Sachin Last

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RURAL MARKETING INTRODUCTION “India lives in her villages”. As described by Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group – “The rural consumer is discerning and the rural market is vibrant. At the current of growth, it will soon outstrip the urban market. The rural market is no longer sleeping but we are”. Before gamboling into issues like where the Indian rural market stands and the opportunities for corporate’s to explore there... let's look at the definition of urban and rural India. The Census defined urban India as - "All the places that fall within the administrative limits of a municipal corporation, municipality, cantonment board etc or have a population of at least 5,000 and have at least 75 per cent male working population in outside the primary sector and have a population density of at least 400 per square kilometer. Rural India, on the other hand, comprises all places that are not urban!" In our country over 70%of the total population live in villages. There are states like U.P, M.P, Bihar, Rajasthan and Orissa where rural population varies from 8 to 9percent. Agriculture and agriculture related activities contribute to about 75%of the income in rural areas. The general impression is that the rural markets have potential only for agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, cattle feed and agricultural machinery. More than 50%of the national income is generated in rural India and there are opportunities to market modern goods and services in rural areas and also market 1

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Transcript of Sachin Last

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RURAL MARKETING

INTRODUCTION

“India lives in her villages”.

As described by Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group – “The rural consumer is

discerning and the rural market is vibrant. At the current of growth, it will soon outstrip the

urban market. The rural market is no longer sleeping but we are”.

Before gamboling into issues like where the Indian rural market stands and the opportunities for

corporate’s to explore there... let's look at the definition of urban and rural India. The Census

defined urban India as - "All the places that fall within the administrative limits of a municipal

corporation, municipality, cantonment board etc or have a population of at least 5,000 and have

at least 75 per cent male working population in outside the primary sector and have a population

density of at least 400 per square kilometer. Rural India, on the other hand, comprises all places

that are not urban!"

In our country over 70%of the total population live in villages. There are states like U.P,

M.P, Bihar, Rajasthan and Orissa where rural population varies from 8 to 9percent. Agriculture

and agriculture related activities contribute to about 75%of the income in rural areas. The general

impression is that the rural markets have potential only for agricultural inputs like seeds,

fertilizers and pesticides, cattle feed and agricultural machinery. More than 50%of the national

income is generated in rural India and there are opportunities to market modern goods and

services in rural areas and also market agricultural products in urban areas. Infect it has been

estimated that the rural markets are growing at five times the rate of urban markets. About 70%

of bicycles, mechanical watches and radios and about 60%of batteries, sewing machine and table

fans are sold in rural India. At the same time the sales of color television, washing machines,

refrigerators, shampoos, face cream, mosquito repellent and tooth paste are very low and there is

tremendous potential for such products in rural markets.

Now for some facts and figures The Indian rural market today accounts for only about Rs 8

billion (53 per cent - FMCG sector, 59 per cent durables sale, 100 per cent agricultural products)

of the total ad pie of Rs 120 billion, thus claiming 6.6 per cent of the total share. So clearly there

seems to be a long way ahead.

Time and again marketing practitioners have waxed eloquent about the potential of the rural

market. But when one zeroes in on the companies that focus on the rural market, a mere handful

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names come to mind. Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) is top of the mind with their successful

rural marketing projects like 'Project Shakti' and 'Operation Bharat'. The lynchpin of HLL's

strategy has been to focus on penetrating the market down the line and focusing on price point.

Furthermore, activating the brand in the rural market through activities, which are in line with

the brand itself, is what sums up HLL's agenda as far as the rural market is concerned informs

MindShare Fulcrum general manager R Gowthaman. Amul is another case in point of aggressive

rural marketing. Some of the other corporates that are slowly making headway in this area are

Coca Cola India, Colgate, Eveready Batteries, LG Electronics, Philips, BSNL, Life Insurance

Corporation, Cavin Kare, Britannia and Hero Honda to name a few.

We can safely say that until some years ago, the rural market was being given a step-motherly

treatment by many companies and advertising to rural consumers was usually a hit and miss

affair. More often than not, the agenda being to take a short-cut route by pushing urban

communication to the rural market by merely transliterating the ad copy. Hence advertising that

is rooted in urban sensitivities didn't touch the hearts and minds of the rural consumer. While,

this is definitely changing, the process is slow. The greatest challenge for advertisers and

marketers continues to be in finding the right mix that will have a pan-Indian rural appeal. Coca

Cola, with their Aamir Khan Ad campaign succeeded in providing just that.

Lifebuoy's wall painting in rural India

Corporates are still apprehensive to "Go Rural." A few agencies that are trying to create

awareness about the rural market and its importance are Anugrah Madison, Sampark Marketing

and Advertising Solutions Pvt Ltd, MART, Rural Relations, O&M Outreach, Linterland and

RC&M, to name a few. Also, the first four agencies mentioned above have come together to

form The Rural Network. The paramount objective of the Network is to get clients who are

looking for a national strategy in rural marketing and help them in executing it across different

regions.

