RURAL MARKETING STRATEGIESa) Segmentation of Rural Market-India has about 6,38,000 villages,50% of them are very small having population of less than 500 persons with limited purchasing power with many not having a single shop.The next category of villages are having population between 501 persons to 2000 persons and are numbering around 2.5 lakh villages.These villages are having around five shops each.But the companies should focus initially on villages with a population of 2000 or more which are more than 60,000 in number.FMCGs companies can cover 1,00,000 villages by appointing 2000 stockists in towns of population of 20,000

Each and the stockists can conveniently distribute products to 50 locations around their towns.The company can:-Focus on select markets-Focus on select makes-Focus on select villagesb) Competitive Strategy-Companies interested in entering rural market can examine their strategy on the conceptual Michael Porter's Five Force model to develop strategy.i) Supplier- A company should have good suppliers who can provide good quality material or ingredients at a very low price.ii) Customer Power- The rural consumer,due to increased liteacy,advent of television,promotional efforts & increased contact with urban markets has become knowlegeable about products.Another primary customer,the retailer has a very high bargaining power in the rural markets.But he only stocks few

brands per category as the rural consumer accepts whatever is offered & is not very choosy.The bargaining power of the retailer can be neutralised through effectively executed promotional & brand building efforts ,to create customer pull which results in the retailer stocking a particular brand.iii) Potential Entrants- Companies operating in the rural market must raise entry barriers by being the first entrant in the market & building good relations with the retailers so that the chances of new entrants suurviving are low.Usually new entrants,especially local & regional players ,offer lucrative terms to the retailers like more credit period,low prices and margins.iv) Substitute Products- Due to high level of illeteracyy,low awareness & dependance on retailers,counterfeiting is prevalent and cheap imitations flourish.Companies have to ensure through packaging,promotion and brand identity that rural consumers are educated about

Product.Competiting with different substitutes for a product requires a special approach and very different promotional message.v) Competitors-The brands available in the rural market rarely compete with each other and it is through the personal influence of the retailer, that a particular brand is accepted by the consumer.c) Product Strategy-Marketers have to undertake product mix modifications to suit the variables of rural markets.Escorts was the first company to position its motorcycle'Rajdoot' as a rugged vehicle for the rural terrain.i) Understanding of the Valued Product: Value consciousness is a big driver for the rural market and are extremely aware of the equation of price,quality and image.eg-Britannia came with the concep,"Swasth khao tan man jagao".Thus Britannia was shown as a brand standing for healthy food.Videocon "washer",a washing machie without a drier,was launched specifically for rural markets.Thus stripped down

Down versions of the urban products,which have features that are as per needs of the rural consumers without the frills & are priced low without compromising on the quality are the ones that are more likely to succeed than the typical models that are successful in the urban market.ii) Packaging: The affordability,storability,display ability,availability along with the usage are the reasons for rural consumers to choose smaller packs. When brand loyalty is difficult to achieve & brand identification is a big challenge in face of fakes & counterferits,innovation in packaging becomes extremely critical.These innovations in the form of pack sizes and colors act as differentiator & can create demand-pull in the mind of the consumers.iii) Branding Strategy- In packaged goods industry,reduction of the number of brands & creating a master brand to serve many segments by product variety or brand extensions is a strategic options adopted by many

players.The high cost of building many brands is significantly lowered if only few master brands have to be developed and promoted for different but related products.iv) Emotional Surplus Identity- ESI is a concept that differentiates a corporate in a market of uniformity.This analytical concept developed by Shining,equates a corporation to a tree that aligns roots(corporate value) and trunk(process) to deliver fruits(the deliverables of an organisation)eg-Tata Salt-"Maine desh ka namak khaya hai" .v) Logos & symbols- As most of the rural consumers do not know English & most of the products are labelled in English,the highlighting of logos & symbols can help them to identify the brand for their final selection.555 soaps,Monkey brand toothpowder,Gemini Tea with elephant,Tortoise Mosquito Coil,Engine Mustard Oil,Ganesh Mustard Oil are examples of using symbols and animals as brand identifiers.

d) Pricing Strategy- Companies must follow the strategy of penetration pricing with backup of a good quality product to be successful in the rural market.FMCG companies can cut cost to maintain the price points through reducing the net weight of the product and doing away with freebies and promotions.Constant efforts should be undertaken to reudce capital investments throughoutsourcing,manufacturing,streamlining supply chains,actively managing receivables and monitoring of performance of channel partners.e) Communication Strategy- To communicate effectively with the rural audience,it is important to understand the aspirations,fears and hopes of the rural consumers ,in relative to each product category,before developing a communication package.The organisation has to think locally.It is very important to invest in developing the specific & right communication package aimed at the rural audience,if an organisation expects to build a brand,in the rural market.

