Marketing Strategies in Bihar

A Proposal for Marico Limited

Profile of the State : Bihar is spread over 94,163 sq.kms divided into 9 divisions consisting of 38 districts. There are 45,103 revenue villages and 130 towns. The state has an international border with Nepal on the northern side. Approximately 85% of the total population of 8,28,78,796 live in the rural areas and are dependent on agriculture and related occupations. 60.32% males and 33.57% females are literate. Bihar has virtually no mineral wealth. However, sand beds of Sone and Falgu rivers are a good source of revenue. The Gangetic belt is very fertile and there are areas where cash crops such as tobacco, red chilly, pulses, sugarcane, etc are grown.

There are a few sugar industries in running condition in Champaran, Gopalgunj and Saran. Rest of the industries set-up in the first half of the last century are defunct for three or four decades.

Roads and railways are developing fast with several national highways and East-West Corridor being renovated and built afresh.

There are two types of villages viz. Feeder and Satellite. The Feeder village is usually a large one with a local market, weekly haat (market) and a chowk. It caters to the marketing needs of the satellite villages. People come here to purchase and sell the goods gather at the chowks to have tea and get news of the day. In every village there are at least few persons who are economically and socially well placed and act as political and social opinion leaders. Villagers visit them to discuss the various issues of concern.

A large scale cattle / religious fair is held in almost every divisions. Some of the fairs are very famous for example Sitamarhi Cattle fair, Gulab Bagh fairs, Sonepur fairs, etc. Sonepur fair is recognized as the largest cattle fair in Asia.

The state consists of three distinct cultural zones :

1. North-eastern Bihar : The region has a density of population as high as 997 persons per sq.km. Maithili is the dominant language. The region is bound by Nepal in norther and has more than twelve rivers emerging from the Himalayan terrain. The region has on an average not less than a dozen tanks / ponds (artificial and natural water bodies), in every village, used for irrigation, production of fish, makhana and other acqua products.

Due to lack of industrial development in the region since 1960s, the people started migrating to other parts of India for employment, which is a major source of earning money (being pumped from outside as remittances by the migratory seasonal workers). It increased the purchasing power of the villagers.

Because of its unique problems and proximity to Nepal, there are many NGOs working in the region. These NGOs have developed quite strong and deep roots in the villages.

2. South Bihar : Bhojpuri is the dominant language/ dialect. The density of population varies from 650 to 725 per sq.km. The people are very laborious but violence marks their living conditions. MCC and other ultra left along with ultra right winger private armies dominate the area and effect economic activity in the region adversely. Due to violence the agriculture has taken a hard beating and hence the purchasing power of the farmers seems to have declined. The main crops of the region are cereals and potato. The region is known as the rice-bowl of Bihar.

This region too has a large number of people working as seasonal workers in other states and an overwhelming majority are employed in the various central government and state government armed forces.

3. Central Bihar : This region has density of population between 650 and 725 per sq.km. Spread around the capital town of Patna, its dominant language is Magadhi. It is a very fertile area as far as potato, onion and green vegetables are concerned. The farmers are quite rich and have decent purchasing power. Violence has spread to this area also but business activities are still going on.

Media Scenario : The history of social and political movement in Bihar indicates the people’s readiness to accept the media and develop the reading habit. The people devote time to the news and views published or broadcast. This is one of the few states in India to have its own news papers since 1920-30. Initially starting with The Indian Nation (English), Aryavarta (Hindi), Searchlight (English) and Pradeep (Hindi) the state boasted of four good dailies defending the rights and interests of the state. These news papers closed down in 1980s and gave way to the national dailies which are spreading their wings in Bihar.

Prominent news papers :

Name Language Circulation Strong Presence in

Hindustan Hindi 2,50,000 Urban + Rural South Bihar

Hindustan Times English 28,000 Urban Elites

The Times of India English 32,000 Urban Elites

Dainik Jagran Hindi 2,35,000 Rural North Bihar

Prabhat Khabar Hindi 2,75,000 Rural South Bihar + Jharkhand

Usually the people, both in rural and urban areas, buy and read news papers. Tea-stall owners and barber shops buy it for the waiting customers. The third and / or fourth page of the news papers are quite important because these pages carry local news and these news are not only read by the people but discussed very thoroughly at these locations.