Interestingly, the rural market is growing at a far greater speed than its urban counterpart. "All

the data provided by various agencies like NCAER, Francis Kanoi etc shows that rural markets

are growing faster than urban markets in certain product categories at least. The share of FMCG

products in rural markets is 53 per cent, durables boasts of 59 per cent market share. Therefore

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one can claim that rural markets are growing

faster than urban markets," says Sampark

Marketing and Advertising Solutions Pvt Ltd

managing director R A Patankar.

Coca-Cola India tapped the rural market in a

big way when it introduced bottles priced at Rs

5 and backed it with the Aamir Khan ads. The

company, on its behalf, has also been investing

steadily to build their infrastructure to meet the

growing needs of the rural market, which reiterates the fact that this multinational has realized

the potential of the rural market is going strength to strength to tap the same.

Clearly the main challenge that one faces while dealing with rural marketing is the basic

understanding of the rural consumer who is very different from his urban counterpart. Also

distribution remains to be the single largest problem marketers face today when it comes to

going rural. "Reaching your product to remote locations spread over 600,000 villages and poor

infrastructure - roads, telecommunication etc. and lower levels of literacy are a few hinges that

come in the way of marketers to reach the rural market," says MART managing director Pradeep

Kashyap.Citing other challenges in rural marketing, Patankar says, "Campaigns have to be tailor

made for each product category and each of the regions where the campaign is to be executed.

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"Yaara da Tashan..." McCann Erickson's

ads with Aamir Khan created universal

appeal for Coca Cola

In 2000, ITC took an initiative to develop direct contact with farmers who lived in

far-flung villages in Madhya Pradesh. ITC's E-choupal was the result of this

initiative.

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Therefore a thorough knowledge of the nuances of language, dialects and familiarity with

prevailing customs in the regions that you want to work for is essential. The other challenge is

the reach and the available means of reaching out to these markets, hence the video van is one of

the very effective means of reaching out physically to the rural consumers."

The fact of the matter remains that when compared to the Indian urban society, which is turning

into a consumerism society; the rural consumer will always remain driven by his needs first and

will therefore be cost conscious and thrifty in his spending habits. "Decision-making is still

conscious and deliberated among the rural community. But nevertheless, the future no doubt lies

in the rural markets, since the size of the rural market is growing at a good pace. There was a

time when market predictions were made on the basis of the state of the monsoon but this trend

has changed over the years; there is a large non farming sector, which generates almost 40 per

cent of the rural wealth. Hence the growth in the rural markets will be sustained to a large extent

by this class in addition to the farmer who will always be the mainstay of the rural economy,"

affirms Patankar.

"Although the melting of the urban - rural divide will take a while, this is not for want of the

availability of the means but for want of the rural consumer's mindset to change; which has its

own logic, which is driven by tradition, custom

and values that are difficult to shed," he points

out.

Fulcrum's Gowthaman says, "The biggest

impending factor or deterrent on rural monies

going up is that there is a general sense of

trying to benchmark cost per contact (CPC).

The television CPC is going to anyways be

cheaper to rural CPC and unless and until the

volume - value equation turns the other way round, you will not be able to spend

disproportionate monies in the rural market."

For HLL, a one rupee or a five rupee sachet or the Kutti Hamam (the small Hamam) helps in

giving the consumers a trial opportunity. While it does help in generate volume but not in terms

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Satellite dish antennas reach rural India

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of values. "Till the time that volume - value equation is managed better, the CPC is preventing

anybody to look at rural at a large scale activation programme," reiterates Gowthaman.

Ultimately, the ball lies in the court of rural marketers. It's all about how one approaches the

market, takes up the challenge of selling products and concepts through innovative media design

and more importantly interactivity.

Anugrah Madison's chairman and managing director RV Rajan sums up, "There is better scope

for language writers who understands the rural and regional pulse better. I also see great scope

for regional specialists in the areas of rural marketing - specialists like Event Managers, Wall

painters, folk artists, audio visual production houses. In fact all those people who have

specialized knowledge of a region are bound to do well, thanks to the demands of the rural

marketers."

So the fact remains that the rural market in India has great potential, which is just waiting to be

tapped. Progress has been made in this area by some, but there seems to be a long way for

marketers to go in order to derive and reap maximum benefits. Moreover, rural India is not so

poor as it used to be a decade or so back. Things are sure a changing!

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Any task without sound objectives is like Tree without roots. Similarly in case of any research study undertaken, initially the objectives of the same are determined and accordingly the further steps are taken on. A research study may have many objectives but all these objectives revolve around one major objective which is the focus of the study. In this study, the focus is on the emergence of rural markets as the most happening market on which every marketer has an eye. And so this study will be based on studying the emergence of rural market in various contexts. The main objective of the study is to analyse and present the marketing of consumer products in rural areas. The following objectives have been set forth. They are to:

1) Present a rural marketing perspective.2) Present a profile of Indian Rural market.3) Study and analyse the consumer behavior in rural areas.4) Examine the product and brand penetration in rural markets.5) Analyze marketing of consumer product in rural markets.6) Present marketing strategy frame for marketing consumer products in rural areas.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY: The study is restricted to selected districts of UTTAR PRADESH. Further, product and brand penetration is examined. As regards marketing of consumer products in rural areas, the study analyzes products from non durable category (a bathing soap, detergents, tea, coffee, shampoo) and from durable category (a wrist watch, television, refrigerator, fan and bicycle).

