Marketing in Nepal

Marketing is an essential business requirement for any business established and operated in Nepal. There are many forms of marketing, including Digital and Traditional Marketing.

With research & data presented by many Digital Marketers in Nepal. You’ll get to know which marketing is suitable for your business.

After COVID-19, customers have shifted their attention to social platforms and devices. In 2022, according to the report, the internet penetration was 38.4% of the total population in Nepal. As a business, we also need to gradually shit to both means of marketing where our audiences are in.

Digital Marketing Vs. Traditional Marketing for Business in Nepal

Digital Marketing:

Digital Marketing is marketing a product or service through digital means of communication. When your business is shown to your targeted audience on a digital screen on any platform like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or LinkedIn, it is known as Digital Marketing.

Our digital marketing is effective because we get more data and information from the audience. Compared to traditional marketing, the budget spent on marketing is also less.

Traditional Marketing:

Marketing that is done without digital or electronic means is known as traditional marketing. This marketing focuses more on creating a brand rather than sales. You cannot target the audience directly, and it is mostly an assumption-based strategy.

Traditional marketing includes billboards, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, etc. The budget for these campaigns is around 10 times greater than that for digital marketing.

Which Marketing is Suitable For Business in Nepal?

You must analyze your targeted audiences to identify your marketing strategy in Nepal. From an Age perspective, Are your targeted audiences around age 12 – 30? Most of these generations are attached to mobile devices rather than radio and TV.

From Job Role, POV: Are your targeted audiences full-time job holders, business owners, or freelancers? According to your audiences, you should shift your strategy.

These can be classified based on many aspects, such as age, demography, location, and salary ratio, and their behavior can be analyzed for your successful marketing strategy in Nepal.

According to the trend of business, this can change. Before the band TikTok in Nepal, people had maximum usage of TikTok, but now, this usage has been shifted to Instagram. Based on behavior & interest, the marketing strategy of a business in Nepal should be changed.

Effective Ways to Market in Nepal

Know your Targeted Audience:

Every marketing in Nepal consists of its targeted audience. Knowing the target audience is the first part of marketing. So, how can we find the targeted audience in Nepal? These can be estimated at an early stage by making a buyer persona:

The buyer Person can be analyzed by the following:

Age Group: 
Location: 
Interest: 
Education: 
Income Status: 
Internet Usage:
Goals:
Habit:

Understand Customer Problems & Pain Points

From the above data, you must think from the customer’s point of view while implementing a marketing strategy. As a marketer, consider their pain point and how your business solves that problem. A few questions may arise, such as, Is your service worth buying in the market? Why would they choose you among competitors? By catering to all these questions, come up with a unique solution for solving their problem.

Create a Marketing Strategy

Create a marketing strategy around the business product or solution. First, you have to define the intent of the marketing. Marketing campaigns can be branding, awareness building, or lead and sale generation for lead generation campaigns. Portray and show the product or service in good graphics and copywriting, making the campaign “Fear of Missing Out.”

In this way, a marketing strategy can be created.

Run, Analytics, and Reporting

In the end, run the campaign on either digital or traditional platforms. Now, there is more data available for digital campaigns to know the real-time interest of the customer in our campaign so we can do AB/Test and so on. In traditional AB Testing, it is a hard job. Audit the campaign performance at the end and make a formal report that can also be used in the future.

Types of Traditional Means of Marketing

Print Media Marketing (Newspapers & Magazines):

Newspapers and magazines are traditional marketing means. These campaigns are focused on creating a brand or raising awareness in general. The budget spent on magazines is also heavy, but the conversion or effectiveness is low. These types of campaigns help major, broader national brands.

I won’t suggest that small or mid-level businesses market themselves in National Newspapers and magazines because they can simply target their served area customers through Digital Marketing.

Pros:

• Targeted Reach: Newspapers offer broad reach, including local communities, while magazines provide targeted access to specific interest groups.
• Engagement: Magazine readers tend to be engaged and receptive, increasing the chances of ad recall and response.
• Visual Impact: High-quality printing and magazine visuals can make your ads more memorable.
• Longevity: Magazines, in particular, have a longer shelf life, and your ad may be seen for months, increasing exposure.

Cons:

• Declining Readership: The shift to digital media has impacted print circulation, especially among younger generations.
• Limited Flexibility: Print ads require planning due to production schedules, and last-minute changes are challenging.
• Cost: Magazine ads can be costly, and you may need to invest in larger or colored ads for better visibility.
• Short Lifespan: Newspapers are often discarded quickly, reducing the exposure time of your ad.

Television Advertising and Radio Advertising

Television and radio Advertisement: These are other popular traditional means of marketing in Nepal. Television offers a dynamic combination of visuals and audio, making it ideal for creating a good experience. Radio engages the listener’s imagination through creative audio narratives.

Pros:

• Broad Reach: Both mediums offer the potential to connect with a wide audience, including diverse age groups and demographics, which helps raise awareness and build a brand.
• Immersive Experience: Television’s visual impact and radio’s storytelling ability create immersive experiences that resonate with audiences.
• Repetition and Reinforcement: Consistent ad placement and messaging reinforce brand recognition and trust.

Cons:

• High Production Costs: Television ads, in particular, can be expensive to produce, limiting options for small businesses.
• Limited Attention: With various channels and streaming options, holding the audience’s attention is challenging.
• Measurement Challenges: Accurately measuring ad campaigns’ direct impact and ROI can be difficult.

Event Sponsorship and Promotions

Event Sponsorship and Promotions: These programs help you engage directly with your target audience through event sponsorships and promotions. They are emotionally connected programs like events, sports tournaments, concerts, and festivals. 

They are usually connected and help build awareness by showcasing the brand presence and values by aligning with the right event.

Pros:

• Direct engagement: Meet potential customers, build relationships, and gain instant feedback.
• Targeted exposure: Choose events that align with your target audience’s interests for effective brand association.
• Community building: These help build a local community supporting your brand initiatives.

Cons:

• Limited reach: Events cater to specific audiences, restricting broader exposure.
• High costs: Sponsorship and event organization can be expensive, impacting ROI.
• Time-bound: The impact is often confined to the event duration, requiring consistent efforts.

Types of Digital Marketing in Nepal

Search Engine Marketing and Optimization

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is another medium for reaching your targeted audiences through paid ads. SEO is organic and takes time to show results on search engine results pages, while SEM is a quick way to get displayed at the top of Search Engines through the Pay-per-Click Method.

I suggest you continue to start with paid ads and organic positions. In the long run, it will help build a good search engine presence, build a brand, and generate revenue from an online presence.

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing involves reaching your targeted customers through social media. Many users use social media apps on their mobile devices, and these are great ways to start your digital marketing strategy. You can build your brand on social media through both organic methods of posting engaging content and running paid ads for quick conversion.

Email Marketing and Automation

Email marketing is the third border digital marketing strategy used by many businesses in Nepal. It is a growing market, and most businesses aren’t implementing this strategy. This marketing strategy can be used only for your subscribed customers in your business. There is a low possibility of gathering new customers through email marketing campaigns for specific niches.

Conclusion

In summary, businesses in Nepal should implement a marketing strategy to take their brand to the next level. I suggest you put more budget into digital marketing, as most of Nepal’s population is on mobile and screens. From this takeaway, 30 – 40% of the marketing budget should be spent on traditional marketing, and the remaining budget should be implemented in a digital marketing strategy. For digital strategy and marketing strategy, contact my brand.