Some of the promotional strategies for the rural markets are classified here under:i) Education Instead of Promotion: The basic promise for communicating a promotional mesage for the rural market is that it has to be essentially an educational message.Rural consumers has to be conveyed about how the benefits delivered by the brand outweigh cost that he is going to incur.The benefits that has to be projected should be in accordance with the needs & lifestyles of the rural consumer.The rural consumers entering the market for the first time for many product categories need to be guided with regard to usage & benefits of the products also.ii) Customisation of the Promotional Message: Using aspirational urban looking model but using simple and direct communication which is not complicated,works well with the rural audience.The anchors conducting demonstration in rural areas need to be trained in to speak in the local language or dialect during

road shows so that they can connect better with the audience.Tricky,clever,gimmicky or even suggestive advertising is not clearly understood by the rural cosumer.iii) Regionalisation of Advertisement: An in-depth study of the mind-set of consumers of each region & for each product category has to be undertaken.Perceptions,traditions & values vary from state to state & from region to region within a state.eg-Philips while developing a rural campaign for their radios,for southern India,developed apunch line "Enga Veetu Super Star",meaning "Superstar of my Home" basing on Rajnikanth.For AP,the punch line developed was "Maa Inty Mega Star" meaning Megastar of my Home meaning Chiranjeevi.Philips also used the photograph of a village girl besides the range of radios & transistors so that the rural consumer could identify themselves with the range.

iv) Understanding Role of Mass Media: Mass media is the most favoured medium for promotional activities. TV is the most preferred medium with Doordarshan being the network preferred,because of its wide reach in the country.According to the National Readership Survey,the print media reaches about 23% of rural consumers in India,with 36% having access to TV.The mass media reaches about 57% of the rural population.v) Outdoor Media Options:a)Wall Paintings- Retailers have wall paintings of their shops,walls & name boards and the paintings stay as long as the weather allows it to.b) Video Vans: Promotions using video vans create a lot of word of mouth publicity for a brand in a regionAlthough,these vans have a very good potential to deliver the intended comunication,they are costly to hire & maintain.Thus,only the large organisations can afford these

vans. The challenge is how to modify the audio-visual promotional message according to the different languages & variations in the dialects.vi) Unconventional Platform to Promote Brands: a) Mandis: These terminal markets have been set up by state governments for procurement of agri commodities from farmers.These markets are generally located in agricultural area with population of more than 10,000 on an average and cater to 1,36,000 people.Cash rich farmers can be directly contacted by setting brand stalls in mandis.b) Haats: There are 42,000 haats each catering to the daily needs of 10 to 20 villages.The number of visitors on an average per hour is 4,500.c) Melas: There are about 25,000 melas in India and 90% are religious.

Melas provide a platform for communicating with rural masses.The female population of these villages who do not often visit nearby towns are present in large numbers in these melas.Melas work best for introducing new brands & building brands through the organisation of events at the venue.Some of the widely visited melas include Kumbh Mela at Haridwar,Allahabad,Ujjain,Nashik,Sonepur Mela in Bihar & Pushkar Mela at Ajmer,Rajasthan.d) Mills: It was found in a survey by MART of 24 villages across UP & Punjab that around 200 tractors visit a mill in a day during the peak season.This gives an opportunity to target the farmers as they are relatively free just waiting for their turn, will be receptive to the demonstrations being given & may participate in interactive sessions.e) Pilgrim Sites-f) Rural Meets- Nearly one lakh spectators turn up to watch