Data collection

Sample unit : 1. Working people (including men &women), basically farmers.2. College students3. School students4. Senior citizen

Sample size:1. Working people: 32%2. College students: 29%3. School students: 23%4. Senior citizens : 16%

Sampling region:

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1. I have selected Uttar Pradesh, of Uttar Pradesh as the area of study.2. I have chosen BHOWAPUR, MORTI, SHAHPUR and ATTOR as areas of research. The population status of these areas can be shown in a tabulated manner, which is given as follows:

Area Population

BHOWAPUR 2500MORTI 3000SHAHPUR 5000ATTOR 4000

Data collection method:1. Primary data: it will be collected with the help of a self administered questionnaire. This questionnaire aims to gather information related to various Branded products.

Questionnaire design:As the questionnaire is self administrated one, the survey is kept simple and user friendly. Words Used in questionnaire are readily understandable to all respondent. Also technical jargons are avoided to ensure that there is no confusion for respondents.

2. Secondary data: it will be collected with the help of books, research papers, magazines, news papers, journals, Internet, etc.

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REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Rural market is one of the best opportunities for the FMCG sector. In some sense we can say that rural market is future of FMCG.

1. Basu Purba (2004), suggested that the lifestyle of rural consumers is changing. Rural Indian market and the marketing strategy have become the latest marketing buzzword for most of the FMCG majors. She added the strategies of different FMCG companies for capturing rural market like Titan’s Sonata watches, Coco Cola’s 200mlbottle, different strategies of HUL and Marico etc. She takes into consideration the study of National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER).According to the NCAER projections, the number of middle and high-income households in rural area is expected to grow from 140 million to 190 million by 2007.In urban India, the same is expected to grow from 65 million to 79 million. Thus, the absolute size of rural India is expected to be double that of urban India.

2. Tognatta Pradeep (2003), suggested that, the economic growth in India's agricultural sector in last year was over 10%, compared with 8.5%in the industrial sector. This implies a huge market potentiality for the marketer to meet up increasing demand. Factors such as village psyche,strong distribution network and market awareness are few prerequisites for making a dent in the rural markets. The model is of the stolid Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever Group, which has enjoyed a century-long presence in India through its subsidiary Hindustan Lever Ltd. It was Hindustan Lever that several years ago popularized the idea of selling its products in tiny packages. Its sachets of detergent and shampoo are in great demand in Indian villages. Britannia with its low priced Tiger brand biscuits has become some of the success story in rural marketing.

3. Dr. N. Rajendhiran(MBA, PhD)/ Mr. S. Saiganesh(MBA, MA, M.Phil)/ Ms. P. Asha(MBA)Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh recently talked about his vision for rural India: "My vision of rural India is of a modern agrarian, industrial and services economy co-existing side by side, where people can live in well-equipped villages and commute easily to work, be it on the farm or in the non-farm economy. There is much that modern science and technology can do to realise this vision. Rural incomes have to be increased. Rural infrastructure has to be improved. Rural health and education needs have to be met. Employment opportunities have to be created in rural areas." 'Go rural' is the slogan of marketing gurus after analyzing the socio-economic changes in villages. The Rural population is nearly three times the urban, so that Rural consumers have become the prime target market for consumer durable and non-durable products, food, construction, electrical, electronics, automobiles, banks, insurance companies and other sectors

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besides hundred per cent of agri-input products such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and farm machinery. The Indian rural market today accounts for only about Rs 8 billion of the total ad pie of Rs 120 billion, thus claiming 6.6 per cent of the total share. So clearly there seems to be a long way ahead. Although a lot is spoken about the immense potential of the unexplored rural market, advertisers and companies find it easier to vie for a share of the already divided urban pie.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is simple framework or plan for the study that is as guide in collection and analyzing the data. It is the blue print that is followed in completes the study. Thus, good research methodology ensures the completion of project efficiency and affectivity. Since there are many aspect of research methodology, the line of action has to be chosen from the variety of alternatives, to choose the suitable method through the assessment from various alternatives.

Research methodology gives the researcher an opportunity to put forward his

argument for having opted for certain alternatives and also at the same time he can justify his

ruling out some other possibility likes. Why research study has been undertaken, how the

research problem has been formulated what data has been collected, what particular technique if

analyzing the data has been used and lot of similar type question are usually answered when we

talk of research problem in study.

Keeping in view the above stated objectives the following methodology was adopted:

The Marketing Research Process

Define the problem and Research Objectives: -

The first and main step of any research is to define the relevant problems or objective for

which the researcher wants to do research.

