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RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT
On
Scope of rural marketing for
F.M.C.G Company
This project report is prepared as a partial fulfillment of the PGDM
Program (2012-14)
SUBMITTED BY
SUVRANSU SEKHAR PALA
(Regd. no. BIM0612BM012)
Under the guidance of
Prof. T.N. Shukla
(Vice principal)
Bhubaneswar Kendra
Bhavan’s Centre for Communication and Management
Kharvela Nagar, Unit-III
Bhubaneswar – 751001, Orissa
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this Dissertation Report entitled “Scope of rural marketing for
F.M.C.G Company’’ submitted in the partial fulfillment of PGDM Programmed of
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BCCM), BHUBANESWAR is based on secondary data
found by me in various sources like books, magazines and websites & collected by
under guidance of Prof. T.N. Shukla .
SUVRANSU SEKHAR PALA
CERTIFICATE BY GUIDE
This is to certify that the report entitled: “Scope of rural marketing for
F.M.C.G Company” Submitted by SUVRANSU SEKHAR PALA(Regd.
no. BIM0712BM012) BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN,
Bhubaneswar Kendra, Orissa towards partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of the degree of Post Graduate Diploma in
Management (PGDM) bona fide record of the work carried out by her
under my supervision and guidance.
NAME: PROF. T.N. SHUKLA
PLACE: BHUBANESWAR
DATE:
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
This is to certify that the report entitled:“Scope of rural marketing for
F.M.C.G Company”Submitted by Mr Suvransu sekhar Pala (Regd. no.
BIM0712BM012) BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN, Bhubaneswar Kendra,
Orissa towards partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of
the degree of Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) is a bona
fide record of the work carried out by me under the supervision and
guidance of PROF. T.N. SHUKLA Finance faculty, Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan, Bhubaneswar Kendra, Orissa.
Vice Principal Director
(Academics)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to convey my heartiest gratitude to several people, for their support and
guidance, which helped me to complete this project.
I wish to acknowledge my thankfulness to PROF. T.N.SHUKLA for his valuable
suggestions and support in completion of this project. It is with the deep sense of
gratitude that I express my sincere indebtedness to him for his guidance,
supervision and encouragement the present study was undertaken and
completed. His sympathetic, accommodating and constructive nature
remained a constant source of inspiration for me throughout the
duration of this project. Last but not the least, my endless appreciation goes to my
family and my friends who has stood by my side and given me moral support
whenever I was low and boosted my will power.
Thank you!
Mr. SUVRANSU SEKHAR PALA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Executive summary………………………………………………………… 00
2.0 Introduction to the Topic .………………………………………………….. 00
3.0 Introduction to the Organization/Industry………………………………… 00
4.0 Objectives of the Study……………………………………………………. 00
5.0 Scope of the Study………………………………………………………… 00
6.0 Literature Review………………………………………………………...... 00
7.0 Research Methodology…………………………………………………… 00
7.1 Universe of the study…………………………….…………………… 00
7.2 Sample Size…………………………………………….………........... 00
7.3 Sampling Method…………………………………………….……….. 00
7.4 Tools for Data Collection……………………………………..………. 00
8.0 Data Analysis & Interpretation……………………………………………. 00
9.0 Findings…………………………………………………………………….. 00
10.0 Recommendations & Suggestions……………………………………….
00
11.0 Conclusion…...…………………………………………………………… 00
12.1 Limitations of the Study……………………………………………..…… 00
12.2 Scope for further research………………………………………………. 00
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………...... i
Appendix [Questionnaire]……………………………………………………... iii
Executive summary
The purpose and objective of this project report is to find out the Where the rural
market does offer a vast untapped potential , it should also be recognized that it is
not that easy to operate in the rural market because of several attendant problems .
Rural marketing is thus time consuming affair and requires considerable investment in
terms of evolving appropriate strategies with a view to tackle the problems .
While the prospects of the rural sector are promising, the real challenge lies in cost-
effective andefficient distributing and delivering systems. The cost of developing
exclusive delivery systemsfor financial products would be prohibitive.“Recognizing
the fact that rural prosperity is the key to overall economic development,
severalmeasures have been taken by the Government of India for pov
erty alleviation, generatingemployment and income in the rural areas
throughout the economy. Despite these measures, amajority of small
farmers and landless agricultural labourers are still living below the
povertyline and therefore, it is necessary to upgrade the policy measures
along with specific programsupport for raising the income level for this major
section of the rural community. Among other measures, there is an immediate need to
fill the information gap in respect of latest technology,market and other inputs
like new seeds, etc., for the betterment of the farming population. It isalso
necessary to help the small farmers and landless agricultural labourers by
enhancing their access to latest and useful technology, market information, and
expert advice and risk coverageoptions through knowledge connectivity at all levels.A
thorough understanding of the rural markets has become an inherent aspect of
marketing in theenvironment of Indian marketing today. This attraction
towards the rural markets is primarily because of the huge size of the varied
demands of the 700 million rural populations. In fact, therural markets are expanding
at such a rapid pace that they have overtaken the growth rates in theurban markets.
