ASeminar Report

On

“RURAL MARKETING”

Submitted in the partial fulfillment of the award of PG Degree ofMaster of Business Administration

Session 2008-09

Submitted To: Submitted By:- Department of Management Studies, Ravi MBA 4th sem. (Marketing)

Jaipur

1

Executive Summary

A debate continued for a long time amongst the Indian marketers, both practitioners &

academicians, on the justification for the existence of the distinct discipline of rural marketing.

Consequently, two schools of thought emerged. The first school belived that the

products/services, marketing tools & strategies that are successful in urban areas, could be

transplanted with little or no more modifications in rural areas. However, the second school

saw a clear distinction between urban & rural India, & suggested a different approach, skills,

tools & strategies to be successful in rural markets.

What differentiates the two markets is not mere income, but a host of other infrastructural &

socio-cultural factors. Thus, the rural market cannot be tapped successfully with an urban

marketing mindset & would definitely require its thorough understanding. In other words, the

approach toward rural markets needs to be distinct from the one adopted for the urban markets.

Thus, in a large rural economy like India’s, rural marketing has emerged as an important &

distinct internal sub-division within the marketing discipline. This sub-division clearly

highlights the differences between rural marketing & mainstream marketing.

2

Table of contents

1) Rural marketing 3

2) Evolution of rural marketing 4

3) Nature of rural market 8

4) Rural marketing transactional or developmental 9

5) Classification of rural consumers 11

6) Roadblocks of Indian Rural Markets 12

7) Attractiveness of rural market 14

8) Rural Vs Urban Marketing 19

9) Rural consumer behavior 22

10) 4 A’s approach of Indian Rural Market 25

11) Rural marketing Mix 28

12) Marketing strategies to capture rural market 37

12.1. Product strategies 42

12.2. Pricing strategies 44

12.3. Promotion strategies 45

12.4. Distribution strategies 46

13) Media vehicles 53

13.1. Formal media 54

13.2. Informal/rural specific media 57

13.3. Choosing media vehicles 64

14) Conclusion 65

15) References 66

3

Rural Marketing

Rural marketing involves the process of developing, pricing, promoting, distributing rural

specific product and a service leading to exchange between rural and urban market which

satisfies consumer demand and also achieves organizational objectives.

It is a two-way marketing process wherein the transactions can be:

1. Urban to Rural: A major part of rural marketing falls into this category. It involves

the selling of products and services by urban marketers in rural areas. These include:

Pesticides, FMCG Products, Consumer durables, etc.

2. Rural to Urban: Transactions in this category basically fall under agricultural

marketing where a rural producer seeks to sell his produce in an urban market. An agent

or a middleman plays a crucial role in the marketing process. The following are some of

the important items sold from the rural to urban areas: seeds, fruits and vegetables, milk

and related products, forest produce, spices, etc.

3. Rural to Rural: This includes the activities that take place between two villages in

close proximity to each other. The transactions relate to the areas of expertise the

particular village has. These include selling of agricultural tools, cattle, carts and others

to another village in its proximity.

4

URBAN RURAL

RURAL URBAN

RURAL RURAL

Rural marketing requires the understanding of the complexities. Indian agricultural industry has

been growing at a tremendous pace in the last few decades. The rural areas are consuming a

large number of industrial and urban manufactured products. The rural agricultural production

and consumption process plays a predominant role in developing the Indian economy. This has

designed a new way for understanding a new process called Rural Marketing.

The concept of rural marketing has to be distinguished from Agricultural marketing. Marketing

is the process of identifying and satisfying customers needs and providing them with adequate

after sales service. Rural marketing is different from agricultural marketing, which signifies

marketing of rural products to the urban consumer or institutional markets. Rural marketing

basically deals with delivering manufactured or processed inputs or services to rural producers,

the demand for which is basically a derived outcome.

Rural marketing scientists also term it as developmental marketing, as the process of rural

marketing involves an urban to rural activity, which in turn is characterised by various

peculiarities in terms of nature of market, products and processes. Rural marketing differs from

agricultural or consumer products marketing in terms of the nature of transactions, which

includes participants, products, modalities, norms and outcomes. The participants in case of

Rural Marketing would also be different they include input manufacturers, dealers, farmers,

opinion makers, government agencies and traders.

Rural marketing needs to combine concerns for profit with a concern for the society, besides

being titled towards profit. Rural market for agricultural inputs is a case of market pull and not

market push. Most of the jobs of marketing and selling are left to the local dealers and retailers.

The market for input gets interlocked with other markets like output, consumer goods, money

and labour.

Rural marketing in India is not much developed there are many hindrances in the area of

market, product design and positioning, pricing, distribution and promotion. Companies need to

understand rural marketing in a broader manner not only to survive and grow in their business,

but also a means to the development of the rural economy. One has to have a strategic view of

the rural markets so as to know and understand the markets well. In the context of rural

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marketing one has to understand the manipulation of marketing mix has to be properly

understood in terms of product usage. Product usage is central to price, distribution, promotion,

branding, company image and more important farmer economics, thus any strategy in rural

marketing should be given due attention and importance by understanding the product usage,

all elements of marketing mix can be better organised and managed.

Evolution of Rural Marketing

PHAS

EORIGIN FUNCTION

MAJOR

PRODUCTS

SOURCE

MARKET

DESTINATIO

N

MARKET

I Before Mid-

1960 (from

independence

to green

revolution)

Agricultural

Marketing

Agricultural

Produce

Rural Urban

II Mid- Sixties

(Green

revolution to

Pre-

liberalization

period)

Marketing Of

Agricultural

Inputs

Agricultural

Inputs

Urban Rural

III Mid- Nineties

(Post-

liberalization

period on 20th

century)

Rural

Marketing

Consumables

And

Durables For

Consumption

& Production

Urban &

Rural

Rural

IV 21st century Developmental

marketing

All products &

services

Urban &

Rural

Urban &

Rural

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1. Phase I ( from Independence to Green Revolution):

Before the advent of the Green revolution, the nature of rural market was altogether

different. Rural marketing then referred to the marketing of rural products in rural &

urban products.

2. Phase II (Green Revolution to Pre-liberalization period):

During these times, due to the advent & spread of the Green Revolution, rural

marketing represented marketing of agriculture inputs in rural markets & marketing of

rural produce in urban areas.

3. Phase III (Post-liberalization period on 20th century):

The third phase of rural marketing started after the liberalization of the Indian economy.

In this period, rural marketing represented the emerging, distinct activity of attracting &

serving rural markets to fulfill the need & wants of rural households, peoples & their

occupations.

4. Phase IV (21st century):

Learning from its rural marketing experiences after the independence, the corporate

world has finally realized the quick-fix solutions & piecemeal approaches will deliver

only limited results in the rural markets. And, if an organization wants to tap the real

potential of the rural market, it needs to make a long-term commitment with this

market. Its approach & strategies must not focus in just selling products & services, but

they should also aim at creating an environment for this to happen.

The objective of rural marketing in the current phase is the improvement of the quality of life

by satisfying the needs & wants of the customers, not through atand-alone products or services,

but by presenting comprehensive & integrated solutions which might involve a set of inter-

related products & services.

Till recently, the focus of marketers in India was the urban consumer and by large number

specific efforts were made to reach the rural markets. But now it is felt that with the tempo of

development accelerating in rural India, coupled with increase in purchasing power, because of

scientific agriculture, the changing life style and consumption pattern of villagers with increase

in education, social mobility, improved means of transportations and communication and other

penetrations of mass media such as television and its various satellite channels have exposed

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rural India to the outside world and hence their outlook to life has also changed. Because of all

these factors, rural India in now attracting more and more marketers.

Increase in competition, saturated urban markets, more and move new products demanding

urban customers, made the companies to think about new potential markets. Thus, Indian rural

markets have caught the attention of many companies, advertisers and multinational

companies. According to a recent survey conducted by the National Council for Applied

Economic Research (NCAER), the purchasing power of the rural people has increased due to

increase in productivity and better price commanded by the agricultural products. By and large

this rise in purchasing power remains unexploited and with the growing reach of the television,

it is now quite easy for the marketers to capture these markets.

Rural marketing has become the latest mantra of most corporate. Companies like Hindustan

Lever, Colgate Palmolive, Britannia and even Multinational Companies (MNCs) like Pepsi,

Coca Cola, L.G., Philips, Cavin Kare are all eyeing rural markets to capture the large Indian

market.

Coming to the frame work of Rural Marketing, Rural Marketing broadly involves reaching the

rural customer, understanding their needs and wants, supply of goods and services to meet their

requirements, carrying out after sales service that leads to customer satisfaction and repeat

purchase/sales.

Nature of Rural Market

Large, Diverse and Scattered Market: Rural market in India is large, and scattered

into a number of regions. There may be less number of shops available to market

products.

Major Income of Rural consumers is from Agriculture: Rural Prosperity is tied

with agriculture prosperity. In the event of a crop failure, the income of the rural masses

is directly affected.

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Standard of Living and rising disposable income of the rural customers: It is

known that majority of the rural population lives below poverty line and has low

literacy rate, low per capital income, societal backwardness, low savings, etc. But the

new tax structure, good monsoon, government regulation on pricing has created

disposable incomes. Today the rural customer spends money to get value and is aware

of the happening around him.

Traditional Outlook: Villages develop slowly and have a traditional outlook. Change

is a continuous process but most rural people accept change gradually. This is gradually

changing due to literacy especially in the youth who have begun to change the outlook

in the villages.

Rising literacy levels: It is documented that approximately 45% of rural Indians are

literate. Hence awareness has increases and the farmers are well-informed about the

world around them. They are also educating themselves on the new technology around

them and aspiring for a better lifestyle.

Diverse socioeconomic background: Due to dispersion of geographical areas and

uneven land fertility, rural people have disparate socioeconomic background, which

ultimately affects the rural market.

Infrastructure Facilities: The infrastructure facilities like cemented roads, warehouses,

communication system, and financial facilities are inadequate in rural areas. Hence

physical distribution is a challenge to marketers who have found innovative ways to

market their products.

Is rural marketing transactional or developmental in

its approach?

It is true, rural markets have become an attractive proposition for commercial business

organizations.

The role of rural marketing as such is more developmental than transactional. It is more a

process of delivering better standard of living and quality of life to the rural environment taking

into consideration the prevailing village milieu.

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Transactional Vs Developmental: For better comprehension of this role let us distinguish

development marketing and transactional marketing. Table brings out the differences in brief.