In the rural areas, every village has a few locally important persons. These people are opinion leaders and they have the economic power too. People who are in their circle of friends and supporters gather for tea every morning and evening. It is here that the news on the local pages of the news paper become very important because it is read aloud and discussed with great enthusiasm.

Radio :

Patna AIR station along with substations at Bhagalpur and Darbhanga has been quite popular among the masses. Vividh Bharati was also launched as a separate Radio channel for the entertainment.

Elites in the rural area till recent years were keen listeners of BBC News Service. The general masses give time to their favourite programme of “Krishi News” and regional news broadcast between 7 and 8 p.m. These are listened to in groups and discussed threadbare.

For catching the attention of masses, advertisement campaign during this time period is most effective

Vividh Bharti, FM and Radio Mirchi are limited to Patna and nearby areas in the radius of 20kms. Radio Mirchi has been catching up in the city of Patna very fast.

Television:

Channel Language Stronghold

ETV Bihar Hindi All Bihar (Urban)

Sahara News TV Hindi All Bihar (Urban)

Doordarshan Hindi All Bihar

In the recent years TV viewers have increased considerably. Though electricity shortage in the rural areas and towns other than Patna may seem to be an impediment, but one has to

take into account the large sale volume of battery operated TVs and informal community viewership of TV at the houses of locally important and economically affluent people. During the cricket matches or at the time of some important events happening in the country or the region these people hire generators and large number of neighbours gather at their place to watch the TV.

Lack of large number of cable operators in the rural areas Doordharshan is very popular in the rural areas. People love to watch the regional news broadcast between 7 and 8 p.m. but if they get the electricity they watch every programme that is being broadcast.

Sahara Samay, a news programme of Sahara News and ETV Bihar’s regional music programmes are quite popular among the masses.

Outdoor Media

Hoarding are very much visible on the highways and entry points of all the towns. It is also very much in demand in the important sections of the cities. It is being used by mobile phone companies and local event organisers.

The costs of hoardings have gone up in the recent years and they get defaced at the time of political rallies.

Wall paintings are used very extensively by the brands targetting masses in the rural areas. Tooth Powders, Hair Oils, Agro Products, government policies are the main beneficiaries. The low cost of wall paintings and its extensive reach is the vantage point.

Marketing Strategies : Marketing strategy for Marico must be framed to enhance the sales in the market and establishment of the brands in general. These strategies have to take into account the various aspects of market such as identifying the target group, their habits and needs, socio-economic profile and access to market. Both long term and short term strategies have to be built so that immediate sale is enhanced and new market is created. The strategy should be such that the market should not only be expanded but should get a sort of permanence.

Short Term : The strategies discussed, hereunder, to a great extent, may be in use by the company. So, they are not being discussed elaborately. I am only suggesting some ways to enhance their effect.

Wall Paintings

Wall paintings have been used in Bihar by various FMCG companies. This medium is very cost effective and gives good coverage in the widespread region. Kiosks and bus stand shades can be used for wall paintings. Park maintenance work can be taken up on behalf of the company which would give additional space for display materials.

Events organized by Media

Since the advent of Dainik Jagran in Bihar there has been a very tough competition between Dainik Jagran and Hindustan (Hindi) for greater share of readership. Dainik Jagran has been conducting a number of events every year both in the urban and rural areas. Events such as ‘Hasya Kavi Sammelan’, ‘Dandiya Nite’, ‘Mrs. Bhagyashali’ (gameshow oreganized for housewives and children in different localities every sunday), etc. FMCG companies participate in these events as co-hosts by providing various prizes and putting up their own banners and names on various printed materials.

Hindustan (Hindi) and ETV are also organizing events with various companies as co-host. On the other hand various companies and hotels are also organising several events where media houses do get roped in as co-hosts. These events are a very good tool to get presence felt in the market and to divert customers’ interest towards their own product.

Presence on the local news page of the news papers

The news papers carry local news on the third and fourth pages. These pages are very important both for the readers and the advertisers for their brand promotion. One can find most of the brands advertising for the local market on these pages. Even the various organisations place their announcements / notices/ news on these pages. Thus, it would be very beneficial to carry the advertisements and news coverage of different events on these pages. News items in general carry much more weight than the advertisements. The news will have to be framed in such a way that it should not appear to be an advertisement of any specific product. The products will have to be positioned in a very disguised manner.