This rate of growth is however not the only fact that
hasdrivenmarketingm a n a g e r s t o g o r u r a l . T h e o t h e r f a c t o r i s t h e
f a c t t h a t t h e u r b a n m a r k e t s a r e b e c o m i n g increasingly complex,
competitive and saturated.The vast and untapped potential of the rural markets
is growing at a rapid pace. The policies of the government largely focus
on rural development programmes. This is clearly highlighted bythe fact that
the outlay of funds for rural development has risen from Rs 14,000 crores in the
8th plan to Rs 30,000 crores in the 9th plan period. These figures also prove that the
rural market isgetting stronger with a gradual increase in rural disposable
income. In addition to this, better procurement prices being fixed for the
various crops and better yields due to many research programmes have also
contributed significantly to the strengthening of the rural markets. Thus,with the
rural markets expanding in both size and volume, any marketing
manager will bemissing a great potential opportunity if he does not go rural.This
however raises a fundamental problem of identifying the differences
between urban andrural markets. This is of very important in the Indian marketing
environment as rural and urbanmarkets in our country are very diverse in nature such
that urban marketing programmes cannot be successfully extended to the rural
markets. The buying behavior of the rural Indian differstremendously when
compared to the typical urban Indian. Further, the values, and needs of
therural people vastly differ from that of the urban population.
INTRODUCTION
The rural market of India is fascinating and challenging at the same time. It offers
large scope on account of its sheer size. And, it is growing steadily. Even a modest
growth pushes up the sales of a product substantially, in view of the huge base.
It is attractive from yet another angle. Whereas the urban market is highly
competitive, the rural market is relatively quiet. In fact, for certain products, it is
totally virgin market. Simultaneously, the market also poses several problems and
hurdles. The firms have to encounter them squarely and put in a great deal of effort, if
they have to get a sizeable share of the market.
Efforts to capture the market with due thought and focus on the constraints with
streamlined strategies to overcome the same will tend to define the path ahead for
rural marketing in India.
A Hindi poet has rightly said, “ Bharat mata gram vasini” which means Mother India
lives in her villages.
According to the 1991 census, India’s population was 850 million, of which 75
percent lived in villages. This are average statistics. There are states like UP, MP,
Rajasthan, Kerala, Bihar and Orissa where the rural population varies from 80 to 90
percent. The spread of population in 4,200 cities and towns is to the extent of 25
percent, and of the remaining 75 percent is in 5,76,000 villages. This sheer base
defines the volume and scope of rural marketing.
Marketing in India has for a long time meant urban marketing. But now rural
marketing is being widely researched and discussed. If market potential is considered,
the rural market is big with approximately 70 percent of the population still residing
in rural areas and with 40 percent the Gross National Product emanating from
agriculture.
The following transactions, (which broadly outline the landscape of rural
marketing) , can be categorized as follows:
 Marketing of agricultural inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, farm
machinery etc;
 Marketing of products made in urban centers and sold to rural areas like
soap, toothpaste, television sets, etc;
 Marketing of products made in rural areas sold to urban centers like
khadi cloth, hand crafted products etc; and
 Marketing of products made and sold in rural areas like milk and milk
products, locally manufactured toothpowder, cloth etc.
OBJECTIVE
The over all objective of the thesis is to throw light on Scope of Rural Marketing for
FMCG Company in India.
SUB OBJECTIVE :
 Rural marketing of FMCG Companies – Present and future.
 Future growth potential of rural marketing of FMCG Companies in
India.
 Different Strategies adopted by different FMCG companies to
increase our rural market share.
 Challenges faced by different FMCG Companies.
 Various opportunities for FMCG Companies in the future.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers great
opportunities to marketers. Two-thirds of countries consumers live in
rural areas and almost half of the national income is generated here. It is
only natural that rural markets form an important part of the total market
of India. Our nation is classified in around 450 districts, and
approximately 630000 villages which can be sorted in different
parameters such as literacy levels, accessibility, income levels,
penetration, distances from nearest towns, etc.