Transactional Vs Development Marketing

S.No. Aspect Transactional Development

1. Concept Consumer orientation,

Marketing concept

Society orientation, societal

concept

2. Role Stimulating and

conversional marketing

Catalytic and transformation

agent

3. Focus Product-market fit Social change

4. Key task Product innovations and

communications

Social innovations and

communications

5. Nature of activity Commercial Socio-cultural, economic

6. Participants Corporate enterprises,

Sellers

Government, voluntary agencies,

corporate enterprises,

benefactors

7. Offer Products and services Development

projects/schemes/programs

8. Target group Buyers Beneficiaries and buyers

9. Communication Functional Developmental

10. Goal Profits

Customer satisfaction

Brand image

Market development

Corporate Image

11. Time-Frame Short-medium Medium-Long

12. Motivation Profit-motive

Business policy

Service-motive

Ideological or Public policy

Model: The model of rural marketing represents a combination of the transactional and

developmental approaches.

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Rural marketing process is both a catalyst as well as an outcome of the general rural

development process. Initiation and management of social and economic change in the

rural sector is the core of the rural marketing process. It becomes in this process both

benefactor and beneficiary.

Innovation is the essence of marketing. Innovative methods of social change for

successful transformation of traditional society are virtual. Such a change narrows the

rural-urban divide.

The process of transformation can be only evolutionary and not revolutionary. The

growth of the rural market can be a planned evolutionary process based on strategic

instruments of change rather than constitute just short-term opportunities for

commercial gains.

The exposure of ruralites to a variety of marketing transactions during the change

process puts them in the role of beneficiaries than of just `buyers' of modern inputs and

infrastructural services.

Communication is the vital element of rural marketing. It should serve to resolve social

conflicts, encourage cooperation and strengthen competitive spirit during interactions

between rural and urban as well as within rural areas. Another critical point for

communication is the point of conversion of ruralite from an "induced beneficiary" to

an "autonomous buyer".

Classification of rural consumersThe rural consumers are classified into the following groups based on their economic status:

The Affluent Group: They are cash rich farmers and a very few in number. They have

affordability but not form a demand base large enough for marketing firms to depend

on. Wheat farmers in Punjab and rice merchants of Andhra Pradesh fall in this group.

11

The Middle Class: This is one of the largest segments for manufacturedgoods and is

fast expanding. Farmers cultivating sugar cane in UP andKarnataka fall in this

category.

The Poor: This constitutes a huge segment. Purchasing power is less,but

strength is more. They receive the grants from government and reapthe benefits of

many such schemes and may move towards the middleclass. The farmers of Bihar and

Orissa fall under this category.

Roadblocks of Indian Rural Markets

There are several roadblocks that make it difficult to progress in the rural market. Marketers

encounter a number of problems like dealing with physical distribution, logistics, proper and

effective deployment of sales force and effective marketing communication when they enter

rural markets. The major problems are listed below.

1. Standard of living: The number of people below the poverty line is more in rural

markets. Thus the market is also underdeveloped and marketing strategies have to be

different from those used in urban marketing.

2. Low literacy levels: The low literacy levels in rural areas leads to a problem of

communication. Print media has less utility compared to the other media of

communication.

3. Low per capita income: Agriculture is the main source of income and hence spending

capacity depends upon the agriculture produce. Demand may not be stable or regular.

4. Transportation and warehousing: Transportation is one of the biggest challenges in

rural markets. As far as road transportation is concerned, about 50% of Indian villages

are connected by roads. However, the rest of the rural markets do not even have a

proper road linkage which makes physical distribution a tough task. Many villages are

located in hilly terrains that make it difficult to connect them through roads. Most

marketers use tractors or bullock carts in rural areas to distribute their products.

12

Warehousing is another major problem in rural areas, as there is hardly any organized

agency to look after the storage issue. The services rendered by central warehousing

corporation and state warehousing corporations are limited only to urban and suburban

areas.

5. Ineffective distribution channels: The distribution chain is not very well organized

and requires a large number of intermediaries, which in turn increases the cost and

creates administrative problems. Due to lack of proper infrastructure, manufacturers are

reluctant to open outlets in these areas. They are mainly dependent on dealers, who are

not easily available for rural areas. This is a challenge to the marketers.

6. Many languages and diversity in culture: Factors like cultural congruence, different

behaviour and language of the respective areas make it difficult to handle the customers.

Traits among the sales force are required to match the various requirements of these

specific areas.

7. Lack of communication system: Quick communication is the need of the hour for

smooth conduct of business, but it continues to be a far cry in rural areas due to lack of

communication facilities like telegraph and telecommunication systems etc. The literacy

rate in the rural areas is rather low and consumer’s behaviour in these areas is

traditional, which may be a problem for effective communication.

8. Spurious brands: Cost is an important factor that determines purchasing decision in

rural areas. A lot of spurious brands or look-alikes are available, providing a low cost

option to the rural customer. Many a time the rural customer may not be aware of the

difference due to illiteracy.

9. Seasonal demand: Demand may be seasonal due to dependency on agricultural

income. Harvest season might see an increase in disposable income and hence more

purchasing power.

10. Dispersed markets: Rural population is highly dispersed and requires a lot of

marketing efforts in terms of distribution and communication.

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Attractiveness of rural market

1 Large population

2 Rising prosperity

3 Growth in consumption

4 Life cycle changes

5 Life cycle advantages

6 Market growth rate higher than urban

7 Rural marketing is not expensive

8 Remoteness is no longer a problem

1. Large Population: The rural population is large and its growth rate is also high. Despite

the rural urban migration, the rural areas continue to be the place of living majority of

Indians.

2. Rising Rural Propensity:

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INCOME GROUP 1994-95 2000-01 2006-07

ABOVE RS. 100,000 1.6 3.8 5.6

RS. 77,001-100,000 2.7 4.7 5.8

RS. 50,001-77,000 8.3 13.0 22.4

RS. 25,001-50,000 26.0 41.1 44.6

RS.25,000 & BELOW 61.4 37.4 20.2

Thus we see that population between income level of Rs. 25,000- 77,000 will increase

from 34.3% in 1994-95 to 67.0% in 2006-07. The rural consuming class is increasing

by about 3-4% per annum, which roughly translates into 1.2 million new consumers

yearly.

3. Growth in consumption:

PER CAPITA HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE (IS RS.)

LEVEL NO. STATES EXPENDITURE

High

(Above Rs 382/-)7

Punjab 614

Kerala 604

Haryana 546

Rajasthan 452

Gujarat 416

Andhra Pradesh 386

Maharastra 384

Average

(Rs. 382/-)5

West Bengal 382

Orissa 381

Tamil Naidu 381

Uttar Pradesh 373

Karnataka 365

Low

(Below Rs. 382/-)3

Assam 338

Madhya Pradesh 326

Bihar 289

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Distribution household’s income wise (projection in Rs Crore)

INCOME

GROUPS

2001 – 02 2006 – 07

RURAL RURAL

TOTA

LNO. %

TOTA

LNO. %

HIGH 0.26 0.07 26.9 0.52 0.12 23.1

MIDDLE 12.04 7.73 64.2 16.72 10.32 61.8

LOW 5.7 5.09 88.7 3.68 3.52 95.7

TOTAL 18.04 12.89 71.4 20.90 13.96 66.7

Spending pattern (Rural Household’s in Rs.)

ITEM % RIC

H

POO

R

AVERAG

E

FOOD ARTICLES 44 147 73 95

TOILETRIES 20 67 33 43

WASHING

MATERIAL13 43 22 28

COSMETICS 10 33 17 21

OTC PRODUCTS 4 13 6 9

OTHERS 9 30 15 19

TOTAL 333 166 215

Average rural household spends on consumables excluding food grains, milk &

vegetables are Rs. 215/-.

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4. Life style changes:

Income vs. usage of packed consumer goods (% of household using)

GOODS

MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD INCOME (RS.)

UP TO

350

351 – 750 751 – 1500 1501 +

WASHING CAKES/BARS 60 78 86 91

TOILET SOAPS 57 72 89 93

TOOTH

PASTE/POWDER

22 36 65 85

TALCUM POWDER 20 25 41 63

TEA (PACKAGED) 22 30 48 64

5. Life cycle advantage:

STAGES IN LIFE CYCLE

PRODUCT URBAN MARKET

GROWTH

RATE %

RURAL

Popular soaps Maturity 2 Growth

Premium soaps Late growth 11 Early growth

Washing powder Late growth 6 Early growth

Skin creams Maturity 1.1 Growth

Talcum powder Maturity 4 Growth

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6. Market growth rates higher: Growth rates of the FMCG market and the durable

market are higher in rural areas for many products. The rural market share will be more

than 50% for the products like toilet soaps, body talcum powder, cooking medium (oil),

cooking medium (vanaspati), tea, cigarettes and hair oil.

7. Rural marketing is not expensive: Conventional wisdom dictates that since rural

consumers are dispersed, reaching them is costly. However, new research indicates that the

selling in Rural India is not expensive. According to one research it costs roughly Rs.1

Crore to promote a consumer durable inside a state. This includes the expenses of

advertising in vernacular newspapers, television spots, in-cinema advertising, radio, van

operations and merchandising and point of purchase promotion. Campaign like this, which

can reach millions, costs twice as much in urban area.

8. Remoteness is no longer a problem: Remoteness in a problem but not insurmountable.

The rural distribution is not much developed for the reasons,

Lack of proper infrastructure such as all-weather roads, electrification and

sanitation, and

Lack of marketer’s imagination and initiative.

Marketers have so far, failed in analyzing the rural side and exploiting rural India’s

traditional selling system- Haats & Melas.Their near obsession with just duplicating the

urban-type network and that too with very limited success, has kept them blind to the

potential of these two outlets.

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RURAL VS URBAN MARKETING-SUMMARY

NO. ASPECT URBAN RURAL

1

PHILOSOPHY

Marketing & Societal

Concepts &

Relationship

Marketing

Marketing & Societal

Concepts,

Development

Marketing &

Relationship

Marketing

2 A) MARKET

B) DEMAND High Low

C) COMPETITION Among Units In

Organized Sector

Mostly From

Unorganized Units

CONSUMERS

LOCATION Concentrated Widely Spread

LITERACY High Low

INCOME High Low

EXPENDITURE Planned, Even Seasonal, Variation

NEEDS High Level Low Level

INNOVATION/

ADOPTION

Faster Slow

3 PRODUCT

AWARENESS High Low

CONCEPT Known Less Known

POSITIONING Easy Difficult

USAGE METHOD Easily Grasped Difficult To Grasp

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QUALITY PREFERENCE Good Moderate

4 PRICE

SENSITIVE Yes Very much

LEVEL DESIRED Medium-high Medium-low

5 DISTRIBUTION

CHANNELS

Wholesalers, stockists,

retailer, supermarket,

specialty stores, &

authorised showrooms

Village shops,

“Haats”

TRANSPORT

FACILITIES

Good Average

PRODUCT

AVAILABILITY

High Limited

6 PROMOTION

ADVERTISING

Print, audio visual

media, outdoors,

exhibitions etc. few

languages

TV, radio, print media

to some extent. More

languages

PERSONAL SELLINGDoor-to-door,

frequently

Occasionally

SALES PROMOTIONContests, gifts, price

discount

Gifts, price discounts

PUBLICITY Good opportunities Less opportunities

Special Products for Rural Markets:

Rural Transporter: Mahindra & Mahindra is busy developing the prototype of what it

calls a ‘Rural Transporter’ – basically a hybrid between a tractor and a rural transport

vehicle. The product at 20-25 HP will be targeted at those who cannot afford a normal

tractor and would also fulfill the need of family transporter that could take in the rural

roughs but would be much more comfortable and safer than the conventional tractor-trolley.