Develop the research plan: -

.To makes the plan for overall research as how, when, where and from whom researcher

will collect the data

Collect the information: -

The information can be collected by primary data or secondary data, or by the

combination of both methods.

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METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION:-

PRIMARY DATA

Market Survey

Personal Interview

SECONDARY DATA

Internet

Business Journal

Analyze the information: -

After collecting the data the next step is to analyze the information.

Present the findings: -

To make a summary on the basis of analyzing the collect data and find out the situation

Make the decision: -

The last step is to take a decision on the basis of finding that what action should be regarding the

findings

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INDIA INFRASTRUCTURE

The best barometer of country’s economic standing is measured by its GDP. India, the second

most populated country of more than 1100 million has emerged as one of the fastest growing

economies. It is a republic with a federal structure and well-developed independent judiciary

with political consensus in reforms and stable democratic environment .In 2008-09 India’s

economy-GDP grew by 6.5% due to global recession. In the previous four years, economy grew

at 9%.The Indian economy is expected sustain a growth rate of 8% for the next three years up to

2012. With the expected average annual compounded growth rate of 8.5%, India's GDP is

expected to be USD 1.4 trillion by 2017 and USD 2.8 trillion by 2027.

Investment Opportunities In Indian Infrastructure  

The robust current growth in GDP has exposed the grave inadequacies in the country’s

infrastructure sectors. The strong population growth in India and its booming economy are

generating enormous pressures to modernize and expand India’s infrastructure. The creation of

world class infrastructure would require large investments in addressing the deficit in quality and

quantity. More than USD 475 bn worth of investment is to flow into India’s infrastructure by

2012. No country in the world other than India needs and can absorb so many funds for the

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infrastructure sector. With the above investments India’s infrastructure would be equal to the

best in the world by 2017.

In the next five years planned infrastructure investment in India in some key sectors are (at

current prices): Modernization of highways -US$ 75 billion, Development of civil aviation US$

12 billion, Development of Irrigation system- US$ 18 billion, Development of Ports-US$ 26

billion, Development of Railways- US$ 71 billion, Development of Telecom- US$ 32 billion,

Development of Power -US$ 232 billion. Thus in the eleventh five year plan ,investment in the

above sectors (Aviation infrastructure ,Construction infrastructure, Highway

infrastructure ,Power infrastructure, Port infrastructure ,Telecom infrastructure ) will be US$ 384

billions(Rs 17,20,000 Crores) considering the huge infrastructure market potential in India. In

addition to the above, investments to the tune of  US$ 91 billions have been planned in other

infrastructure sectors like Tourism infrastructure  ,Urban infrastructure ,Rural infrastructure,

SEZs ,and water infrastructure and sanitation infrastructure  thus making the total infrastructure

investments in the eleventh plan period 2007-08 to 2011-12 as US$475 billions. Domestic and

global infrastructure funds have exposure to Indian infrastructure sectors.

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:

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URBAN RURAL

RURAL URBAN

RURAL RURAL

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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.

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.

INDIAN RURAL MARKET:

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

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

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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

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):

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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

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

these factors, rural India is 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.

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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 INFRASTRUCTURE:

1) 46 percent of villages are connected by all-weather roads.

2) 84 percent of villages are electrified.

3) 5700 regulated markets.

In the early 2000s, around 700 million people, i.e. 70% of the Indian population lived in 6,

27,000 villages, in rural areas. Of this, 90% were concentrated in villages with population less

than 2000.3 According to a study conducted in 2001 by the National Council for Applied

Economic Research (NCAER), there were as many "middle income and above" households in

rural areas as there were in urban areas.

There were almost twice as many "lower income households" in rural areas as in urban areas.

There were 2.3 million "highest income" households in urban areas as against 1.6 million in rural

areas. NCAER projections indicated that the number of "middle income and above" households

was expected to grow to 111 million in rural India by 2007, compared to 59 million in urban

India. Gone were the days when a rural consumer had to go to a nearby town or city to buy a

branded product. The growing power of the rural consumer was forcing big companies to flock

to rural markets. At the same time, they also threw up major challenges for marketers.

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FMCG

There was a time when the FMCG companies ignores rural market, they took no any interest to

produced or sell products in rural market in India. It was the initial stage of FMCG companies in

India. As per as the time had

Passed, the strategy and marketing style of FMCG companies had been changed.

The rural market is the one of the best opportunity for the FMCG sector in the India. It is wider

and less competitive market for the FMCG.As the income level of the rural consumers

increasing, the demand of FMCG is

Increasing continuously.

Top Players in FMCG Sector

1. Hindustan lever limited (HLL)

2. ITC (Indian Tobacco Company)

3. Nestle India

4. GCMMF (AMUL)

5. Dabur India

6. Asian Paints (India)

7. Cadbury India

8. Britannia Industries

9. Procter&Gamble Hygiene &Health Care

10. Marico Industries

Secondary Players

1. Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd.

