Rural marketing

Rural markets are like a gold mine which are paved with thorns

Reasons for Increased Thrust in Rural marketing

• Urban markets are getting saturated• A huge untapped market• Rising Disposable incomes• Remittances from Abroad• Impact of the media

Rural consumer behavior

• Simple model of Rural consumer behavior:Stage 1:Need recognitionStage2:Pre-purchase searchStage 3:Evaluation of alternativesStage4:Purchase decisionsStage5:Post purchase Behavior

Factors that influence rural consumer behavior

• Stimuli• Perception• Attitude• Needs and motives• Demographics• Culture• Beliefs and values• Social class • Influence group

Rural marketing strategy

• The rural marketing strategy involves three stages:

• The planning stage• The execution and Implementation strategy• The feedback stage

Planning stage

• Profile of Rural Market• Profile of Rural consumer• Study Consumer behavior and MR • STP

Execution and implementation stage

• Rural product• Rural Pricing• Rural Distribution• Rural Sales Force Management• Rural Communication

Feedback stage

• Monitor the rural strategy• Feedback and control

Chotacool-Godrej

Is this the world’s cheapest refrigerator? Launched by Indian conglomerate Godrej and Boyce, ChotuKool's $69 price tag is not the only reason it can be called super economical. The portable, top-opening unit weighs only 7.8kg, uses high-end insulation to stay cool for hours without power and consumes half the energy used by regular refrigerators. This is a product that has crossed several technological barriers and is designed to cross several social barriers as well.To achieve its efficiency the ChotuKool doesn't use a compressor, instead running on a cooling chip and a fan similar to those used in computers, so like computers it can run on batteries. It's engineering credentials are further boosted by the fact that it has only 20 parts, as opposed to more than 200 parts in a normal refrigerator.The ChotuKool was co-designed with village women to assure its acceptability, and is distributed by members of a micro-finance group.

LG

LG moved quickly on both fronts. At one level, it has introduced cheaper products like it Sampoorna television range. At another it has gone on an office-opening spree in India's smaller towns. Currently, it has 40 branch offices. That will climb to 150 by year end.

Brook bond sahetmand

Hero Honda steps up rural touch-points

Nokia Life Tools

Nokia has developed Life tools - a mobile application that provides access to agricultural, educational and entertainment content.

Thank You

• Over 500 rural sales executives of Hero Honda dealers are now busy meeting the sarpanch, the headmaster and the anganwadi workers in villages all over the country. They are also visiting potential customers at their homes, inviting them to drop in at the company’s dealerships which might be located a few kms away.

• The frequency of these visits has increased with Dussehra and Diwali celebrations . These festivals account for almost a fifth of the total annual sales of the country’s largest two-wheeler maker

• Some companies have even re-engineered products, pricing and packaging to customise features and value relevant for these markets.

• For instance, Godrej has introduced chotukool refrigerator; Vortex has launched low cost ATMs

• and Nokia has developed Life tools - a mobile application that provides access to agricultural, educational and entertainment content.

• These innovative features and products have facilitated a better lifestyle for the people residing in hinterlands. Some players have developed new communication and distribution channels within the rural agents (HUL's Project Shakti; Tata Tea's 'Gaon Chalo') and some have created completely new products.

• Swiss FMCG giant, Nestle plans to make further inroads into the rural markets. The company has asked its sales team to deliver "6,000 new sales points every month in rural areas" to expand its presence in Indian villages, according to Antonio Helio Waszyk, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India.

• Consumer Durables• India’s rural consumer durable market will

witness an annual growth of 45 per cent in the next fiscal 2011-12, as against the current growth rate of 30 per cent owing to the change in lifestyle and higher disposable income of rural India which has fascinated the consumer durable market according to a study “Rise of Consumer Durables in Rural India” by an industry body.

• Retail• The rural retail market is currently estimated at US$ 112

billion, or around 40 per cent of the US• Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is planning to significantly

increase its rural reach. According to Harish Manwani, Chairman, HUL, the quality and quantity of rural coverage will go up to the extent that "what we have done in the last 25 years we want to do it in the next two years." Currently HUL products reach approximately 250,000 rural retail outlets and the company intends to scale it up to nearly 750,000 outlets in two years time.

• $ 280 billion Indian retail market,

• Castrol India is pushing its rural sales by building up a distribution infrastructure to reach out to all villages. According to Ravi Kirpalani, Chief Operating Officer, Castrol India, "Our distribution now reaches 5,000-7,000 towns and villages, but we are planning to take our products to six lakh villages with a population of less of 5,000

• Internet• The number of internet users in rural India is

estimated to have risen by 30 per cent to 5.4 million in 2010, according to a joint study conducted by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and market research firm IMRB.