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Sampoorna TV: LG Electronics, the Korean firm has rejigged the TV to appeal to local

needs. It spent Rs. 21 Lacs to develop a set that would have on-screen displays in the

vernacular languages of Hindi, Tamil and Bengali. The logic, rural consumers unfamiliar

with English would still be able to use the TV without being intimidated.

Titan Watches: A recent NCAER study revealed that there is a great potential for watches

in rural areas. In fact it is considered to be a high priority list. It was also found that a rural

consumer looks for the ruggedness of the watch more than the urban consumer does. He

prefers thick watches than slim watches.

The biggest problem that the Marketers are facing in the Rural Markets is Of IMITATIONS.

Imitations may result in two types of goods depending upon the purpose, commitment, and

competence of imitator. A poor imitator will end up in producing deceptive, spurious, fake,

copycat products. He dupes the gullible customer by offering products having close

resemblance with the original. In quality, it is poor cousin to the original. On the other hand, a

poor imitator may even produce an improved version of the original product.

In this scenario the job of the Marketer becomes even more difficult in the sense that he has not

to fight other competitors but also the imitated products.

The advantages that these products enjoy in the rural markets are that the Imitators who are in

the villages are making these and they are offering More Margins & Better credit Facilities.

To solve this problem the Marketer has to educate the consumer about his product and show

him the benefits of his products over the imitated ones.

Need-Product Relationships and the changes happening in Rural India

Needs Old Products New Products

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Brushing Teeth Neem sticks, Charcoal,

Rocksalt, Husk

Toothpaste, tooth powder

Washing Vessels Coconut fiber, Earthy

materials, Brick Powder, Ash

Washing Powders, soaps

and liquids

Transport Bullock Cart, Horses,

Donkeys

Tractors, LCVs, Mopeds,

Scooters, Motor cycles

Irrigation Wells, Canals, Water lifters,

Wind Mills

Bore-wells, Motors, Power

Generators, Pump Sets

Hair Wash Shikakai powder, Retha,

Besan

Shampoos and hair care

soaps

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Rural Consumer   Behaviour

Consumer Buyer Behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of final consumers - individuals and

households who buy goods and services for personal consumption. All of these final consumers

combined make up the consumer market.

The consumer market in this case is Rural India. About 70% of India’s population lives in rural

areas. There are more than 600,000 villages in the country as against about 300 cities and 4600

towns. Consumers in this huge segment have displayed vast differences in their purchase

decisions and the product use. Villagers react differently to different products, colours, sizes,

etc. in different parts of India. Thus utmost care in terms of understanding consumer psyche

needs to be taken while marketing products to rural India.

Thus, it is important to study the thought process that goes into making a purchase decision, so

that marketers can reach this huge untapped segment.

Factors influencing buying behavior

The various factors that affect buying behavior of in rural India are:

1. Environmental of the consumer - The environment or the surroundings, within

which the consumer lives, has a very strong influence on the buyer behavior, egs.

Electrification, water supply affects demand for durables.

2. Geographic influences - The geographic location in which the rural consumer is

located also speaks about the thought process of the consumer. For instance, villages

in South India accept technology quicker than in other parts of India. Thus, HMT

sells more winding watches in the north while they sell more quartz watches down

south.

3. Family – it is an important buying decision making organization in consumer

markets. Family size & the roles played by family members exercise considerable

influence on the purchase decisions. Industry observers are increasingly realizing

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that at times, purchase of durable has less to do with income, but has more to do

with the size of the family & that’s where rural India with joint family structures,

becomes an attractive proposition.

4. Economic factors – The quantum of income & the earning stream are one of the

major deciding factors, which determine to a great extent, what the customer will be

able to buy. Many people in the rural market are below poverty line & for large

number of people, agriculture is the primary occupation. More than 70% of the

people are in small-scale agricultural operation. These factors affect the purchase

decision.

5. Place of purchase (60% prefer HAATS due to better quality, variety & price)

Companies need to assess the influence of retailers on both consumers at village

shops and at haats.

6. Creative use of product ex Godrej hair dye being used as a paint to colour horns of

oxen, Washing machine being used for churning lassi. The study of product end

provides indicators to the company on the need for education and also for new

product ideas.

7. Brand preference and loyalty (80% of sale is branded items in 16 product

categories)

Cultural factors influencing consumer behaviour

Cultural factors exert the broadest and deepest influence on consumer behaviour. The marketer

needs to understand the role played by the buyer’s culture. Culture is the most basic element

that shapes a person’s wants and behaviour.

In India, there are so many different cultures, which only goes on to make the marketer’s job

tougher. Some of the few cultural factors that influence buyer behaviour are:

1. Product (colour, size, design, and shape): There are many examples that support this

point.

a. For example, the Tata Sumo, which was launched in rural India in a white

colour, was not well accepted. But however, when the same Sumo was re-

24

launched as Spacio (a different name) and in a bright yellow colour, with a

larger seating capacity and ability to transport good, the acceptance was higher.

b. Another good example would be Philips audio systems. Urban India looks at

technology with the viewpoint of ‘the smaller the better’. However, in rural

India, the viewpoint is totally opposite. That is the main reason for the large

acceptance of big audio systems. Thus Philips makes audio systems, which are

big in size and get accepted in rural India by their sheer size.

2. Social practices : There are so many different cultures, and each culture exhibits

different social practices.

For example, in a few villages they have common bath areas. Villagers used to

buy one Lifebuoy cake and cut it into smaller bars. This helped lifebuoy to

introduce smaller 75-gram soap bars, which could be used individually.

3. Decision-making by male head : The male in Indian culture has always been given the

designation of key decision maker.

For example, the Mukhiya’s opinion (Head of the village), in most cases, is

shared with the rest of the village. Even in a house the male head is the final

decision maker. In rural areas, this trend is very prominent.

4. Changes in saving and investment patterns From gold, land, to tractors, VCR’s, LCV’s

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4 A’s approach of Indian Rural Market

The rural market may be appealing but it is not without its problems: Low per capita disposable

incomes that is half the urban disposable income; large number of daily wage earners, acute

dependence on the vagaries of the monsoon; seasonal consumption linked to harvests and

festivals and special occasions; poor roads; power problems; and inaccessibility to conventional

advertising media.

However, the rural consumer is not unlike his urban counterpart in many ways.

The more daring MNC’s are meeting the consequent challenges of availability, affordability,

acceptability and awareness (the so-called 4 A’s)

» Availability

The first challenge is to ensure availability of the product or service. India's 627,000 villages

are spread over 3.2 million sq km; 700 million Indians may live in rural areas, finding them is

not easy. However, given the poor state of roads, it is an even greater challenge to regularly

reach products to the far-flung villages. Any serious marketer must strive to reach at least

13,113 villages with a population of more than 5,000. Marketers must trade off the distribution

cost with incremental market saturation. Over the years, India's largest MNC, Hindustan Lever,

a subsidiary of Unilever, has built a strong distribution system which helps its brands reach the

interiors of the rural market.

To service remote village, stockiest use autorickshaws, bullock-carts and even boats in the

backwaters of Kerala. Coca-Cola, which considers rural India as a future growth driver, has

evolved a hub and spoke distribution model to reach the villages. To ensure full loads, the

company depot supplies, twice a week, large distributors which who act as hubs. These

distributors appoint and supply, once a week, smaller distributors in adjoining areas. LG

Electronics defines all cities and towns other than the seven metros cities as rural and semi-

urban market. To tap these unexplored country markets, LG has set up 45 area offices and 59

rural/remote area offices.

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» Affordability

The second challenge is to ensure affordability of the product or service. With low disposable

incomes, products need to be affordable to the rural consumer, most of who are on daily wages.

Some companies have addressed the affordability problem by introducing small unit packs.

Most of the shampoos are available in smaller packs. Fair and lovely was launched in a smaller

pack. Colgate toothpaste launched its smaller packs to cater to the travelling segment and the

rural consumers.Godrej recently introduced three brands of Cinthol, Fair Glow and Godrej in

50-gm packs, priced at Rs 4-5 meant specifically for Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh

— the so-called `Bimaru' States.

Hindustan Lever, among the first MNC’s to realize the potential of India's rural market, has

launched a variant of its largest selling soap brand, Lifebuoy at Rs 2 for 50 gm. The move is

mainly targeted at the rural market. Coca-Cola has addressed the affordability issue by

introducing the returnable 200-ml glass bottle priced at Rs 5. The initiative has paid off: Eighty

per cent of new drinkers now come from the rural markets. Coca-Cola has also introduced

Sunfill, a powdered soft-drink concentrate. The instant and ready-to-mix Sunfill is available in

a single-serve sachet of 25 gm priced at Rs 2 and multi serve sachet of 200 gm priced at Rs 15.

» Acceptability

The third challenge is to gain acceptability for the product or service. Therefore, there is a need

to offer products that suit the rural market. One company which has reaped rich dividends by

doing so is LG Electronics. In 1998, it developed a customized TV for the rural market and

christened it Sampoorna. It was a runway hit selling 100,000 sets in the very first year. Because

of the lack of electricity and refrigerators in the rural areas, Coca-Cola provides low-cost ice

boxes — a tin box for new outlets and thermocol box for seasonal outlets.

The insurance companies that have tailor-made products for the rural market have performed

well. HDFC Standard LIFE topped private insurers by selling policies worth Rs 3.5 crores in

total premium. The company tied up with non-governmental organizations and offered

reasonably-priced policies in the nature of group insurance covers. With large parts of rural

India inaccessible to conventional advertising media — only 41 per cent rural households have

access to TV — building awareness is another challenge. Fortunately, however, the rural

consumer has the same likes as the urban consumer — movies and music — and for both the

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urban and rural consumer, the family is the key unit of identity. However, the rural consumer

expressions differ from his urban counterpart. Outing for the former is confined to local fairs

and festivals and TV viewing is confined to the state-owned Doordarshan. Consumption of

branded products is treated as a special treat or luxury.

» Awareness

Brand awareness is another challenge. Fortunately, however, the rural consumer has the same

likes as the urban consumer — movies and music — and for both the urban and rural

consumer, the family is the key unit of identity. However, the rural consumer expressions differ

from his urban counterpart. Outing for the former is confined to local fairs and festivals and TV

viewing is confined to the state-owned Doordarshan. Consumption of branded products is

treated as a special treat or indulgence.

Hindustan Lever relies heavily on its own company-organized media. These are promotional

events organized by stockiest. Godrej Consumer Products, which is trying to push its soap

brands into the interior areas, uses radio to reach the local people in their language.