2. Godrej Consumers Product Ltd.

3. Nirma Ltd.

4. Tata Tea Ltd.

5. Parle Agro

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Rural consumers spend around 13 per cent of their income, the second highest after food (35 per

cent), on fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), as per a RMAI study.

The FMCG industry in India was worth around US$ 16.03 billion in August 2008 and the rural

market accounted for a robust 57 per cent share of the total FMCG market in India.

The FMCG sector saw rural markets post 20 per cent growth, ahead of the 17-18 per cent growth

from urban India, aided by three years of good monsoon, higher prices of farm produce and

farm-loan waiver.

Most FMCG companies are now working on increasing their distribution in smaller towns and

focussing on marketing and operations programme for semi-urban and rural markets.

For instance, Godrej Consumer Products intends to increase revenue from rural areas from 38

per cent to 55 per cent in the next three years by increasing its distribution network substantially.

The products will reach out to 50,000 villages in the next couple of years from the present

18,000 villages while the number of towns covered will double from 3,300 to almost 6,500 in a

year.

Retail

The rural retail market is currently estimated at US$ 112 billion, or around 40 per cent of the

US$ 280 billion retail market. Major domestic retailers like AV Birla, ITC, Godrej, Reliance and

many others have already set up farm linkages. Hariyali Kisan Bazaars (DCM) and Aadhars

(Pantaloons-Godrej JV), Choupal Sagars (ITC), Kisan Sansars (Tata), Reliance Fresh, Project

Shakti (Hindustan Unilever) and Naya Yug Bazaar are established rural retail hubs.

Pharmaceuticals

According to a report by McKinsey, the rural and tier-II pharma market will account for almost

half of the growth till 2015. The tier-II market will grow to 44 per cent by 2015, amounting to

US$ 8.8 billion.

This growth will be further augmented with the government increasing the allocation under

National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) by US$ 424.3 million over interim budget estimate

2009-10 of US$ 2.49 billion.

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Elder Pharmaceuticals is increasing its focus on the rural market. The company that largely

makes active pharmaceutical ingredients, plans to increase its sales by 8-9 per cent mainly from

rural areas and has allocated US$ 8.26 million to strengthen the sales force for this segment.

Telecommunication

A Gartner forecast revealed that Indian cellular services revenue will grow at a compound annual

growth rate (CAGR) of 18.4 per cent to touch US$ 25.6 billion by 2011, with most of the growth

coming from rural markets. Also, a joint Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Ernst &

Young report reveals that of the next 250 million Indian wireless users, approximately 100

million (40 per cent) are likely to be from rural areas, and by 2012, rural users will account for

over 60 per cent of the total telecom subscriber base in India.

In a bid to acquire rural subscribers, most Indian telecom operators have started investing in

infrastructure to roll out their services in these areas. Realizing this as a huge potential, small

Indian handset manufacturing companies, including Micromax, Intex Technologies and

Karbonn, have lined up a marketing spent of around US$ 21.02 million for the financial year

2009-10.

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Automobiles

For the auto industry, semi-urban and rural markets contribute close to 40 per cent of sales, led

by demand for two-wheelers, entry-level cars and tractors. Significantly, car sales grew 8.3 per

cent in June 2009, aided by rising demand in semi-urban and rural markets. Mahindra &

Mahindra is bullish on the rural and semi-urban markets, with its utility vehicle, Scorpio

clocking 60-65 per cent sales from the rural markets as against 20 per cent earlier. TVS Motor

also registered around 50 per cent of its sales from the rural and semi-urban markets.

Consumer durables

A survey carried out by RMAI has revealed that 59 per cent of durables sales come from rural

markets.

Presently, around 50 per cent of sales in the US$ 5.14 billion consumer electronics industry

come from the urban markets, 30 per cent from tier-II and -III towns and balance 20 per cent

from rural India.

Many leading consumer durable companies are now increasing their presence in rural India.

Recently, LG has set up 45 area offices and 59 rural and remote-area offices. Moreover, it has

outlined plans to invest around US$ 40 million towards development of entry-level products

targeted at rural markets.

Samsung has also rolled out its 'Dream Home' road show which was to visit 48 small towns in

100 days in an effort to increase brand awareness of its products. Samsung expects that its rural

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revenues would increase to US$ 287.7 million in 2009 from US$ 164.4 million last year. The

company also plans to expand its sales channel by 25-30 per cent in rural India.

Whirlpool, is eyeing rural markets in India for its next phase of growth. The company is set to

tap markets with a population between 100,000 and 500,000 in the first phase, and in the next

phase, will look at expanding the base in villages with a population of 50,000.

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

developmental approaches.

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

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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 consumers

The 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.

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 Market

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.

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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. 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.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.

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Attractiveness of rural market

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:

INCOME GROUP 2000-01 2005-06 2008-09

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.

\

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3. Growth in consumption:

PERCAPITA HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE (IN RS.)

LEVEL NO. STATES EXPENDITUR

E

High

(Above Rs 382/-)7

Punjab 614

Kerala 604

Haryana 546

Rajasthan 452

Gujarat 416

Andhra Pradesh 386

Maharashtra 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

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

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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/-.