the rural sports at Quila Raipur village for three days in Punjab.Rural games & tournaments are largely popular in rural areas & are attended by the rural population in large numbers.These tournaments can be sponsored at a reasonable price & can be utilised as a platform for brand building & demonstrations.The company's products can also be given for increasing brand awareness.g) Primary Health Centres:These centres are good platforms where health & hygiene based products can be sold.e.g.- Swasthya Chetna Campaign by HLL in rural areas for promoting washing of hands would have directly or indirectly promoted sale of Lifebuoy in the rural areas.vii) Alternative Media for Rural Market: In rural India,there are two distinct segments:Rural rich & the middle class with aspirations,exposure to

mass media,with a lot of purchasing power.Vast majority of illiterate masses who are poor & cannot be reached easily through mass media.For reaching the rich class,conventional mass media can be utilised.For reaching the less privileged class,unconventional masses like nautanki,jatra,villupattu can be utilised in support of conventional mass media.viii)Folk Media- a) Puppetry- In rural India,puppetry is an avenue for entertainment & creative expression which can act asmeans of social communication & vehicles of social transformation.eg-LIC used puppets to educate rural masses about the organisation in the villages of UP,Bihar & MP.The number of enquiries at the local office of LIC immediately following the performance as compared to the normal frequency was found to be considerably higher.b) Folk Theatre- This has been used as an effective medium

For popularising social issues and by the government for informing about government sponsored projects for the rural population.c) Nautanki- It is a folk dance drama which is performed in Uttar Pradesh on a make-shift stage & is a prime attractionin the village fairs amongst all age groups because of its narrative style & rustic flavour.This media providescaptive audience & marketers can use it as a platform for promoting their products as the rural audience believes that performers are more credible than conventional media.d) Tamasha- It involves dance drama & interactive session with the audience which comprises of only males.Therefore,products meant for males can be effectively promoted.x) Innovative & Special Promotion Campaigns in Rural Market- Some of innovative promotional campaigns are:

a) The scarecrow in fields can act as an advertising campaign.b) The mid-wife can be employed to promote baby care products.c)One on One Contact contact programmes provide an opportunity to demonstrate the product & can induce trial.Examples: TAFE Tractor launched a direct campaign to strengthen the bond with existing customers through direct contact exercise in 44 centres in 9 states.It resulted in sales increasing by 12% after one month of campaign.-When MRF decided to introduce bullock cart tyres with nylon,it decided to call it " Pehelwan Chhaap Buggy Gaadi Tyre".They organised nylon cord-breaking contest for the 'Pehelwan'.As nylon threads do not break,it effectively demonstrated that MRF tyres comes with strength of nylon that even the pehelwan cannot break.-Ogilvy Rural conducted promotion programmes for 'Breeze',a HLL brand which had Rose fragrance & was meeting

competition from Nirma Rose.To prove that Breeze contained roses,the company employed a effective presentation.In the interval of folk performances,it wheeled in an outsized bar of 'Breeze' made of thermocol on the stage,and the bar was smashed.A heap of roses fell out of the bar,signifying that the soap was indeed filled with roses and the message was conveyede) Demonstrations: may be :Method Demonstration -On Dalda's launch the company organised frying of pakoras on street corners to convince people that the medium can be used for frying.Reckitt & Coleman educates customers about hygeine aspects of Dettol vis-a-vis haldi.A sugar cooperative in Kolhapur district had Hero,TVS & Kinetic give a competetive demonstration so that an order for 400 mopeds could be placed.f) Targeting Opinion Leaders- Rural consumers take a buying decision after discussions with the opinion leaders.

The following play the role of opinion leaders for advising on various product categories:Successful Farmer/Agri-Extensionworkers/Village Leaders-------- For Agri InputsVillage Youth visiting the city---------For lifestyle productsSchool Children------------For personal care products.eg-Asian Paints launched its Utsav range during the Pre-Diwali season.The salesman selected the opinon leaders in villages and painted the village post office,the residence of the Pradhan to demonstrate that the paint does not peel off.Salesmen organised meets at the local dealers,where village painters were invited.