Coca-Cola uses a combination of TV, cinema and radio to reach 53.6 per cent of rural

households. It doubled it’s spend on advertising on Doordarshan, which alone reached 41 per

cent of rural households. It has also used banners, posters and tapped all the local forms of

entertainment. Since price is a key issue in the rural areas, Coca-Cola advertising stressed its

`magical' price point of Rs 5 per bottle in all media. LG Electronics uses vans and road shows

to reach rural customers. The company uses local language advertising. Philips India uses wall

writing and radio advertising to drive its growth in rural areas.

The key dilemma for MNC’s ready to tap the large and fast-growing rural market is whether

they can do so without hurting the company's profit margins.

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Evolving a New Marketing Mix for Selling to Rural

Indians

12.2% of the world lives in Rural India. Put in a different context, this works out to 1 in 8 people on

Earth. Being able to successfully tap this growing market is every marketer’s dream. However, myths

abound. India’s rural markets are often misunderstood. A clear distinction needs to be made with regard

to the reality versus the image of rural India. If such a distinction is not made, we will be unable to

distinguish between the serpent and the rope and the rope and the serpent.

The rural market is not homogeneous. Though the aggregate size is very large, individual subsets of this

market tend to be rather small and disparate. Geographical, demographical, statistical, logistical

differences are very apparent. Positioning and realities regarding the potential of each of these market

segments differ and lie at the very core of forming the strategy for the rural markets.

The face of Indian agriculture is changing from dry land and irrigated agriculture into high-tech and

low-tech agriculture. Farmers in states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have reaped the benefits of

adopting new age farming practices, including green house cultivation, fert-irrigation and hydroponics.

This has radically changed the economics of farming, with the investment in these systems lowering the

cost of cultivation, increasing yields due to integrated crop management practices and reducing the

dependence on rainfall. As a result, disposable income has grown sharply. The aspirants are becoming

climbers showing a sustained economic upturn as purchasing power is increasing in the rural markets.

The proportion of very rich has increased five- fold. The growing incomes have modified demand

patterns and buyer behaviour. Moreover, the need for a product or service is now adequately backed up

with the capacity, ability and willingness to pay.

However, the market still remains largely unexploited. At most times, potential markets need to

be found and at times, even created. Such creation of demand needs efficient management of the

supply chain. To increase market share, behavioural change needs to be at the forefront of any

strategy. Further, due to the diversity of this market, marketers need to think, plan and act locally.

It is therefore essential to develop an accurate Marketing Mix for selling to rural Indians.

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Product

The Rural market is not a homogenous set of customers with preferences frozen in time. When

developing products in any category, marketers must identify the typical rural specific needs. Urban

products cannot be dumped onto rural markets without modifications. Tailor-made products are better

received by the rural audience as the consumers feel empowered and tend to dentify with the offering.

For instance, shampoos or soaps with distinctive, strong rose or jasmine perfumes are very popular with

the rural women in South India. The urban women do not identify as strongly with these perfumes.

Sachetization is also a distinctly rural-driven phenomenon. As demand in several categories is being

created, intensity of use is quite low. On average, rural folk would use a shampoo only once a week.

Habits take time to change and making unit sachet packs affordable is the key to inducing trial and

purchase.

Systematic, in-depth research that can help understand the depths of the mind of the villagers,

their buying criteria, purchase patterns and purchasing power are an essential input while

developing rural specific products or services.

A common error has been to launch a completely stripped down version of the urban product in the

rural market, with the objective of offering the lowest possible price. This is not what a rural consumer

wants. What is required is to introduce a product with ‘essential’ features, whose needs are recognized

and for which the consumer is willing to pay (value-adding features). Product developers should aim at

eliminating all the cost-adding features, i.e., features which a consumer is unwilling to pay for as he sees

no obvious utility. This would “redefine value” in the minds of the consumer and tremendously increase

product acceptability.

Product development is severely constrained by legislation in the case of agricultural inputs like

fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides. In the case of fertilizers for instance, though levels of deficiency

of nutrients have increased significantly over the past decade, no significant changes in formulations

notified under the Fertilizer Control Order have taken place. This has severely restricted the availability

of cost effective specialty fertilizers of global standards to Indian farmers. Technological know-how for

manufacture of such fertilizers exists within the country. However, farmers using modern farming

practices are unable to get an assured supply of such farm inputs due to draconian legislation. A move to

liberalize the sector could perhaps consider the accepted worldwide norm of allowing manufacturers

with a strong R&D base to decide their own formulations with the government machinery conducting

checks on market samples of finished products to ensure that they live up to the labelled specifications.

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This would be a major policy initiative that would give a huge impetus to innovative product

development in the farm sector.

Product life cycles as are becoming shorter and these are having their impact on company life cycles.

Thus for any company wishing to develop its product portfolio, allegiance to the classic American P-A-

L Principle of Partnership - Alliances - Linkages is a basis for survival.

Pricing

Every marketer must realize that the rural consumer is not a miser. He is not simply looking for

the cheapest product in every category. He understands and demands value for money in every

purchase that he makes. Pricing therefore is a direct function of factors including cost-benefit

advantage and opportunity cost. Pricing offered to consumers should be for value offerings that

are affordable. Price sensitivity is extremely high and comparison with competitive prices is

common. Consumers seem to create narrow psychological price bands in their minds for

product groups and price elasticity beyond the extreme price points is very high. The perceived

utility or value of the product or service is the ultimate decision making factor.

It is certain however, that buying cheap is not the primary objective. Rather, it is “buying smart”. A

study revealed that the average rural consumer takes approximately 2 years to decide on buying a

watch! He will not do so unless he is totally convinced that he is getting value for Money. Impulse buys

and purchases for conspicuous consumption are also extremely few and far Between considering the

“value for money” factor that reigns supreme in most rural purchase decisions.

It must be remembered that the rural consumer does not have a budget problem. He has a cash flow

problem. This is because the village folk receive funds only twice a year. At these times, he is capable

of making high volume purchases. At all times, however, the unit price is critical and so is the pack size.

Because of this, in the lean season when there is a cash flow crunch, marketers need to provide financial

products, schemes or solutions that suit the needs of the rural population.

Promotions & Advertising

There are a lot of barriers that militate against homogenous media and message delivery. These barriers

stem from the fact that rural markets vary immensely in terms of tastes, habits and preferences leading

to different expectations of every segment of the population.

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However, one fact is certain across all areas. The rural consumer likes to touch and feel a product before

making a choice. Demonstrations are undoubtedly the most effective promotional tool that shapes

purchase decisions of the rural population. Demonstrations establish the credentials of any new

technology used in developing the product.

In today’s information era, it is very important for companies to wise-up on emerging technologies. It

has in fact become a medium to attract larger audiences for a product demonstration. Technology must

be used to prepare a database of customers and their requirements. The use of video using mobile vans

and even large screen video walls at events should be arranged.

The classic conundrums of reach and coverage of the media are shattered. Several creative

communication media have been used by various companies to tackle the problem of having to use

visual communication and non-verbal communication to reach the rural audience. This is required

because a large proportion of the rural population cannot read or write. Alliances with cottage

industries, dharmsalas, panchayats, post offices and police stations for advertising have also helped

immensely. More importantly, in rural India, experience has proved time and time again that word of

mouth is the key influencer.

Intermediaries are the foundation to rural distribution. If the intermediary understands and is constantly

reminded about your product, then the end user will not be allowed to forget. The companies must

reinforce this highly effective medium and use all their innovation and money tom develop more

dramatic point of sale and point of contact material. This becomes all the more important when in rural

India, more often than not, the overlap between the product categories sold in a single outlet in

tremendous. For instance, a store may call itself as a grocery store but will stock everything from

groceries to vegetables to fertilizers and may at times even stock medicines. In such cases, the point at

which the customer actually comes in contact with a product may not be the point at which the sale is

affected.

The re-use capacity and colour of the container in which the product is packed is also a crucial factor. In

fact, reusable packaging is considered a major aid in promoting sales for products in the rural market.

Consumer and Trade schemes that Incentivise Spending using discount coupons, off season discounts,

free samples, etc. encourage spending. Lucky draws and gift schemes are a major hit in most states.

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The use of local idioms and colloquial expressions are an excellent way to strike a rapport with the rural

consumer and must be borne in mind when developing media plans and public relations programmes.

No high voltage publicity is required. The rural consumer is very down to earth but equally discerning

and marketers need to step into the shoes of the rural folk while creating product promotion campaigns.

Another unique feature of rural markets is that the Decision making process is collective. The persons

involved in the purchase process - influencer, decider, buyer, one who pays can all be different. So

marketers must address brand messages in their campaigns at several levels. Apart from regular

household goods, several agribusiness companies have also started providing gift schemes with offers

for free jewellery that influences the ladies to pressure the farmers to purchase agricultural inputs from

select companies. This promotion strategy thus makes women influence purchase decisions that they

would ordinarily not be involved in.

Youth power is becoming increasingly evident in villages. Rural youth bring brand knowledge to the

households. This has forced several companies to change the focus and positioning of their products and

services towards this segment that is growing in absolute number and relative influence.

There are other attributes in the promotion strategy which are explained as under:

1.      Mass media: In the present world mass media is a powerful medium of communication.

The following are the mass media generally used:

Television.

Cinema

Radio

Print media: Handbills and Booklets, posters, stickers, banners, etc.

2.      Personal selling and opinion leaders: In personal selling it is required that the potential

users are identified and awareness is created among them about the product, its features, uses

and benefits. This can be achieved only by personal selling by highly motivated sales person. In

fact the word of mouth information holds lot validity in rural areas even today. This is the

reason why opinion leaders and word of mouth are thriving among rural consumers. An

opinion leader in rural areas can be defined as a person who is considered to be knowledgeable

and is consulted by others and his advice is normally followed. The opinion leaders may be big

landlords or politicians or progressive farmers.

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3.      Special campaigns: During crop harvest and marketing seasons it is beneficial to take up

special promotion campaigns in rural areas. Tractor owners (tonee) conducted by MRF Limited

is one such example. Brooks Bond carries out marches in rural areas with band, music and

caparisoned elephants to promote their brand of tea.  

Mandi and Mela magic

At last count, India witnessed over 50,000 melas. Of these 25,000 meals are held to signify religious,

cultural festivals as well as local fairs and events. On an average, visitors at these melas spend between

Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 50,000 a day. For example, 3 lakh people visited the annual mela at Navchadi which

lasts for 7 days in Meerut. The largest such mela is the Maha Kumbh Mela which is visited by an

average of 12 crore people.

There is however, a caveat when an organization is considering using mela for marketing their products.