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

SHAMPOOS 57 72 89 93

TOOTH

PASTE/POWDER

22 36 65 85

BATHING SOAPS 20 25 41 63

TEA (PACKAGED) 22 30 48 64

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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

Tea Maturity 4 Growth

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,

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

and

Lack of marketer’s imagination and initiative.

Rural Vs Urban Marketing

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

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POSITIONING Easy Difficult

USAGE METHOD Easily Grasped Difficult To Grasp

QUALITY PREFERENCE Good Moderate

4 PRICE

SENSITIVE Yes Very much

LEVEL DESIRED Medium-high Medium-low

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN RURAL MARKETS

Promotion of brands in rural markets requires the special measures. Due to the social and

backward condition the personal selling efforts have a challenging role to play in this regard. The

word of mouth is an important message carrier in rural areas. Infect the opinion leaders are the

most influencing part of promotion strategy of rural promotion efforts. The experience of

agricultural input industry can act as a guideline for the marketing efforts of consumer durable

and non-durable companies. Relevance of Mass Media is also a very important factor.

The Indian established Industries have the advantages, which MNC don't enjoy in this regard.

The strong Indian brands have strong brand equity, consumer demand-pull and efficient and

dedicated dealer network which have been created over a period of time. The rural market has a

grip of strong country shops, which affect the sale of various products in rural market. The

companies are trying to trigger growth in rural areas. They are identifying the fact that rural

people are now in the better position with disposable income. The low rate finance availability

has also increased the affordability of purchasing the costly products by the rural people.

Marketer should understand the price sensitivity of a consumer in a rural area. This paper is

therefore an attempt to promote the brand image in the rural market. 

Indian Marketers on rural marketing have two understanding (I) the urban metro products and

marketing products can be implemented in rural markets with some or no change. (ii) The

rural marketing required the separate skills and techniques from its urban counterpart. The

Marketers have following facilities to make them believe in accepting the truth that rural markets

aredifferent in so many terms. .

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(i)The rural market has the opportunity for.

(ii)  Low priced products can be more successful in rural markets because the low purchasing,

purchasing powers in rural markets.

(iii)  Rural consumers have mostly homogeneous group with similar needs, economic condition

(iv) The rural markets can be worked with the different media environment as opposed to press,

film, radio and other urban centric media exposure.

.

RURAL CONSUMER PREFERENCES:

In order to assess the buyer behavior towards certain critical aspects of marketing, the

preferences of the consumers is directly related to:

1) Price

2) Quality

3) Credit

4) Variety

5) Dealer advice

6) Specific brand.

PURCHASE BEHAVIOR:

Rural people can buy only from three places includes:

1) From the shop in the same village

2) Weekly bazaar

3) From the shop of nearby town.

Factors influencing buying behavior

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

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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 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.

Product

“Authentic marketing is the art of identifying and understanding customer needs and

creating solutions that deliver satisfaction to the customers, profits to the producers and

benefits for the stakeholders.” ................... Philip Kotler

The product offerings have to be not only customized but also at a different plane altogether in

case of rural markets. The various product levels as outlined by Philips Kotler, namely Core

Benefit, Basic Product, Expected product, augmented product and Potential Product should be

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adequately taken into consideration and the product offerings should be henceforth customized

according to the needs.

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.

Most of the times in the urban market the product is offered at the augmented productlevel

where the objective of the product offering is to exceed the customer expectation.But in the

rural markets of India which have been till date characterized by the absenceof the choice, sub-

standard products and cheap clones of their urban counterparts; the immediate level to be

operated is the Expected product where his expectations are met. Also, due to the low level of

incomes and literacy levels, it is imperative that the basic needs of the consumer are met.

33

CORE BENEFIT

BASIC PRODUCTEXPECTED PRODUCTAUGMENTED PRODUCTPOTENTIAL PRODUCT

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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.

Pricing

A significant portion of the rural population is paid in daily wages. Daily wage earnerstend to

have little stock of money, and therefore tend to make purchases only to meettheir daily needs.

The implication is that pack sizes and price points are critical to sales,and importantly, that rural

consumers view the purchase-tradeoff dilemma across a muchwider range of product categories.

As a result, the nature of competition is much greater;a beverage manufacturer is not only

competing with other manufacturers in its category, but also other products that consumers may

consider one-off luxury purchases such as shampoo. So marketer will have to examine method

by which he can make the product more affordable. In the case of consumer durable one way is

to work through rural bank and offer higher purchase terms to consumer. In short, the Value for

money is the most important concept that will differentiate the successful brand from the rest.

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STATUS SEEKING CONSUMERS BUDGET CONSCIOUS CONSUMER

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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 are very high. The

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

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.

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.

35

BRAND NAME

MODEL

TECHNOLOGY

IMAGE

BUDGET

BUDGET

WARRANTY

AFTER SALES

BRAND NAME

MODEL

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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.

