2. Rural Marketing
• Definition: “The study of rural marketing
comprises all the operations and the agencies
conducting them, involved in the movement
of farm produced food, raw materials and
their derivatives, such as textiles, from the
formers to the final consumers and the effects
of such operations on producers, middlemen
and consumers” - Thomson
3. Rural Marketing
• Definition: Rural marketing can be seen as a function
which manages all those activities involved in
assessing, stimulating and converting the purchasing
power into an effective demand for specific
products& services, and moving them to the people
in rural area to create satisfaction and a standard of
living to them and thereby achieves the goals of the
organization.
5. Evolution of rural marketing
Concept& scope
• Phase I: (Before mid 1960s)
From/To Rural Urban
Urban
Agricultural inputs
Fertilizers, seeds& pesticides
Durables Tractors,
harvesters, threshers, power
tillers, pump sets, oil
engines, electric motors
Not concerned
Rural
Artisans services and
products bamboo baskets,
ropes, window& door
frames, household items by
carpenters, blacksmiths, pot
makers& cobblers
Agricultural
products:
food grains, cotton,
oil, seeds,
sugarcane etc
6. • Phase II (Mid 1960s-Mid 1990s)
From/To Rural Urban
Urban
Agricultural inputs
Fertilizers, seeds&
pesticides Durables
Tractors, harvesters,
threshers, power tillers,
pump sets, oil engines,
electric motors
Not concerned
Rural
Artisans services and
products bamboo baskets,
ropes, window& door
frames, household items by
carpenters, blacksmiths,
pot makers& cobblers
Agricultural
products:
food grains,
cotton, oil, seeds,
sugarcane etc
7. Phase III (After Mid 1990s)
From/To Rural
Urban
Household
goods:
Consumables
and durables
Rural
Artisans
services and
products
8. Evolution of rural marketing
Phase Origin Function
Major
Products
Source
market
Destination
market
I
Since
Independence
Agricultural
Marketing
Agricultural
Produce Rural Urban
II Mid-Sixties
Marketing of
Agricultural
inputs
Agricultural
inputs Urban Rural
III Mid-Nineties
Rural
Marketing
Consumables&
durables for
consumption
and
production
Urban&
Rural Rural
9. Components of rural markets
• Goods, commodity or service
• Buyers
• Sellers
• Interaction between buyers& sellers
• Demarcation of area place, region, country or global
• The existence of price uniformity or competition
11. Aspect Transactional Development
Concept
Consumer Orientation,
Marketing Concept
Society orientation, societal
concept
Role
Stimulating& conversational
Marekting
Catalytic& transformation
agent
Focus Product-market fit Social change
Key task
Product innovations&
communications
Social innovations&
communicaitons
Nature of
activity Commercial Socio-cultural, economic
Participants Corporate enterprise, Sellers
Government, voluntary
agencies, corporate
enterprises
Nature of Rural Marketing
12. Aspect Transactional Development
Offer Products& services
Development
projects/schemes/progr
ammes
Target group Buyers Beneficiaries& buyers
Communication Functional Developmental
Goal
Profits, Customer
satisfaction& brand
image
Market development,
corporate image
Time-Frame Short-Medium Medium-Long
Motivation
Profit-motive&
business policy
Service policy&
ideological/Public policy
Nature of Rural Marketing
13. Aspect Urban Rural
M
a
r
k
e
t
Philosophy
Marketing&
Societal concepts,
Green marketing
relationship
marketing
Marketing&
societal
concepts,
Development
marketing and
relationship
marketing
Demand High Low
Competition
Among units in
organised sector
Mostly from
unorganised
units
Economy Open Closed
Infrastructure
Abundant&
strong Poor& weak
Manufacturing High Low
Mobility High Low
Rural Vs Urban
14. Aspect Urban Rural
M
a
r
k
e
t
Consumers
Location Concentrated Widely spread
Literacy High Low
Per capita Income High Low
Expenditure Planned, Even Seasonal (vary)
Needs High level Low Level
Protection Easily Available Rarely Available
Innovation adoption Faster Slow
Attitude to modernization Ready for adaption& change Tradition bound
Family Structure Nuclear Joint