Advertisements during the regional news telecast and broadcast times

Krishi Samachar, Krishi Darshan and regional news on the various channels viz. Doordarshan, ETV Bihar, and Sahara News are viewed with much eagerness by the people in the rural area. Urban people generally view ETV Bihar and Sahara News because they carry news items from Bihar specifically which no other channels carry. ETV Bihar does carry a number of programmes in local dialect/ languages such as Maithili, Bhojpuri and Magadhi. These programmes are also very popular amongst the urban population

Advertisement on Bus Panels

Private buses and government transport department buses are available for advertising. The buses travelling on various routes are used by a big chunk of the population.These can be used in a very comprehensive manner to make an effective presence in the regional market.

Extra percentage of incentives to the distributors/ sales agents/ etc.

It is observed that the retailers in the villages and hamlets push only those brands which give them better incentives. For example, if a person asks for oil or biscuit he would be given the brand by the seller which would give best incentive to the seller. It is so because usually people ask “Paanch Rupaiye ka biscuit dena” or “100 gram tel dena” or “Ek pauch shampoo

ka dena”. Moderately higher rate of commission / incentive than competing brands to whole sellers/ distributors/ retailers can lead to pushing the sales in the market.

Besides, the company can sponsor the tickets of local cinema halls, zoo, museums, tourist spots, etc. for getting mileage.

Long Term : Targetting the vast rural market which has been hitherto ignored. World over India and China are perceived as big markets. FMCG companies see each and every individual as a consumer. But on the contrary, the advertisements and the marketing strategies are prepared by metro or urban based agencies / individuals with typical urban mindset. These organizations easily forget that India is a heterogenous country with more languages / cultures than any in the world. Thus, the marketing strategies and advertising plans do not suit the rural areas which still consists of more than 75% of the total population of this country. In Bihar this figure is even more, it is approximately 85%.

So, the companies don’t really target this huge population of villagers they purchase the products from retailers who push those brands which give them the highest incentive.

I, hereby, propose to create a model, a structure, a system of marketing which would not only be relatively inexpensive but also take the product to the grassroots level in this really big market and give added credibility, social prestige and economic returns to the company.

NGO Model

Non-government organizations (NGOs) or Voluntary Organizations are supposed to be the only organisations that can address the problems of society in the field of health, education, economic empowerment of women, child labour, trafficking of drugs, women & children, environment, employment generation and livelihood promotion, agriculture, art & craft, etc. Their contribution is being recognized by government and international agencies for development also. These organisations aim to develop the area from within. They are formed by the people who belong to the local area and are hence well informed of the various aspects of the region viz. customs, beliefs, traditions, etc. and they know and use the language / dialect of their particular area of operation. NGOs are registered under the Societies Registration Act of the state and have to submit their accounts annually to the various concerned department as well as the funding agencies.

Method of Operation : To reach the grassroots they have a very well planned mechanism. They form Self-Help Groups (SHG) consisting of 4 to 5 individuals in each village. There can be any number of SHGs in a village. The SHGs of the particular village (if small) combine to form a Federation. Thus, forming a chain in the process. The distribution of labour is planned as in any organized sector. The individual members of the SHG receive training from the NGO and they in turn spread the message and take up the intended work in their locality. The work of any NGO depends on the number of SHGs it has been able to form in its working area. The loyalty of any SHG towards its Federation and Headquater is very strong.

Expanse : There are more than 10,000 NGOs registered in Bihar but not more than 300 to 350 are working in the field. Every district has a number of NGOs but they all do not work in the villages. The priorities of each are different. There are big NGOs working in a few hundred villages with several thousand SHGs under their wings. These big NGOs have sufficient exposure to handling matters concerning finance and interaction with funding agencies which are in most of the cases multi-nationals. These big NGOs have their headquarters in urban areas, generally district headquarters or divisional headquarters.

Then there are small NGOs which are working in the remote areas and their operation is limited to a few villages. These NGOs work under the guidance and financial help of large NGOs.

Economic Resources : As any other organisation, NGOs too depend for funds to carry out the good work that they intend to do. These funds are generally provided by large funding agencies, which are generally multinationals such as OXFAM, Ford Foundation, Swiss Redcross, UNDP, CAPART, NABARD, UNICEF, World Bank, etc. or the state / central government. Since all the NGOs are essentially formed by the local people they know the problems of their region. For example, scarcity of drinking water may be the biggest problem in one region while scarcity of health care centre might be the biggest need in another region, again, a region close to the international border might be having the problem of drug trafficking as the major problem, so on and so forth. But the international funding agencies driven by their own perception do not care to minimise the more evident problem of the region but take up issues according to the change in focus and policy of the world community. Therefore, even though the problem in the region might be severe, it may not find any funding agency to support it.