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

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knowledgeable and is consulted by others and his advice is normally followed. The opinion

leaders may be big landlords or politicians or progressive farmers.

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

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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 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.

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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.

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MARKETING 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.

BYCOMMUNICATING 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.

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.

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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 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 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.

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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 stands 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 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 consumers

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

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

important for the rural consumers. 

4. 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. 

Forexample, 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.

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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

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

consumers.

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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.

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 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.

3. 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.

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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. 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 inMaharashtra proved an eye opener in this regard where the sugar and milk co-

operatives have totally changed the life style of people

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 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.

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 programmers 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.

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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.

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

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.

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.

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

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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.

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

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FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

1.Which soap u prefer to use?

The reaction of people towards various SOAP brands

Can be tabulated in the following manner:

BRANDS LUX DETTOL LIFEBUOY OTHERS

PERCENTAGE 36 18 22 24

In the survey, it could easily be concluded that LUX, the product of HUL was highly in demand.

LUX, the product of HUL covers 36%of the market share. After LUX, the other brands

(EXCEPT LUX, DETTOL, LIFEBUOY) covers 24%of the market share. This is then followed

by LIFEBUOY, the product of HUL with a market share of 22%,which is then followed by

DETTOL, the product of RECKITT BENCKISER with a market share of 18%.

This data can be graphically explained with the help of the following bar graph:

BRANDS0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

LUXLIFEBUOYDETTOLOTHERS

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2 Which pack u prefer to use?

In order to determine the income pattern of the consumers, it was necessary for the

researcher to distribute the consumers on the basis of their demand for the various packs of

SOAP brands available in the market. However, the reaction of people towards various packs of

SOAP can be tabulated in the following manner:

PACK OF SOAPS SINGLE PACK FAMILY PACK ( 3 IN 1)

PERCENTAGE 56 44

In the survey, I tried to differentiate amongst people with below average

household income, average household income &above household income. This classification

can be done on the basis of the daily expenditure that people make.56% consumers demand

single pack.44% consumers demand family packs i.e.3 in 1 pack.

This data can be graphically explained with the help of the following bar graph:

PACKS PREFERRED BY CUSTOMERS

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

SINGLE PACKFAMILY PACK

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2.Which tea u prefer to use?

The reaction of people towards various TEA brands can be tabulated in the

following manner:

BRANDS TATA TEA BROOKE

BOND

TAJ MAHAL OTHERS

PERCENTAGE 32 28 18 22

In the survey, it could easily be concluded that TATA TEA, the product of TATA has a market

share of 32%.This is followed by, BROOKE BOND, with a market share of 28%.Followed by

other brands (EXCEPT TATA TEA,BROOKE BOND,TAJ MAHAL)with a market share of

22%.This is finally followed by TAJ MAHAL, the product of HUL which holds18%of the

market share.

This data can be graphically explained with the help of thefollowing bar graph:

BRANDS0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

TATA TEABROOKE BONDTAJ MAHALOTHERS

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3 Which tea pack u prefer to use?

In order to determine the income pattern of the consumers, it was necessary for the

researcher to distribute the consumers on the basis of their demand for the various packs of TEA

brands available in the market. However, the reaction of people towards various TEA packs can

be tabulated in the following manner:

TEA PACKS SACHET MEDIUM PACK LARGE PACKS

PERCENTAGE 48 32 20

In the survey, I tried to differentiate amongst the people, with below

average household income, average household income & above household income. This

classification can be done on the basis of the daily expenditure that people make. However, it can

be concluded that sachets are most commonly used by the people .i.e. 48%consumers demand

sachet packs. 32%consumers demand medium pack. 20%consumers demand large pack.

This data can be graphically explained with the help of the following diagram:

PACKS PRE-FERRED BY

CUSTOMERS

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

SACHETMEDIUM PACKLARGE PACK

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4 Which tooth paste u prefer to use?

In the initial years, the rural consumers preferred tooth powders, datoons etc. But from the

last decade, the preference of consumers towards toothpaste has been changed. A huge number

of toothpastes of

Different companies are sold in rural market.

However, the reaction of people towards various TOOTH PASTES can be

tabulated as follows:

BRANDS PEPSODENT COLGATE CLOSE UP OTHERS

PERCENTAGE 27 35 22 16

In the survey that the researcher conducted, it could easily be seen that COLGATE, the product

of COLGATE PALMOLIVE is the market leader, which covers 35%of the total market. After

that, PEPSODENT, the product of HUL is demanded by the customers, which covers 27%of the

market share. Followed by CLOSE – UP, the product of HUL is demanded by the customers,

which covers 22%of the market share. Which is then followed by others brands (EXCEPT

PEPSODENT, COLGATE, CLOSE -UP), whichcovers 16%of the total market share.

This data can be graphically explained with the help of the following bar graph:

BRANDS0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

PEPSODENTCOLGATECLOSE UPOTHERS

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5 Which coffee u prefer to use?

