Let’s start with a hard truth: If you demand ₹30,000 in direct sales from every ₹15,000 ad spend, you’re not building a business—you’re running a campaign-to-campaign hustle. This transactional mindset is why countless Indian SMBs plateau while giants like Amazon, Apple, or even homegrown champions like Kalyan Jewellers and PhonePe dominate for decades.
The ancient wisdom holds: “Jo Dikhta Hai, Wo Bikta Hai” (What is Seen, Sells). In business? Visibility isn’t vanity—it’s viability.
1. The Fatal Flaw: Confusing Advertising with Brand Building
The SMB Dilemma:
“Show me immediate sales, or I’ll cut the ad budget!”
This ROI-myopia ignores a fundamental truth: Big brands spend relentlessly on visibility, even when direct sales aren’t trackable. Why?
- Amazon isn’t just an e-commerce site; it’s a verb (“Amazon it!”).
- Apple’s logo evokes desire before you know the iPhone’s specs.
- Kalyan Jewellers tops India’s brand movers list not from discount ads, but cross-metric visibility.
The Data Gap:
64% of Indians recall smartphone brands instantly 11. None achieved that by optimizing for last-click ROI.
2. Why Your “ROI-First” Approach Is Costing You Future Crores
A. The 95-5 Rule: Your Funnel’s Fatal Blind Spot
Research shows only 5% of buyers are “in-market” right now. The other 95%? They’ll need a laptop, tax service, or packaging supplier later. If they don’t know your name today, they’ll default to the brand they recognize tomorrow.
B. Vanity Metrics vs. Victory Metrics: What Indian SMBs Track
| Metric | SMB Focus (Short-Term) | Big Brand Focus (Long-Term) |
|---|---|---|
| Ad Spend Payback | “Did sales cover ads?” | “Did awareness increase?” |
| Customer Cost | CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) | CLTV (Customer Lifetime Value) |
| Impact Measure | Direct sales | Brand recall, sentiment |
As one Indian performance marketer noted: “If you only track Cost Per Conversion, you’ll starve your brand to feed a campaign” .
3. How “Dikhta Hai” Translates to Business Growth: 4 Indian Examples
A. Ohh My Brand (Ahmedabad):
This agency helps entrepreneurs build “authentic personal brands.” Result? Clients don’t just get leads—they become category authorities, commanding premium fees.
B. Barkbox’s Squirrel Takeover:
They hijacked “National Squirrel Day” with absurdist ads. Not a direct sales play—but social shares exploded. Brand recall drove later conversions.
C. Kalyan Jewellers:
Topped India’s brand movers by improving metrics like “buzz,” “reputation,” and “word-of-mouth”—not just sales.
D. Oohpoint (Mumbai):
This AI-driven OOH startup knows: Billboards without analytics are blind spends. They track interactions, proving visibility’s value.
4. Breaking the Cycle: How Indian SMBs Can Build “Dikhta Hai” Brands
A. Shift Your Budget Split: Feed the Brand, Not Just Campaigns
Allocate 60% to brand-building (content, SEO, social presence) and 40% to sales activation (PPC, offers).
B. Obsess Over Metrics That Predict Long-Term Sales:
- Aided Awareness: % recalling your brand unaided
- Net Promoter Score (NPS): Will customers refer you?
- Share of Voice: How much category chatter you own
C. Leverage Low-Cost, High-Visibility Tactics:
- SEO & Content: 32% of Indians search for local businesses weekly. Blog consistently about customer pain points.
- Google Business Profile: Free visibility for local intent searches.
- Micro-Experiences: Use AR (like Jaipur’s Yeppar) or quizzes to engage—not just sell.
D. Embrace the “95% Rule”:
Run campaigns targeting future buyers:
“Still using manual inventory tracking? Download our free ‘Warehouse Efficiency Checklist’.”
No direct sale? You’re now top-of-mind when they are ready.