Is the audience at this mela fit for promotion of the product at hand? What are the psychographics of

this audience? What is the motivational and behavioural impetus that brings visitors to each of these

melas. On considering these questions, it has been observed that melas are fit to generate product

exposure, package familiarity, brand reminder and word of mouth. However, for products that need

concept marketing and those that have high prices, such melas are not suitable promotion media. This is

because the time and the mood of the people that visit these melas are not right to digest technical

information or for making large purchases. People come to melas to have a good time and are not

reminded of such high technology or high priced products when they return home. In the words of Mr.

Neville Gomes, Managing Director of Multimedia Aquarius, promotion at melas is like a “one night

stand”. There will be no reminder later. Thus, a large amount of qualitative judgment is indeed in

planning promotions at melas by media planners.

Place

place is the major reason behind the evolution of rural marketing as a distinct discipline. A village as a

place for promotion, distribution & consumption is very different from a town or city, thus the general

marketing theories can’t be applied directly in rural markets.

Reaching the right place is the toughest part in today’s rural marketing, as most of the products reach up

to the nearest townships of any village, but due to higher distribution costs, these products fails to reach

the village as the distribution channel fails to put in the required efforts. Most of the times, the rural

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retailers themselves go to the urban areas to procure these goods. Rural markets imply complex

logistical challenges that show up as high distribution costs.

Significance of Distribution

No matter how well devised a company’s product, pricing or promotion strategy, the most crucial link

in ensuring the success of rural marketing efforts is distribution. Distribution must be strengthened and

this would raise investment cost barriers for new entrants.

In Rural India, the selection and use of distribution channels is a nightmare. The reason for this is very

clear when we consider that on an average, Urban and Rural India both have approximately 3 million

retail outlets. However, Urban India has only 4,000 towns where these outlets are located. On the other

hand, Rural India’s 3 million outlets are located in 6.3 lakh villages. Thus, marketers are faced with the

problem of feeding 3 million shops located in vastly diverse areas each of which records an average sale

of only Rs.5,000 per outlet. Further compounding this problem is the fact that even this meagre sale is

mostly on credit. The diversity in the distribution of shops is the self-limiting factor in terms of

servicing the rural distribution network.

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The distribution of outlets however shows that a marketer need not be present in all markets at all times.

Being present in 6 lakh villages is virtually impossible for an organization of any size. Rural wealth and

demand is concentrated typically at satellite towns, district headquarters, assembly markets and such

central locations. Rural distribution has a rigid hierarchy of markets that make channel decisions

relatively structured.

It is essential for rural marketing companies to understand this hierarchy. Rural folk are habituated to

travelling once a week for their weekly purchases to a satellite town. They do not expect such items to

be present in every village. For durables where the outlay involved is typically large, the purchase

would be made in an assembly market for reasons of choice and availability of adequate cash flow. This

is due to the fact that it is at assembly markets that auction yards are present where the farmers

congregate to sell their output. After such sale of produce, they are cash rich and can afford to make

such purchases. It is therefore not necessary for a marketer of TV sets to take their distribution channel

all the way down to the village shop. A TV will not be sold there as the cash flow does not exist at that

point in the hierarchy of markets. A television distributor must be present at assembly markets which

are much smaller in number, more controllable, easier to reach and service. Keeping the hierarchy in

mind will help decide the optimum level of penetration required to reach a critical mass of rural

consumers.

Haats

Haats are the nerve centre of Rural India. They are a readymade distribution network embedded in the

fabric of rural society for over 1000 years. They have been held on a regular basis across the length and

36

breadth of the country for over 1000 years. Right from the time of Chandragupta Maurya, Haats are

seen as a place for social, cultural and economic interchange.

One in every five villages with a population of over 2000 has a haat. In villages with less than 2000

people this figure reduces to 1 in 20 villages. Typically, an average haat will have close to 300 stalls. A

haat usually serves around 5000 visitors. Considering that the average population of an Indian village is

approximately 1000, each haat serves 5 villages. A study estimates that 47,000 haats are conducted in

rural India. These rural super markets are much larger than all the world's K-marts and Wal-marts put

together.

A lot of re-distribution also occurs through haats. This is because, a large number of retailers and sub-

wholesalers buy from haats for their village stores. What is most attractive to marketers is that 90% + of

sales in haats are on cash basis. Traditionally, in village shops a lot of credit sales occur due to the fact

that in a small geographic area of a village, everybody knows everybody. Considering that over 5000

visit a haat from 5 villages, the system gets derelationalised. Apart from the 90% cash sale, 5 to 7% is

conducted on barter system and the rest 3 to 5% is on credit. Also attractive to companies wishing to use

the system is the low selling overheads. Participation fees at haats are a flat Re.1 to Rs.5 per stall and

this rate is common to a giant like Hindustan Lever and the smallest local seller.

Distribution costs must be reduced through optimum utilization of the network. Thus, incorporating

haats in the distribution strategy of a rural marketing organization selling consumer goods and FMCG

products (typically once a week purchase items) is a tremendous opportunity.

Perhaps the other most important factor to consider while developing rural distribution strategy is that

the move from transactional marketing to relationship marketing is most evident in the village market.

A strong bond needs to be created with every consumer even in the remotest village and the smallest

town. Marketing in Rural India is undoubtedly a long-haul exercise and one that involves great expense.

Only those with a strong mind, a tough heart and stiff hands survive.

There is also a need to realise that the dealer is the company's "unpaid" sales force. It is essential

to educate and involve him as he is the local company representative and is the only member in

the channel of distribution that is in direct contact with the final consumer. The dealers' feedback needs

to be obtained as the direction for future strategy emanates here.

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MARKRTING STRATEGIES TO CAPTURE RURAL INDIA

SEGMENTATION OF RURAL MARKET

The first step is to develop & implement any strategy for the rural market should include the

appropriate segmentation of the rural market. The important thing is that appropriate

segmentation basis need to be applied. Different product categories have different rural markets

to cater to & these can be selected by applying different criteria of segmentation. The

organization can do the following thing to start with:

Focus on select markets.

Focus on select villages.

BY COMMUNICATING AND CHANGING QUALITY PERCEPTION

Companies are coming up with new technology and they are properly communicating it to the

customer. There is a trade of between Quality a customer perceives and a company wants to

communicate. Thus, this positioning of technology is very crucial. The perception of the Indian

about the desired product is changing. Now they know the difference between the products and

the utilities derived out of it. As a rural Indian customer always wanted value for money with

the changed perception, one can notice difference in current market scenario.

BY PROPER COMMUNICATION IN INDIAN LANGUAGE

The companies have realized the importance of proper communication in local language for

promoting their products. They have started selling the concept of quality with proper

communication. Their main focus is to change the Indian customer outlook about quality. With

their promotion, rural customer started asking for value for money.

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BY TARGET CHANGING PERCEPTION

If one go to villages they will see that villagers using Toothpaste, even when they can use

Neem or Babool sticks or Gudakhu, villagers are using soaps like Nima rose, Breeze, Cinthol

etc. even when they can use locally manufactured very low priced soaps. Villagers are

constantly looking forward for new branded products. What can one infer from these incidents,

is the paradigm changing and customer no longer price sensitive? Indian customer was never

price sensitive, but they want value for money. They are ready to pay premium for the product

if the product is offering some extra utility for the premium.

BY UNDERSTANDING CULTURAL AND SOCIAL VALUES

Companies have recognized that social and cultural values have a very strong hold on the

people. Cultural values play major role in deciding what to buy. Moreover, rural people are

emotional and sensitive. Thus, to promote their brands, they are exploiting social and cultural

values.

BY PROVIDING WHAT CUSTOMER WANT

The customers want value for money. They do not see any value in frills associated with the

products. They aim for the basic functionality. However, if the seller provides frills free of cost

they are happy with that. They are happy with such a high technology that can fulfil their need.

As "Motorola" has launched, seven models of Cellular Phones of high technology but none

took off. On the other hand, "Nokia" has launched a simple product, which has captured the

market.

BY PROMOTING PRODUCTS WITH INDIAN MODELS AND ACTORS

Companies are picking up Indian models, actors for advertisements as this helps them to show

themselves as an Indian company. Diana Hyden and Shahrukh Khan are chosen as a brand

ambassador for MNC quartz clock maker "OMEGA" even though when they have models like

Cindy Crawford.

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BY ASSOCIATING THEMSELVES WITH INDIA

MNCs are associating themselves with India by talking about India, by explicitly saying that

they are Indian. M-TV during Independence Day and Republic daytime make their logo with

Indian tri-colour. Nokia has designed a new cellular phone 5110, with the India tri-colour and a

ringing tone of "Sare Jahan se achcha".

BY PROMOTING INDIAN SPORTS TEAM

Companies are promoting Indian sports teams so that they can associate themselves with India.

With this, they influence Indian mindset. LG has launched a campaign "LG ki Dua, all the

best". ITC is promoting Indian cricket team for years; during world cup they have launched a

campaign "Jeeta hai jitega apna Hindustan India India India". Similarly, Whirlpool has also

launched a campaign during world cup.

BY TALKING ABOUT A NORMAL INDIAN

Companies are now talking about normal India. It is a normal tendency of an Indian to try to

associate him/her with the product. If he/she can visualize himself/herself with the product,

he /she become loyal to it. That is why companies like Daewoo based their advertisements on a

normal Indian family.

BY DEVELOPING RURAL-SPECIFIC PRODUCTS

Many companies are developing rural-specific products. Keeping into consideration the

requirements, a firm develops these products. Electrolux is working on a made-for India fridge

designed to serve basic purposes: chill drinking water, keep cooked food fresh, and to

withstand long power cuts.

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BY GIVING INDIAN WORDS FOR BRANDS

Companies use Indian words for brands. Like LG has used India brand name "Sampoorna" for

its newly launched TV. The word is a part of the Bengali, Hindi, Marathi and Tamil tongue. In

the past one year, LG has sold one lakh 20-inch Sampoorna TVs, all in towns with a population

of around 10,000.

BY ACQUIRING INDIAN BRANDS

As Indian brands are operating in India for a long time and they enjoy a good reputation in

India. MNCs have found that it is much easier for them to operate in India if they acquire an

Established Indian Brand. Electrolux has acquired two Indian brands Kelvinator and Allwyn

this has gave them the well-established distribution channel. As well as trust of people, as

people believe these brands. Similarly Coke has acquired Thumps up, Gold Spot, Citra and

Limca so that they can kill these brands, but later on they realized that to survive in the market

and to compete with their competitor they have to rejuvenate these brands.

BY EFFECTIVE MEDIA COMMUNICATION

Media Rural marketing is being used by companies. They can either go for the traditional

media or the modern media. The traditional media include melas, puppetry, folk theatre etc.

while the modern media includes TV, radio, and e-chaupal. LIC uses puppets to educate rural

masses about its insurance policies. Govt of India uses puppetry in its campaigns to press ahead

social issues. Brook Bond Lipton India ltd used magicians electively for launch of Kadak Chap

Tea in Etawah district. In between such a show, the lights are switched of and a torch is flashed

in the dark (EVEREADYs tact).