Possession of household assets High Low
Occupation Trade, Industry& Services Agri
Attitude to Life Scientific Fatalistic
Exposure High Low
Rural Vs Urban
15. Rural Vs Urban
Sources of InfoAny media Word of mouth
P
r
o
d
u
c
t
Awareness of needsHigh Low
ConceptKnown Less Known
PositionsingEasy Difficult
Usage MethodEasily grasped Difficult to grasp
Quality PreferenceGood Moderate
Timeliness of supplyTimely Untimely
After sales serviceAdequate Inadequate
As a status symbolMostly yes Mostly no
Guidance of usageNeeded Not needed
FeaturesImportant Less important
P
r
i
c
e
SensitiveYes Very Much
Level DesiredMedium-High Low-Medium
16. Rural Vs Urban
D
i
s
t
r
i
b
u
t
i
o
n
Channels
Wholesalers, Stockists,
Retailers, Supermarkets,
Speciality stores&
Authorized show rooms
Village shops,
Shandies,
Haats
Transport Facilities Good Average
Distribution outlets More Fewer
Product Availability High Limited
17. Rural Vs Urban
P
r
o
m
o
t
i
o
n
Advertising
Print, Audio-Visual,
Media, Out doors,
exhibitions etc
TV, Radio, Print
media to some
extent
Personal Selling
Door-to-door
frequently Occasionally
Sales Promotion
Contests, Gifts,
Price discounts
Gifts, Price
discounts
PublicityGood oppurtunities Less
18. • Environment different
– Concentration, infrastructure, population density,
• Social relations
– Interactions, identification of individuals, Social
norms, Status, Caste
• Employment& incomes seasonal
– Occupations, income frequency
Rural Vs Urban
Market Differences
19. • Exposure to marketing stimuli
– Product exposure, Ad exposure& brand
awareness, exposure to market researchers,
multiple sources of info& learning, convenience of
buying, retail outlets per 1000, market reach&
availability of range of products
• Dependence on nature
– Availability of natural resources, dependence for
employment& incomes
Rural Vs Urban
Market Differences
20. • Marketers
– Understanding, respectful& humble, patience,
courteous& concerned and social skills
• Philosophy
– Development marketing
• Marketing research
– Durables: income, family structure
– Research instruments
Rural Vs Urban
Marketing Differences
21. • Consumer behavior
– Value for money
– Emphasis on functionality rather than frills
– Collective decision making (opinion driven)
• Segmentation
– Variables: 1)family size& income,2) landholding and
incomes (crop pattern, rainfall& farming method)
• Product strategy
– Functional value not frills
– Encountering fakes
Rural Vs Urban
Marketing Differences
22. • Price strategy
– Price sensitive
• Distribution
– Retailers, co-operatives, haats& melas
• Promotion
– Close knit groups
– Wall paintings, vans with audio-visual, puppetry,
street theatre etc
Rural Vs Urban
Marketing Differences
23. Value addition in rural market
• Offer small unit of packing
• Reinforce quality through service initiatives
– Hero honda
• Use local idioms to convey message in a meaningful context
– BBLIL (Brooke Bond and Lipton India Ltd)
• Striking core values of brand
– Cavinkare: Meera, Chic for rural& Nyle for urban
• Go rural& be rural
– Anacin
• Innovative channels
– Reckit& colman uses NGO’s
24.
25. Practical aspects of rural marketing
• Automobiles
– TATA (display vans, test drives)
– Hyundai (sales camps AP& Punjab)
– Maruthi Suzuki (rural executives, sponsoring kabaddi tournaments&
tie-up with panchayat members and sales fairs)
• Pharma
– Elder pharma (rural executives)
• Banking
– SBI (probationary officers in rural area)
• Retailing
– ITC choupal sagar
– Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar (HKB)
– Godrej aadhar (VAS: banking, pharmacy, postal service)
26. • Telecommunication
– Airtel (Haats, rural airtel service centre, VAS)
– BSNL (Bhoomi project; Tie-up with NFL)
• VAS: Daily mandi price, soil testing, farming techniques, dairy,
weather forecasts in the local language
• Idea, TATA
• Reliance (KRIBCO Reliance kisan -Krishak Bharthi Co-operative)
Practical aspects of rural marketing
27. • FMCG
– DABUR (ASTRA – Advanced Sales Training for rural ascendance in local
languages); Amla hair oil
– Coca-Cola (Parivarthan program to train rural retailers)