The reaction of people towards various COFFEE brands can be tabulated in the

following manner:

BRANDS BRU NESTLE NESCAFE OTHERS

PERCENTAGE 26 32 32 10

In the survey, it can be easily concluded that all the brands are facing tough

Competition. NESTLE, the product of NESTLE S.A.& NESCAFE, another product of NESTLE

S.A., shares equal market share of 32%each.This means that they are in a very tough

competition. This is followed by BRU, the product of HUL which holds, 26%of the market

share. While theother brands hold only 10%of the market share.

This data can be graphically explained with the help of the following bar graph:

BRANDS0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

BRUNESTLENESCAFEOTHERS

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SUGGESTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

The researcher would like to suggest the following points, so that the organizations can easily

sell their products to their consumers:

1. However, the demand of a product is also affected by its life cycle. If the product is in the

introduction stage, then it will definitely take some time to capture the market, because in the

introduction stage, consumers are not much aware about the product. Therefore, it is the

responsibility of the organization to create awareness amongst the consumers.

2.They should adapt rigorous marketing strategies, in order to sustain in the market.

3.There is immense competition in this sector. Therefore, the organizations should try to gain

competitive advantage against their competitor’s.

4.They should try to reach as many people as possible.

5. for the organizations that are not much popular amongst the consumers should adopt Sales

Promotion, as their marketing strategies.

6.Application of 4A’s has also become an important task for all the organizations.

(*4A=Availability, Affordability, Acceptability, Awareness)

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CONCLUSION

This study has shown the new facts relating to the rural market and rural consumer. Consumer

buys frequently and in less quantity. They get influenced with retailer’s opinion immediately.

1. As purchase gap is less than a week in case of soap/detergent. So we conclude that they buy

goods on need driven demand basis.

2. They get attracted towards additional benefits immediately. As they are interested in various

promotional schemes.

3. Still, awareness level regarding various promotional schemes is very less in the rural

consumer.

4. They ask retailer for his/her opinion about the product before purchase.

5. Retailers in rural villages do not get any additional incentive for the sale of a particular

product.

6. Retailers are of the view that distributor/wholesaler consumes all the benefits.

7. Local retailers have a firm belief that they can sell any product in the rural market if they are

provided with additional incentive.

Indian rural market is very vast and there is huge scope for hair oil industry. It was

observed that rural customers are very loyal and they buy out of habit. Many of them use the

product because their grandparents use it. Thus once the company has won the faith of the

customer they will buy it out of habit. There are many companies which are into branded hair oil

but the major players in Punjab are Bajaj, Marico, Hair & Care, and Dabur. They had penetrated

deep in to the markets of Punjab and are the most preferred in the Punjab. The customers in

Punjab are very loyal and most of them are satisfied with their respective brands. The market is

very vast and there are some villages where some of the brands are not even known to the

customers. The local players are also present but do not have large market share.

The rural markets dominate Indian marketing scene and need special Attention for the

expansion of marketing activities and also for providing betterlife and welfare to the rural

people. Given the development, which has taken place in the rural areas under the five- year

plans and other special programmes, today the rural market offers a vast untapped potential.

Development programs in the field of agriculture and allied activities, health education,

communication, rural electrification, etc. have improved the lifestyles

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In the end it is certain that FMCG companies will have to really gain inroads in the rural

markets in order to achieve double digit growth targets in future. There is huge potential and

definitely there is lot of money in rural India but the smart thing would be to weigh in the

roadblocks as carefully as possible. The companies entering rural market must do so for strategic

reasons and not for tactical gains as rural consumer is still a closed book and it is only through

unwavering commitment that the companies can make a dent in the market. Ultimately the

winner would be the one with the required resources like time and money and also with the much

needed innovative ideas to tap the rural markets.

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 selling 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 236 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. A rural consumer seeks a good qualitative product at reasonable price

with some additional advantage in terms of quantity of price reduction.

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APPENDIX

name:

occupation:

monthly salary:

a) a. Less than 10,000

b) b.10,000 –25,000

c) c.25,000 –50,000

d) d.More than 50,000

address:

1. Which soap u prefer to use?

a) Lux

b) Lifebuoy

c) Dettol

d) Others

2 Which pack u prefer to use?

a) Medium pack

b) Family pack

3. Which tea u prefer to use?

a) Taj mahal

b) Tata tea

c) Brooke bond

d) Others

4. Which tea pack u prefer to use?

a) Sachet

b) Small pack

c) Medium pack

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5. Which tooth paste u prefer to use?

a) Colgate

b) Close up

c) Pepsodent

d) Others

6. Which coffee u prefer to use?

a) Nestle

b) Nescafe

c) Bru

d) Others

7. Which cream u prefer to use?

a) Ponds

b) Fair and lovely

c) Ayur

d) Others

8. which hair oil u prefer to use?

a) Parachute

b) Dabur amla

c) Dabur vatika

d) Others

9. Which biscuits u prefer to use?

a) Good day

b) Marie gold

c) Parle G

d) Others

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.agencyfages.com

www.oligvys.com

www.adagency.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.google.com

wwwyahoo.com

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