BY ADOPTING LOCALISED WAY OF DISTRIBUTING

Proper distribution channels are recognized by companies. The distribution channel could be

big scale Super markets; they thought that a similar system can be grown in India. However,

they were wrong; soon they realized that to succeed in India they have to reach the nook and

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the corner of the country. They have to reach the "local Paan wala, Local Baniya" only they can

succeed. MNC shoe giants, Adidas, Reebok, and Nike started with exclusive stores but soon

they realized that they do not enjoy much Brand Equity in India, and to capture the market

share in India they have to go the local market shoe sellers. They have to reach to local cities

with low priced products.

BY ASSOCIATING THEMSELVES WITH INDIAN CELEBRITIES

MNCs have realized that in India celebrities enjoyed a great popularity so they now associate

themselves with Indian celebrities. Recently Luxor Writing Instruments Ltd. a JV of Gillette

and Luxor has launched 500 "Gajgamini" ranges of Parker Sonnet Hussain special edition

fountain pens, priced at Rs. 5000. This pen is signed by Mr. Makbul Fida Hussain a renowned

painter who has created "Gajgamini" range of paintings. Companies are promoting players like

Bhaichung Bhutia, who is promoted by Reebok, so that they can associate their name with

players like him and get popularity.

MELAS

Melas are places where villagers gather once in a while for shopping. Companies take

advantage of such events to market their products. Dabur uses these events to sell products like

JANAM GHUTI (Gripe water). NCAER estimates that around half of items sold in these melas

are FMCG products and consumer durables. Escorts also display its products like tractors and

motorcycles in such melas.

PAINTINGS

A picture is worth thousand words. The message is simple and clean. Rural people like the

sight of bright colors. COKE, PEPSI and TATA traders advertise their products through

paintings.

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Product Strategies

The specific strategies, which can be employed to develop or modify the products to targets the rural

market, can be classified as follows:

.1.    Small unit packing: Given the low per capita income & purchasing habits of the rural

consumers, small unit packages stand a good chance of acceptance in rural market. Single serve

packets or sachets are enormously popular in India. They allow consumers to buy only what

they need, experiment with new products, & conserve cash at the same time.

This method has been tested by products life shampoos, pickles, biscuits, Vicks cough drops in

single tablets, tooth paste, etc. Small packing’s stand a good chance of acceptance in rural

markets. The advantage is that the price is low and the rural consumer can easily afford it.

 Also the Red Label Rs. 3.00 pack has more sales as compared to the large pack. This is

because it is very affordable for the lower income group with the deepest market reach making

easy access to the end user satisfying him.

The small unit packing’s will definitely attract a large number of rural consumers.

2.      New product designs: Keeping in view the rural life style the manufacturer and the

marketing men can think in terms of new product designs. The rural product usage environment

is tough because of rough handling, rough roads & frequent power fluctuations. Thus, all these

environmental factors must be considered while developing the products meant for rural

audience.

Nokia’s 1100 model is a very good example of a customized model for rural markets. Its design

has been modified to protect it against rough usage in rural environment; it is dust resistant &

has a small torch light in view of the frequent power cuts in rural India. It is also introduces

messaging in Hindi language now, in some of the economically priced models in order to cater

to the semi-urban or rural consumers. This is in real terms, thinking global & acting local.

3.      Sturdy products: Sturdiness of a product is an important factor for rural consumers. The

product should be sturdy enough to stand rough handling, transportation & storage. The

experience of torch light dry battery cell manufacturers supports this because the rural

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consumers preferred dry battery cells which are heavier than the lighter ones. For them, heavier

weight meant that it has more over and durability. Sturdiness of a product either or appearance

is an important for the rural consumers. 

4.      Utility oriented products: The rural consumers are more concerned with utility of the

product and its appearance Philips India Ltd. Developed and introduced a low cost medium

wave receiver named BAHADUR during the early seventies. Initially the sales were good but

declined subsequently.

On investigation it was found that the rural consumer bought radios not only for information

and news but also for entertainment. 

5.      Brand name: For identification, the rural consumers do give their own brand name on the

name of an item. The fertilizers companies normally use a logo on the fertilizer bags though

fertilizers have to be sold only on generic names. A brand name or a logo is very important for

a rural consumer for it can be easily remembered. Many a time’s rural consumers ask for peeli

tikki in case of conventional and detergent washing soap.

Nirma made a peeli tikki especially for those peeli tikki users who might have experienced

better cleanliness with the yellow colored bar as compared to the blue one although the actual

difference is only of the color.

e.g.: Coca-Cola targeted the whole Indian rural market with the positioning of “Thanda Matlab

Coca-Cola” advertisements because most of the villagers say when wanting a drink refer to it

as Thanda…… so Coca-cola used that word.

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Pricing strategies

1.      Low cost/ cheap products: This follows from the product strategy. The price can be kept

low by low unit packaging’s like paisa pack of tea, shampoo sachets, vicks 5 grams tin, etc. this

is a common strategy widely adopted by many manufacturing and marketing concerns. 

2.      Refill packs / Reusable packaging: In urban areas most of the health drinks are available.

The containers can be put to multipurpose uses. Such measures can a significant impact in the

rural market. 

For example, the rural people can efficiently reuse the plastic bottle of hair oil. Similarly the

packages of edible oil, tea, coffee, ghee etc can be reused. Pet jars free with the Hasmukhrai

and Co Tea, Ariel Super Compact. 

3.      Application of value engineering: in food industry, Soya protein is being used instead of

milk protein. Milk protein is expensive while Soya protein is cheaper, but the nutrition content

of both is the same. The basic aim is to reduce the value of the product, so that a larger segment

can afford it, thus, expanding the market.

4. Large volume-low margins (Rapid or slow penetration strategy): Marketers have to

focus on generating large volumes & not big profit margins on individual products. If they

price their product at a level which can lead to good volumes, then they can still generate good

returns on the capital employed.

5. Overall efficiency & passing on benefits to consumers: For rural products, the strategy

should be to cut down the production, distribution & advertising costs & passing on these

benefits to the customers to further increase the turnover. Most often, it has been observed that

advertising has less to do with product sales in the rural areas. If an organization gets the price

point right, then it can work in rural market.

6. Low volume-low price strategy: This strategy of reducing prices by reducing the package

size in order to make it appear more affordable, is delivering very good results for a large

number of FMCG product categories, in the rural markets of India. In categories where

maintaining the price point is extremely critical, this strategy is delivering very good results.

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7. Ensuring price compliance: Rural retailers, most of the times, charges more than the MRP.

The manufacture has to ensure price compliance either through promotional campaigns, as was

done by Coca Cola, or by ensuring the availability of products at the retail outlets directly.

Promotion strategies

Customized promotional media & messages need to be developed by the organizations to

effectively target the rural market. The following strategies can be considered while developing

promotional campaigns for the rural markets:

1. Think Global Act Local

Rural population is diverse, but the commonalities of their ethos & simple living habits

need to be understood for advertising to succeed. For that, the theme of the

advertisement needs to revolve among universal themes, such as family-love. But the

context, storyline, language & idioms should be such that the rural audience of different

rural market segments can relate to.

2. Think in Local Idiom

This is the need of the advertising professionals who can think like the rural people. The

only we can have insights like ‘Thanda matlab Coca Cola’. There should be the use of

language writers who understands the rural & regional pulse better.

3. Simplicity & Clarity

All promotional messages targeted at rural audience need to be simple & clear, which

can be easily understood, & they should not include any confusing elements. It is

preferable that it has only a few propositions at a time. Bombarding rural consumers

with too much, in less time can easily confuse them & leave them bewildered.

Promotional message should highlight only the functional values of the product &

explains how those values can make the consumer’s life even better & solve any of his

problems.

4. Narrative Story Style

The promotional message can be delivered in the form of an entertaining story with a

message depicting how the brand delivers “larger good” to the family & society. The

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theme of the story line can be about how the product can solve the problems of the rural

consumers.

5. Choice of Brand Ambassador

Brand Ambassador for the rural markets need to be picked carefully as urban successes

might not get replicated in the rural markets. That is why Govinda in the Mirinda as

boosted the sales of the drink in the rural markets. An organization might spend a lot of

money in hiring a brand ambassador only to find out later that it had little impact on the

rural consumer.

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

Many companies view the rural markets as great opportunity for expanding their sales but find

distribution as a major problem. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to transplant strategies

which work successfully in urban markets onto rural markets, namely, extensive retailing and

sustained pull generation through mass media advertising.

The road blocks to reach the rural customers are:

Lack of adequate transport facilities.

Large distances between villages.

Lack of pucca roads connecting villages to nearest townships.

Lack of proper retail outlets

Lack of mass media infrastructure.

The marketers were of the opinion that the villagers would come to nearby towns and buy the

products that they want.

What has been found is that if we have to serve the rural consumer we will have to take our

products to him through the channels that he is using and some innovative ways of getting to

him.

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The following distribution strategies formulated for the rural category. 

1.      Coverage of villages with 2000 and above population: Ideally, coverage of villages with

up to 2000 and above population could be the break-even point for a distribution setup. By

doing so the percentage of villages covered comes to only 10% of all the villages, but the rural

population covered will be substantial, to the extent of about 40 to 45 percent. With a

distribution network in about 55,000 villages, which have a population of 2000 persons &

above each, one can cover about 25 crores rural consumers. This strategy is good to begin with

& then subsequently, villages with lesser populations can be added.

2. Segmentation: the number of villages in India is huge & it is not viable to contact & serve

all villages directly. Therefore, companies or distributors can carefully examine the market

potential of different villages & target the villages that can be served in a financially viable

manner through an organized distribution effort.

3.      Use of co-operative societies: There are over 3 lacks co-operative societies operating in

rural areas for different purposes like marketing cooperatives, farmer’s service cooperatives

and other multipurpose cooperatives. These cooperatives have an arrangement for centralized

procurement and distribution through their respective state level federation. Such state level

federation can be motivated to procure and distribute consumables items and low value durable

items to the members to the society for serving to the rural consumers. Many of the societies

extend credit to the members for purchases. 

4.      Utilization of public distributory system: The PDS in the country is fairly well

organized. The revamped PDS places more emphasis on reaching remote rural areas like the

hills and tribal’s. The purpose of PDS is to make available essential commodities like food

grains, sugar, kerosene, edible oils and others to the consumers at a reasonable price. The shops

that distribute these commodities are called fair price shops. These shops are run by the state

civil Supplies Corporation, co-operatives as well as private entrepreneurs. Here again there is

an arrangement for centralized procurement and distribution. The manufacturing and marketing

men should explore effective utilization of PDS.

