Government initiatives for rural development provided a boost to the rural economy. But The fact remains that the rural market in India has great potential, …..............which is just waiting to be tapped.

1. 119/07/2010
“A STUDY OF RURAL
PRODUCT MIX”
Prof. (Dr.) Nitin Zaware
Zeal Institute of Management, Pune
nitinzaware@gmail.com
+91 9861121311

2. 2
Introduction
• In India marketing acquired urban bias;
because of economy of rural customer, less
purchasing power, limited reach of media,
lack of transportation and communication.
• Government initiatives for rural development
provided a boost to the rural economy.
• The fact remains that the rural market in
India has great potential,
…..............which is just waiting to be tapped.

3. 3
Objectives of study
Primary objective
“To study the rural Product mix”.
Research Design
• Descriptive Research Design: used to portray the
rural consumers characteristics and determine
their market awareness, buying decision and
consumption pattern.
• Exploratory Research Design : used to dig out the
information as a secondary data. Exploration was
done at very early stage of the research work to
identify rural market, rural consumer and
attributes; to formulate the objectives of this
study.

4. 4
Data Collection Method
• Literature review
was done to trace the evolution of the
theories of product mix and rural
marketing, in order to define the
framework within which this construct has
been studied, and also to establish
hypothesis.
• Sources of Data
Data has been collected from the various
sources that are
•Primary Data Sources
•Secondary Data Sources

5. 5
Sample Frame
• Non-probability quota sampling of the
population is used.
• A quota of 10 household respondents and 04
retailer respondents in rural village and 05 rural
villages in every tahasil is selected.
• Total 700 rural household respondents and 280
rural retailer respondents are interviewed.
• Random sampling method is used to select the
households as well as rural retail stores in rural
villages.

6. 6
Hypothesis Testing
 Hypothesis One
 H0: There is no significant difference
between rural and urban product mix.
 H1: There is significant difference
between rural and urban product mix.

7. 7
Product Mix Variables
Returns
Warranties
Services
Sizes
Packaging
Brand name
Features
Design
Quality
Variety
MeanPercentageofRespondents
100.00
80.00
60.00
40.00
20.00
0.00
83
%
83
%
86
%
89
%
88
%
97
%96
%94
%
90
%89
%
17
%
17
%
14
%11
%
12
%
3%
4%
6%
10
%
11
%
No significant Difference
Significant Difference
Response of Rural
Retailer

8. 8
• The analysis shows that-
• 3% to 17% rural retailers in product mix
variable; response that there is significant
difference between rural and urban
marketing mix
• Hence there is strong evidence to reject
null hypothesis.
• Hence null hypothesis is accepted.

9. 9
Hypothesis Two
 H0 : There is a no association
between Product mix attributes and
satisfaction level of rural households.
 H1 : There is a significant association
between Product mix attributes and
satisfaction level of rural households.
• Test used Non-Parametric Chi-
square test of independence.
• The level of significance of test is, α =
0.05; i.e.5%.

10. 10
 Decision From the Chi-square test,
the P-value of test (0.000) is less than
the level of significance 0.05, hence
there is a strong evidence to reject null
hypothesis.
 Conclusion Alternative hypothesis
(H1) is accepted.
Chi-Square Te s ts
1557.362a 28 .000
1624.154 28 .000
5600
Pearson Chi-Square
Likelihood Ratio
N of Valid Cases
Value df
Asymp. Sig.
(2-sided)
0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The
minimum expected count is 80.00.
a.

11. 11
Findings and Observations
1. The rural population is predominantly illiterate,
having low income, characterized by irregular
income, lack of monthly / regular income and
flow of income fluctuating with the monsoon
winds.
2. Because of lack of infrastructure facilities like
power, difficult logistics and high cost of living;
rural customers found innovative uses of the
product.
3. Personal ownership against devises shared
within the household but not owned, and those
used outside the family unit.

12. 12
4. Rural consumers’ preference for brands
shifting from low priced brands to semi-
premium brands.
5. Rural consumers are aware of the leading
brands.
6. Rural consumers wanted to be very sure
about branded product buying decisions
because it involves their social status and
social norms.

13. 13
7. Product expectations in rural consumer
are not as high; therefore a reasonable
product at an affordable price is preferred
than expensive product.
8. Rural customers identify a product by its
packaging.
9. The rural markets are considered as
dumping grounds for low-end products
basically designed for an urban market.

14. 10. The perception of improved social status
due to the use of branded products is also
one of the major influences on the buying
process.
11. A typical rural buyer buys single unit of
product instead of pack.
14

15. 15
Conclusions and Suggestions
1. There is a strong need to build assurance
and trust about product quality, service
support, and company credentials in the
minds of rural consumers.
2. Regular surveys and analytical studies on
rural marketing should be conducted, so that
appropriate policy adjustments and
refinements whenever necessary will be
feasible.

16. 16
3. The products for the rural markets have
to be simpler, easy to use and serviced or
maintained.
4. Instead of scaling down the features of
products sold in urban markets, marketers
should evolve into developing completely
new products to suit the rural consumers’
needs and wants.
5. Small unit size and low priced packing will
be suitable in rural market.

17. 17
6.The product developed for rural markets
should be sturdy enough either in terms of
weight or appearance to stand rough
handling and storage with bright flashy
colors.
7. Regional celebrity should be selected for
brand development.
8. The brand names of the products should
be easy to remember and pronounce to
rural consumer.

18. 18
9. The extensive network of postal and
medical workers can be used as an
alternative vehicle for brand promotion in
the rural market.
10. The brand promotion needs to be
tailored to suit the expectations of the
rural market with techniques like van
campaigns, edutainment films, generating
word of mouth publicity through opinion
leaders, colorful wall paintings and weekly
hats.

19. 19
11. The product and price combination in
terms of packaging in sachets should
adopt.
12. The product should be in single units.
Reusable packaging will be a major aid in
promoting sales for products in the rural
market.
13. Pack size has to match the rural
consumers demand.

20. 20
Thank you