TL;DR: The next 100 million users are online—and they’re not in metros. If your GTM playbook is still English-first and Instagram-heavy, you’re leaving serious TAM on the table.
Right now, over 60% of India’s 700M+ internet users are from non-metro cities. They prefer YouTube over Google Search, local creators over Bollywood stars, and price/performance over polished UX. Founders building for Bharat face a clear challenge: how to craft a GTM that speaks the language—literally and culturally—of these Tier-II/III users?
Cracking the Bharat GTM: Tactical Levers for 2025
If you’re selling to users in Bareilly, Nashik or Warangal, these nuggets will save you lakhs in wasted ad spend:
- Regional Influencer Leverage: Partner with micro and nano influencers on ShareChat, Moj, or YouTube Shorts. In 2024, a D2C beauty brand in Indore drove 3x conversions using Gujarati-speaking creators vs national-tier influencers.
- Vernacular Funnels: Don’t stop at translation. Local nuance matters. Razorpay’s vernacular payment support boosted small biz onboarding in UP by 22% YoY. Build landing pages, WhatsApp flows, and support in Hindi, Tamil, and even dialects like Bhojpuri.
- Bharat Pricing Hacks: Think sachet-style pricing. A SaaS productivity tool from Jaipur saw 40% lift in trial-to-paid after offering ₹29/week plans with UPI-only payment.
The Strategic Framework: Layered Demand Creation for Bharat
At Brands & Coffee, we use a 3-layer Bharat GTM model:
- Layer 1: Discoverability – Leverage regional content platforms (Josh, Roposo) and vernacular SEO to be where the user is.
- Layer 2: Familiarity-first UX – Build onboarding journeys around voice notes, chhoti videos, and peer referrals. Not long forms.
- Layer 3: Trust Builders – COD-first logic, UGC-heavy reviews, and local dialect support to nudge purchase or signup.
This layered stack allows you to create trust before conversion—a non-negotiable in Bharat markets.
How to Apply This in Your Startup
Here’s your sprint plan for this week:
- Identify your top 3 Tier-II/III geos from existing data or competitors.
- Test 2 vernacular ad creatives using local lingo + regional creator collabs (on ₹10-15K budgets).
- Offer a Bharat-friendly microplan or trial with UPI/COD only. Track bounce and conversion.
- Audit your user journey—can someone from Ajmer complete onboarding with no English and no email?
Key Takeaways
- Bharat users value familiarity, not just features. Dive deeper than translation.
- Regional creators have 3x trust impact in their cultural zones—go small to go wide.
- Bharat GTM needs micro-pricing and low-friction UX to scale bottom-up.
Trend Signal: Based on High signals from 2 sources. Urgency: 9/10
Sources: Inc42: ‘India hits 700M internet users—60% from non-metros’, Reddit thread: ‘How to reach Tier 2 users without big ad spend?’