5.      Utilization of multipurpose distribution centers by petroleum/oil companies: In order

to cater to the rural areas the petroleum/oil companies have evolved a concept of multipurpose

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distribution centers in rural areas. In addition to petrol/diesel, lubricants, these outlets also stock

consumables agricultural inputs like fertilizers, pesticides and seeds. It is estimated that there

are about 450 such outlets in operation in the country. The rural consumer who has tractors, oil-

engine pump sets and mopeds frequent these outlets for their requirement. These outlets can be

profitably utilized for selling consumables and durable items also. 

6.      Distribution up to feeder markets/mandi towns: Keeping in view the hierarchy of

markets for the rural consumers, the feeder markets and mandi towns offer excellent scope for

distribution. The rural customers visit these towns at regular intervals not only for selling the

agricultural produce but also for purchasing cloth, jewelry, hardware, radios, torch cells and

other durables and consumer products. From the feeder markets and mandi towns the stockiest

or wholesaler can arrange for distribution to the village shops in the interior places. This

distribution can be done by mopeds, cycles, bullock-carts, camelbacks etc. depending upon the

township.  

7.      Shandies/Haaths/Jathras/Melas: These are places where the rural consumers congregate

as a rule. While shandies/heaths are held a particular day every week, Jathras and melas are

held once or twice a year for longer durations. They are normally timed with religious festivals.

Such places attract large number of itinerant merchants. Only temporary shops come up selling

goods of all kinds. It can be beneficial for companies to organize sales of their product at such

places. Promotion can be taken, as there will be ready captive audience. For convincing the

manufacturing and marketing man with regard to the importance of these places from rural

marketing point of view a visit to such places is necessary. It is estimated that over 5,000 fairs

are held in the country and the estimated attendance is about 100 million rural consumers.

Biggest fair ‘Pushkar Mela’ is estimated to attract over 10 million people. There are 50 such

big rural fairs held in various parts of country, which attract urbanite also like

‘Mankanavillaku’ in Malappara in Kerela, Kumbh Mela at Hardwar in U.P. ‘Periya Kirthigai’

at Tiruparunkunaram in Tamil Nadu. 

Merits:

Convenience: The entire market can be related to large departmental stores in cities,

where the advantage is a one-stop shopping exercise. These outlets crop up every week,

providing consumers immense choice and prices.

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Attractive: The weekend shopping is not only convenient but also entertaining. The

markets start early and will be over by lunch. Afterwards, there will be entertainment.

In respect of transactions, it is an attractive place to those who want to buy second hand

durables and to those who prefer barter transactions. Further the freshness of the

produce, buying in bulk for, a week and the bargaining advantage attract the frugal and

weeklong hard working rural folk.

Availability: It is a market for everyone and for everything. Household goods, clothes,

durables, jewellery, cattle, machinery, farming equipment, raw materials and a host of

products are available.

8.      Agricultural Input Dealers: Fertilizers should be made available to the farmers within the

range of 4-5 km from their residence, as per the essential commodities act. This is why there

are about 2 lakh fertilizer dealers in the country, both in cooperative & private sector. Example

of Varana Nagar in Maharashtra proved an eye opener in this regard where the sugar and milk

co-operatives have totally changed the life style of people. The supermarket in Varana Nagar

caters exclusively to rural consumers. Similarly a co-operative supermarket called

‘Chintamani’ in Coimbatore (T.N) arranges free transit of rural consumers to the supermarket

of their purchases. 

9. Joint distribution by Non-competing Companies: As the cost of distributing the products

in the rural market through distribution vans can be unviable for a single company, different

non-competing companies can come together to jointly operate distribution vans for the rural

market. This will enable them to share the cost of operating the van & on account of the sharing

of the cost by four or five companies; the entire operation can become financially viable for all

the players.

10. Personal Selling Network: It is very successful distribution channel being developed by

companies like HUL. It adds a personal touch to the marketing, as the salesmen are the resident

of the village or community itself, making it easier to sell the product & maximise sales for the

company.

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THE OLD SETUP

The historically available people & places for distribution include: - Whole seller, Retailer,

Vans, Weekly Haats, and Bazaars & Shadies.

1. Wholesalers

The Indian wholesaler is principally a Galla – Kirana (food-grain) merchant who sustains

the belief that business is speculative rather than distributive in character.

He is a trader / commodity merchant rather than a distributor and therefore tends to support

a brand during boom and withdraw support during slump.

The reason for this speculative character and dormant role of wholesalers are: -

Indian market was largely sellers market. There was no need for active sales growth.

Companies laid more emphasis or retailers in urban areas, who are very large in

number. As a result of retail based distribution was weakened.

Rural markets were neglected by many. The occurrence of retail outlets was low.

Therefore many companies were dependent on whole salers.

The current need is to activate and develop wholesaler of the adjoining market as a

distributor of products to rural retail outlets and build his loyalties to the company.

2. Retailers

There are different kinds of retailers.

Shops within the village

Shops located on the main road and not exactly within the village

Kasba market or the tahsil market.

Village retailers have traditionally been among the most mobile of rural residents.

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Often doubling up as money lenders.

Their multi – person interaction in the closed village society.

As a result retailers play a significant role.

I. CREDIBILITY: -

He enjoys the confidence of the villagers.

His views are accepted and followed by the rural people whose awareness

and media exposure levels are low.

(- The urban retailer is not trusted.

- He is seen as a businessman with profit motto.

- His view points are evaluated with other sources of information.)

II. INFLUENCE LEADER: -

His role as influence leader is indisputable. From tender twig of neem to

washing powder retailer testimony has been vital part of the product

adoption process.

The role of urban retailer is weak.

The urban consumers have numerous sources of information.

Although retailer’s opinion is sought it may not be 100% believed and

followed.

III. BRAND PROMOTER: -

In rural market retailers remains the deciding factor to sell particular brand.

Retailers helps in identification and selection of brands, there is less

influence of shelf displays and point of purchase promotion.

Presence of spurious brands is an ample testimony to this view.

(- The urban retailer has a limited role as a brand promoter.

- He cannot directly, recommend the brands.

- He is to intelligently drive home his recommendations, as

urban consumers do not trust him completely.

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- It is through shelf displays and incentive offers that he has to push the

brands.)

IV. RELATIONSHIP MARKETER

Village retailer practices relationship marketing.

He caters to a set of buyers who have income from immovable land

resources and would be static over a much longer time span.

The relationship could extend beyond three generations, backed by historical

credibility of the retailer as a product referral.

(- on the contrary, the urban retailers have to make an effort to adopt

relationship marketing.

- His customers base comprises largely the mobile service class prone to

shift residence at least once, if not more, in less than a decade. This

limits the time span and perspective of the retailer – customer

relationship.)

V. HARBINGER OF CHANGE

In an environment relatively isolated from external developments, he has

been harbinger of change.

He is one of the main sources of information and opinion as well as

supplier of product and services.

(As against this, we find urban retailer, wielding limited influence in changing

the product choices and quality of life of consumers.)

3. Vans

Mobile vans long since, have an important place in distribution and promotion

of the products in villages.

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JK Dairy launched whitener ‘Dairy Top’ in small 50 gm sachets priced at Rs. 6.50. It decided to make a concerted foray into rural India in 1996. It hired vans to penetrate the rural interior, each van traveling around 125 km a day, 25 days a month.

4. Weekly Haats, Bazaars, Shandies

The haats are the oldest outlets to purchase household goods and for trade. These markets

are very well organized with shopkeepers having pre-assigned spaces for them to sell their

wares. A typical market is in an open field with ample space for displaying all sorts of

goods. Its location changes every week. These markets have different names in different

regions. But they are strikingly similar in what they sell. It is reported that there are, in all,

about 47,000 haats held throughout the country.

Media Vehicles

Through the rural markets offer big attractions to the marketers, one of the most

important questions frequently asked is “How do we reach the large rural population through

different media and methods?

Mass Media Local Media Personalized Media

Radio Haats, Melas, Fairs Direct Communication

Cinema Wall Paintings Dealers

Press Hoardings Sales Persons

TV Leaflets

Video Vans

Folk Media

Animal Parade

Transit Media

Researchers

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Formal media

It includes Press and print, TV, Cinema, Radio, and Point of purchase and Outdoor

advertisement. Reach of formal media is low in rural households (Print: 18%, TV: 27%,

Cinema: 30%, and Radio: 37%) and therefore the marketer has to consider the following

points:

Newspapers and magazines:

English newspapers and magazines have negligible circulation in rural areas. However local

language newspapers and magazines are becoming popular among educated facilities in

rural areas. Examples: Newspapers: Eenadu in A.P., Dina Thanthi in Tamil Nadu, Punjab

Kesari in the North, Loksatta in Maharashtra and Tamil magazine Kumudam are very

popular in rural areas.

Television:

It has made a great impact and large audience has been exposed to this medium. HLL has

been using TV to communicate with the rural masses. Lifebuoy, Lux, Nihar oil etc are some

of the products advertised via television. Regional TV channels have become very popular

especially in Southern states. Examples: SUN TV is very popular even in rural areas in

Tamil Nadu and Asianet is a preferred regional channel in Kerala. Many consumer goods

companies and fertilizer companies are using these TV channels to reach the rural

customer.

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Radio:

Radio reaches large population in rural areas at a relatively low cost. Example: Colgate,

Jyoti Labs, Zandu Balm, Zuari industries are some of the companies using radio

communication programme. There are specific programmes for farmers like Farm and

Home/Krishi Darshan in regional languages. The farmers have a habit of listening to

regional news/agricultural news in the morning and the late evening. The advertisement has

to be released during this time to get maximum coverage in rural areas. Another advantage

is that the radio commercial can be prepared at short notice to meet the changing needs of

the rural folk. Example: Release of a pesticide ad at the time of outbreak of a pest or disease

in crops.

Cinema:

About 65% of the earnings from cinema are from rural markets. Film viewing habits is high

in certain states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Village theatres do

roaring business during festivals by having four shows per day. The monthly charge for

showing an ad film is within Rs.500. Local distributor or dealer who has good contacts with

cinema houses in villages can easily monitor this activity. Examples: Films on products like

Vicks, Lifebuoy and SPIC fertilizers are shown in rural cinema halls. Apart from films, Ad

slides can also be screened in village theatres.

Outdoor advertisements:

This form of media, which includes signboards, wall painting, hoarding, tree boards, bus

boards, dealer boards, product display boards etc, is cost effective in rural areas. Symbols,

pictures and colours should be used in POPs meant for rural markets so that they can easily

identify the products. Generally rural people prefer bright colours and the marketer should

Utilize such cues.

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Point of purchase:

Display of hangings, festoons and product packs in the shops will catch the attention of

prospective buyers. However a clutter of such POP materials of competing companies will

not have the desired effect and is to be avoided.

Direct mail advertising:

It is a way of passing on information relating to goods or services for sale, directly to

potential customers through the medium of post. It is a medium employed by the advertiser

to bring in a personal touch. In cities lot of junk mail is received by all of us and very often

such mails are thrown into the dustbin whereas a villager get very few letters and he is

receptive to such mailers.