f) Distribution Strategy :The marketer can adopt the following strategies to make their products acceptable to the rural market.i) Ensuring Reach & Visibility :Since a retailer can't afford to keep many different SKUs,it is critical that a company's product should be first on the shelf and develop a privileged relationship with the retailer.eg-Maggi noodles was the first to reach the shelves and is still the market leader.ii) Reaching upto Mandis/Towns/Semi-Urban centres: There is a perspective that if the distribution reaches even upto the feeder markets,it automatically finds its way down to the rural market.Iii) Targeting Larger Villages:iv) Understanding the Peak Season:As peak seasons are at different times in different parts of India,organisations can focus their distribution energy for that period to that particular region.Missing these times for a particular region is almost y

equivalent to missing the year in that rural market for many product categories. The rural retailer considering the peak season could be willing to stock more brandsThe promotional campaigns at local & regional level can be customised according to the theme of the festivity.v) Delivery Vans: In order to move products in rural areas in a cost effective manner,the organisation and distributors can make use of rural makeshift transport vehicles known in different areas in different names.They are very cost effective and are very rugged to handle the excessive wear and tear of the rural roads.These vehicles are very popular in the states of UP,Punjab & Haryana and can be available to companies to transport their products in remote villages at a lower cost.Such vehicles were used effectively by the rural sub-stockists of Coca-Cola to distribute the soft drinks in the rural market.

vi) Collaboration for Distribution: Cost of setting up of a huge retail network on one's own has its own intrinsic problems like capital investment,close monitoring of the channel partners and allied problems.Therefore,companies collaborate to maintain distribution channels.eg-P&G had tie ups with Godrej,Marico Industries and Nirma for distribution of its brands. These tie ups are of immense benefit for both the organisations as one gets an immediate reach to million of retail outlets & the other can leverage its distribution networks over larger range of products & earn better returns on existing networks.Development of joint distribution infrastructure by non-competing companies can reduce the cost of distribution per organisation & these can make the operation viable.eg-JK Dairy employed this strategy for distributing milk powder satchets through three non-competing companies.

vii) Sales Women Network: eg-Project Shakti of HLL & TTK group have employed women sales personnel for promoting their products.viii) Converting Unorganised Sector Manufacturers into Distributors: Small or tiny scale manufacturers are finding it difficult in face of intense competition from domestic & international products to survive.Organisations like Exide are attempting to convert these small manufacturers as dealers in the unorganised sector in Punjab & Haryana since they have good knowledge of the territory & have good sales network,credibility & relationship with the retailers & consumers.ix)Company's Own Distribution Network:Some organisations are contemplating & testing their own distribution network in order to promote their brands directly to the retailers and consumers in the rural areas.eg-Rasna Enterprises has built such a network in the rural areas of

' viUP,Rajasthan,Maharashtra,Gujarat & TN.Dealership Education: The decision to buy a product is made by the head of the family who has greater awareness about a product available in the nearest town.The dealer can influence the decision maker.x) Continuous Availability of the Brand: The retailer can influence a consumer in opting for another brand ,if their preferred brand is not available.This trial may result in the consumer shifting to the new brand and there can be wider demand for the new brand as the promotion spreads through word of mouth publicity.This will make the retailer stock the new brand and drop his previous brand resulting in the established brand regaining its previous position.Therefore,the organisatins need to ensure that their brands are available at the retailer's shelves on a regular basis.xi) Quantity Discount for Rural Stockists: The distributors rural stockists have to be provided with bulk discounts based

on the quantities purchased by them which will motivate them to ensure that the products are marketed intensely in the rural market.For stockists not stocking products in larger quantities,they can be provided with gifts or lucky coupons based promotions.g) Hiring Strategyh: The whole process of tapping the rural market can be made effective,if the company hires professionals having technical rural management qualifications.The following characteristics are essential requirements for a professional to effectively cater to the rural population.i) Fluency in Local Language : The salesperson selected should have fluency in the local language so that they can connect with the local population.h) Social Strategies: Some of the social strategy initiatives which could be adopted be the corporate world are as given below:

i) Encouraging Primary Education in the Villages :to This can be a key to influenceint people's behaviour.eg-HLL has introduced such an effort in Maharashtra and believes that this step will result in improving of sanitary habits & will create awareness about personal hygiene & cleanliness which will have a direct impact on their sales.ii) Employment of Rural Youth:Provision of employment opportunities in sales & distribution in rural areas to local youths will increase the goodwill & image of the company in the eyes of the villagers.The rural youth will be in a better position to sell the product after undergoing a sales training programme.