The larger NGOs, to a great extent, generate their own funds also by utilising their network to procure or collect the various locally produced agro-products, milk, pickles, papads, honey, vegetables, acqua products such as fish and makhana, handicrafts and paintings such as Mithila paintings, Sikki works, Sujni crafts, etc. The members of the SHGs are provided training in these arts & crafts also and the SHGs acts as business centres too for selling and procuring these things. The products are packaged and sold in the market at the local /state and national level (one can easily find such products being sold by the NGOs at places like Delhi Haat and Expos organised in various cities across the world). The profits generated from the sales is redirected to fund the on-going project needs and further expansion of the network in the region.

How can NGOs be utilized : This chain can be utilized for marketing a product or a group of products (by having tie-up and agreement with friendly companies producing other products required locally). The Federation and SHG can be utilized as the local store and retailers and granted the same or a bit higher percentage as commission in the sales while the NGOs may be used as wholesellers/ stockist with their own but smaller percentage of return than regular stockist/ wholeseller. This will lead to the products reaching down to the individual consumers living in the remotest area of the country.

On the one hand the people in the village get a job / a mode to earn and on the other the company gets a dedicated sales agent who is taking the product to the farthest point which even a shop in the locality cannot do. The portion of the profit earned from this market can be kept aside to finance the various NGOs for solving the local unique problems and this can be monitored by any local agency. This effort will give an enhanced social prestige along with economic return which is still untapped.

So, instead of creating own chain of sales and spending huge amount on assembling the structure, the company can procure a well oiled structure by dishing out much less amount, do some good work for the most deprived of the population and in turn build goodwill for itself.

Same effect can be achieved in the urban area by associating with NGOs and Clubs, such as Rotary Clubs, Inner Wheel Clubs (women wing of Rotary), Lion’s Club, etc.

Fairs

Agrarian India has the tradition of Cattle Fairs. All the old districts of Bihar such as Patna, Shahabad, Tirhut, Champaran, Purnia, Munger, etc., have cattle fairs on particular locations in the district at an appointed period of the year determined by the Hindu calendar. These fairs attract huge amount of people and traders of the region. It is generally a big event of the locality.

Again, we find fairs being organized for the past several centuries or decades at particular religious sites, belonging to almost all the major religions and sects. These fairs too take place on appointed dates every year and are equally important from the point of view of participation of local gentry and traders.

Sonepur fair is supposed to be the largest cattle fair in Asia. It is being advertised and sold world over by the government. Though in reality, the people who attend this fair also come to watch the theatres (nautch girls). It attracts tourists as well as local population for trade and commerce.

Organising Nukkad Nataks, road shows, and other smaller events at these fairs in local language/dialect can do wonders in the field of marketing of any FMCG.. KIOSKS and shelter can be built along the roads leading to the fair-groud and Sultangunj to Deoghar road used by the ‘Kanwarias’ in the month of sawan (July-August). As per the government figures, more than two million people use this road in the mentioned month and spend around 4 days on the road itself while travelling.

A survey has to be conducted to get the exact number of fairs and their nature, location and period of occurrence.

Haats

Almost every Feeder village has a weekly Haat to cater to the marketing needs of several villages together. The gathering is quite large and the volume of sales also very good keeping in view the population density of the region. Presence in any way at these haats can have very beneficial effect on the brand awareness.

The number and location of such Haats have to be got through a survey because it is not available with the state government too.

Local Chowks

Feeder villages generally have a chowk. Lots of work has been done in the field of sociology on Chowk Culture. Usually people in large number in the age group below 55 years gather here in the evening. This place acts as a place where people socialise, shop and discuss all relevant and irrelevant issues over tea and snacks.

Permanent presence at the chowk through small vending shop or various advertising tools can have a positive effect on the brand awareness in the rural areas.

The number and location has to be known by conducting a survey.

The materials and tools of advertising may be developed in the local language / dialect to have a greater impact. The people would understand the message completely and would associate and relate to these advertisements easily.