Wall paintings:

It is an effective and economical medium for communication in rural areas, since it stays

there for a long time depending upon the weather conditions. The cost of painting one

square foot area is just Rs.10. Retailers welcome painting of their shops so that the shop

will look better. Walls of farm houses, shops and schools are ideal places for painting and

the company need not have to pay any rent for the same. The walls have to be painted at

least one or two feet from ground level. It is better to take permission of the owner. Very

often the owner takes responsibility for taking care of the wall painting. Painting to be

57

avoided during election time and rainy season. The matter should be in the form of pictures,

slogans for catching the attention of people. Companies marketing TV, fans, branded

coffee/tea, toothpaste, pesticides, fertilizers etc. use wall painting as promotion medium in

rural areas.

Tree boards:

These are painted boards of about two square feet in dimension having the picture or name or

slogan of the product painted on it. The cost of such a painted board is about Rs.80. These

boards are fixed to the trees on both sides of the village road at a height of about 10 feet from

ground level. These boards attract the attention of slow moving vehicles like cycles, bullock

carts and tractors and people walking on the road. Considering the poor condition of roads,

even the buses move at slow speed through village road. Fertilizer and pesticide companies in

rural areas extensively use tree boards. These are low priced promotion items and can be used

by consumer goods companies too.

Informal/Rural specific media

These media with effective reach and personalized communication will help in realizing the

promotional objectives. Companies to suit the specific requirements of rural

communication are using a variety of such media effectively and some of the more

important media and methods are given below.

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Farm-to-Farm/House-to-House visit:

Rural people prefer face-to-face communication and farm visits facilitate two-way

communication. The advantage is that the sales person can understand the needs and wants

of the rural customer by directly discussing with him and answer his queries on products

and services. Potential customers in the village are identified and the

company’s/distributor’s representative makes farm-to-farm visits and highlight the benefits

of the products. The person carries with him literature in local language and also samples of

products. The person does not sell the product but only promotes the use of the product.

Very often the local dealer also joins the representative in making farm-to-farm visits. The

dealer clarifies the terms and conditions of sale and also makes independent follow up visits

for securing orders. Example: This approach has been found to be very effective for

agricultural machinery, animal health products and agricultural inputs. Many LIC agents

and companies dealing with high value consumer durables have tried this method with

success in rich rural areas.

Group meeting:

Group meetings of rural customers as well as prospects are an important part of interpersonal

media. The company is able to pass on the message regarding benefits of the products to a large

number of customers through such meetings. Group meeting of key customers are conducted

by banks, agricultural inputs and machinery companies in rural areas. The bankers visit an

identified village, get the village people in a common place and explain the various schemes to

the villagers. Such meetings could be organized in prosperous villages for promoting consumer

durables and two wheelers also. Example: MRF Tyres conduct tractor owners meet in villages

to discuss repairs and maintenance of tractors.

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Opinion leaders:

Villagers place more emphasis on the experience of others who have used a

product/brand to make purchase decision. Opinion leader is a person who is considered to be

knowledgeable and is consulted by others and his advice is normally followed. Such opinion

leaders could be big landlords, bank official, panchayath-president, teachers, extension workers

etc. Examples: a) Mahindra Tractors use bankers as opinion leaders for their product. b) Asian

Paints promoted its Utsav brand of paint by painting the village Sarpanch’s house a few months

prior to the launch if the branch to demonstrate that the paint does not peel off.

The Melas:

Melas are of different types i.e. commodity fairs, cattle fairs and religious fairs and may be held

only for a day or may extend over a week. Many companies have come out with creative ideas

for participating in such melas. Examples: a) Britannia promotes Tiger Brand Biscuits through

melas. b) The mahakumbh at Allahabad is the biggest mela in India. HLL has put up 14 stalls

in the mela grounds for promoting Lifebuoy. Handcarts have been deployed for increasing

access.

The Haats:

Traditionally on certain days of week, both the sellers and buyers meet in the village to buy and

sell goods and services. These are the haats that are being held regularly in all rural areas. The

sellers arrive in the morning in the haat and remain till late in the evening. Next day they move

to another haat. The reason being that in villages the wages are paid on weekly basis and haat is

conducted on the day when the villages get their wages. For the marketer, the haat can be an

ideal platform for advertising and selling of goods. By participating in haats and melas, the

company can not only promote and sell the products but also understand the shared values,

beliefs and perceptions of rural customers that influence his buying behaviour.

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Folk dances:

These are well-appreciated form of entertainment available to the village people. The folk

dance “Kuravan Kurathi” is popular in Tamil Nadu. The troupe consists of dancers,

drummers and musicians and they move in a well-decorated van from one village to another

village singing and dancing. In a day the troupe covers about 8-10 villages. As soon as the

van reaches a village, film songs are played to attract the attention of the villages. This is

followed by folk dances. Mike announcement is made about the company’s products and

leaflets are distributed. After the dance programme, queries, if any, about the products are

answered by the sales person. Folk dance programme costs about Rs.5000 per day and

therefore these programmes are conducted during the peak season in selected villages.

Examples: Fertilizer and pesticide companies organize folk dance programmes during peak

season in selected markets. Thumps Up has sponsored Lavnis, the folk dance programme of

Maharashtra and over 30 programmes have been arranged in selected rural markets.

Audio Visual Publicity Vans (AVP Vans):

AV unit is one of the effective tools for rural communication. The van is a mobile promotion

station having facilities for screening films slides and mike publicity. The sales person makes a

brief talk about situation in the village, the products and the benefits. The ad film is screened

along with some popular film shots and this continues for about 30 minutes. At the end of the

film show, he distributes handbills and answers queries of the customers. The whole operation

takes about 1-2 hours depending upon the products under promotion, number of participants in

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the meeting and time taken for question and answers. The vans move to the next village for the

second show. The cost of running a fully equipped AVP unit is about Rs.4000 per day and

AVP van operation has to be considered as an investment for business development in rural

areas. Example: Companies such as HLL, Colgate, and Phillips have made effective use of

AVP vans for popularizing their products in rural areas.

Product display contests:

Package is an integral part of the product. Its main purpose is to protect the product during

transit, to preserve the quality and to avoid any loss in quality and quantity. The main purpose

of this contest is to remind the customer to buy the product as soon as he enters the shop.

Another objective is to influence the dealer to stock the product and support the company in

increasing the sales. The display contest has to be announced well in advance and promotional

materials to be distributed to all the selected dealers in a geographical area. Prizes for best

displays are announced to motivate the dealers; the contest lasts for about a month. A well-

planned product display contest not only increases the involvement of dealers in the company’s

products but also increases the sales during the contest period. This is used for promoting

consumer goods such as shampoos, soaps and toothpaste.

Field demonstration:

This is based on the extension principle “seeing is believing” and is one of the most effective

methods to show the superiority of the company’s products to the customers. A progressive

farmer who is an opinion leader is selected and the demonstration is conducted in his field in

the presence of a group of farmers in the village. The farmers observe the results in the field

and the local dealer calls on them in their farms and persuades them to buy the particular brand

of pesticide or fertilizer. Examples: a) Spraying a particular brand of an insecticide against

insect pests and showing the farmer how effectively the insects are controlled. b)

Demonstrating the use of tractor/implements for different agricultural operations. c) Hawkins

pressure cooker has demonstration representatives who carry out demos in rural households.

The representative receives 1% commission for every customer who approaches the dealer via

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demonstrations. e) Similarly effectiveness of detergents, pressure cookers, vaccum cleaners and

mosquito coils could be promoted by demonstrations in selected markets.

Field days:

These are extension of field demonstrations. One of the main objectives of following modern

agricultural practices is to increase the yield. The company organizes demonstrations in a piece

of land belonging to progressive farmers. All the fertilizers, pesticides, nutrients etc. are applied

after making field observations. Just before harvest, all the important farmers are invited to see

demonstration plot and see for themselves how the yields are better in the plot compared to

other fields. Field demonstrations/field days consume lot of time and efforts and therefore have

to be planned well.

Information centers:

They provide latest information on cultivation of crops, fertilizer application, weed,

management and control of pests and diseases. Experienced agricultural graduates who make

frequent visits to the field and

advice farmers on modern agricultural practices manage the centers. They also provide

information on farm implements, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, diesel engines, sprayers and

tractors etc. Many consumer goods companies have opened show rooms in prosperous rural

areas. Example: Hero Honda has opened extension counters with show room facilities in major

rural markets.

Life-style marketing:

Each rural market segment has certain special features i.e. they share common life-style traits.

They include village sports, religious events, prominent personalities and role models.

Examples: Textile mills maintaining community gardens, Mineral water companies supplying

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clean drinking water during summer festivals in villages and Consumer goods companies

sponsoring Kabaddi.

Choosing media vehicles

The choice of different media vehicles for any market is based on an analysis of the standard

features like: reach, frequency, cost & availability. Depending on the factor of reach &

frequency, the different media can be classified into the following categories. This

categorization can help the marketer to make a decision about which type of media would be

more suitable to the product & the organization.

(a) High reach High frequency

Jeep based advertising

Wall painting

Bus stand & bus panels

Haats

Hoardings

Postal branding

(b) Low reach High frequency

Co-operative notice board

Shop front painting

Tin plating – house

Dealer boards

Village boards

Well tiles

Calendars/labels

(c) High reach Low frequency

Van based advertising

Melas

Direct to home

Folklore group

Exhibitions/created events

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(d) Low reach Low frequency

Tin painting – tree/shops

Leaflets

Posters & banners

Streamers

Danglers

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Conclusion

Thus looking at the challenges and the opportunities which rural markets offer to the marketers

it can be said that the future is very promising for those who can understand the dynamics of

rural markets and exploit them to their best advantage. A radical change in attitudes of

marketers towards the vibrant and burgeoning rural markets is called for, so they can

successfully impress on the 230 million rural consumers spread over approximately six hundred

thousand villages in rural India.

The rural market is very large in compare to the urban market as well as it is more challenging

market. The consumer wants those products which are long lasting, good, easy to use and

cheaper. The income level of rural consumers is not as high as the income level of urban

consumers that’s why they want low price goods. It is one of the reasons that the sell of sachet

is much larger in the rural area in all segments.

It is necessary for all the major companies to provide those products which are easy to available

and affordable to the consumers. It is right that the profit margin is very low in the FMCG

products, but at the same time the market size is much large in the rural area. The companies

can reduce their prices by cutting the costs on the packaging because the rural consumers don’t

need attractive packaging. Application of 4A* is also a major task for the major companies in

this area.

Rural market has an untapped potential like rain but it is different from the urban market so it

requires the different marketing strategies and marketer has to meet the challenges to be

successful in rural market.

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References1. www.thehindubusinessline.com/nic/073/index.htm

2. www.coolavenues.com/know/mktg/

3. www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC658/fc658.html

4. business.mapsofindia.com/rural-economy/state-development/marketing.html

5. www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/ Marketing /MKTG081.htm

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