smart “feature” phones decreased from 90% to 71% from Q1 2013 to Q1 2014.    As such, Google is planning a big advertising push in India this Fall.

Where goes Google, so goes the next billion internet users in developing markets. Because Google’s Android-based phones are showing the best growth in new markets, given the affordability of Android devices like Motorola’s Moto G. While Android leads the way in market penetration, the number of iPhones sold in India still doubled this year.

App analytics firm App Annie recently announced that India is now #3 on the list of top countries for Google Play downloads - behind the U.S. and Brazil.

GOING WITH THE FLOW (OF DATA)

Smart app developers looking to ride this wave of user growth will tailor their products accordingly. And it takes more than a translation to launch a successful App in foreign markets. It takes a very real understanding of the local culture. In my last article, I covered all of the ways in which Indian Americans are outpacing other Ethnic groups with regard to education and income. So it comes as no surprise that a new app called Parents Concern is being launched in India, and it is a brainchild of Indian Americans.

Of course, even the best multicultural marketers know that some desires are universal, even if those values appear stronger among certain ethnicities. Founder & Chairman Adris Chakraborty said, “The basic concerns of a parent for their child are more or less uniform across the globe, which are education, safety and health. Thereafter, other concerns follow like a child's career path, etc. Our app helps to address all of these concerns and helps parents keep their child closer than before.”

There are also communications tools built into the Parents Concern app which foster healthy dialogue between parents, teachers and peers. The app serves as a tool for the entire parenting ecosystem. There are also a lot of built-in notifications for parents - everything from reminders for vaccinations to school payments to slipping grades. Because early intervention is essential to good parenting.

Parents Concern Founder & Director Animikh Sen points out, “Every parent has only one dream, that their child goes further in life than they ever dreamt possible. Indian parents are no different. Our goal is to help every single parent achieve that, wherever in the world they may be.”

When marketers can draw a straight line through the values of a culture, the functionality of an app and the applicable macroeconomic trends, that is an advantageous approach for developing and launching a successful product.

Animikh Sen continues, “However, tailoring [the app] to the needs of the society is important. Although we started with a set of base features, once we hit the ground running, our team listened to the concerns of the parents, the teachers and all the end users, and tailored the details to fit those needs. For example, traffic in India is very congested, so we added an AUTOSAFE feature that allows the user the option to add a ‘grace period’ of 15 minutes commuting time for a child to return home, which we probably would not have added if we were launching elsewhere.”

In closing, Animikh Sen added one more sentiment that exemplifies the tactical spirit of multicultural marketing, “India is a country where personal relationships are the paramount. The school (or vidalaya) is treated in a similar way to a church in the United States. With that in mind, we decided to market our product through the schools. The school is the epicenter of a child’s life in India, and there is no better place to reach a parent than at school.”

Parents Concern was founded by Adris Chakraborty and Animikh Sen. They are two childhood friends and each a father of two.    Their combined professional backgrounds in education, healthcare, technology, media and entrepreneurship make them the perfect team for developing this comprehensive parenting application. The app helps parents monitor their child’s physical safety and academic achievement. It helps parents manage a child’s healthcare while promoting positive digital communication and socialization. The tool makes it easy for parents, teachers and children stay on top of what matters most with automatic alerts, reminders and more.

Adris Chakraborty is a media and finance professional and entrepreneur. He founded MediaMorphosis, a leading multicultural advertising agency with offices in New York, Canada, London and Dubai. Above all, he is a father of two, who saw the need for such a product in order to keep better track of his own kids in school and at home. He is happy to answer any questions via Email

Animikh Sen , PhD, MBA is a Management Consultant and Technology professional who has worked with diverse strategic growth companies, transitioning innovation to commercialization. He has experience working in scientific research, finance, retail, healthcare and ecommerce. He co-founded Manhattan Communications, a leading digital media agency, with Adris. He is also a father of two, and believes in making parenting challenges transform to parenting delights with the use of proper technology and user-friendly designs. Please do not hesitate to contact Animikh Sen via Email