The success of a brand in the Indian rural market is as unpredictable as
rain. It has always been difficult to gauge the rural market. Many brands,
which should have been successful, have failed miserably. More often
than not, people attribute rural market success to luck. Therefore,
marketers need to understand the social dynamics and attitude variations
within each village though nationally it follows a consistent pattern.
While the rural market certainly offers a big attraction to marketers, it
would be naive to think that any company can easily enter the market and
walk away with sizable share. Actually the market bristles with variety of
problems. The main problems in rural marketing are:
 Physical Distribution
 Channel Management
 Promotion and Marketing Communication
The problems of physical distribution and channel management adversely
affect the service as well as the cost aspect. The existent market structure
consists of primary rural market and retail sales outlet. The structure
involves stock points in feeder towns to service these retail outlets at the
village levels. But it becomes difficult maintaining the required service
level in the delivery of the product at retail level.
One of the way could be using company delivery vans which can serve
two purposes- it can take the products to the customers in every nook and
corner of the market and it also enables the firm to establish direct contact
with them and thereby facilitate sales promotion. However, only the
bigwigs can adopt this channel. The companies with relatively fewer
resources can go in for syndicated distribution where a tie-up between
non-competitive marketers can be established to facilitate distribution.
As a general rule, rural marketing involves more intensive personal
selling efforts compared to urban marketing. Marketers need to
understand the psyche of the rural consumers and then act accordingly.
To effectively tap the rural market a brand must associate itself with the
same things the rural folks do. This can be done by utilizing the various
rural folk media to reach them in their own language and in large
numbers so that the brand can be associated with the myriad rituals,
celebrations, festivals, melas and other activities where they assemble.
One very fine example can be quoted of Escorts where they focussed on
deeper penetration .In September-98 they established rural marketing
sales. They did not rely on T.V or press advertisements rather
concentrated on focused approach depending on geographical and market
parameters like fares, melas etc. Looking at the ‘kuchha’ roads of village
they positioned their mobike as tough vehicle. Their advertisements
showed Dharmendra riding Escort with the punch line ‘Jandar Sawari,
Shandar Sawari’. Thus, they achieved whopping sales of 95000 vehicles
annually.
RURAL MARKETING ENVIRONMENT
The rural market environment need a separate examination as it varies
significantly from that of the urban market. We shall deal with the subject
under the three headings :-
1. The rural consumer.
2. The rural demand.
3. Other aspects of the rural market environment.
(A)-THE RURAL CONSUMER : A Detailed Profile :-
Size of Rural Consumer Group
In numerical terms , India’s rural market is indeed a large one ; it consists
of more than 740 million consumers. 73% of India’s total population is
rural . The rural market consists of more than 12 crorer households,
forming over 70%of the total households in the country.
Characteristics of Rural Consumer Group:-
 LOCATION PATTERN :-
Rural Market of India is a geographically scattered market. The rural
population is scattered across 5,70,000 villages . And, of them , only
6300 villages , have a population of more than 5,000 each . More than 3
lakh villages, are in the category of 500 people or less.
 SOCIO-ECONOMIC POSITION :-
Rural Consumers continue to be marked by low per capita income/ low
purchasing power. Similarly, they continue to be a traditional -bound
community, with religion, culture and tradition strongly influencing their
consumption habits. Nearly 60% of rural income comes from agriculture.
Rural Prosperity and discretionary income with rural consumers are thus
linked to a sizeable extent with agricultural prosperity.
 LITERACY LEVEL :-
Rural India has a literacy rate of 28% compared with 55% for the
whole country. The adult literacy programmes launched in the rural areas
are bound to enhance the rural literacy rates in the years to come . The
rate is certainly on the low side.
 LIFESTYLE :-
The rural consumers are marked by a conservative and tradition-bound
lifestyles. But this lifestyle of a sizeable segment of rural consumers has
already changed significantly in recent years .The changes can be
attributed to several factors such as:
 Growth in income and change in income distribution .
 Growth in education.
 Enlarged media reach ( particularly television).
 Growing interaction with urban communities.
 Marketers effort to reach out the rural market.
 BUYING BEHAVIOUR :-
Buying behaviour of rural consumers have been effected by the following
factors:-
INFLUENCE OF CULTURE:-
Rural consumers perception of products are strongly
influenced
by cultural Factors . For example-the preference in
respect of
colour, size and shape is the result of cultural factors.
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION:-
Rural consumer behaviour is also influenced by the geographical
location of the consumers. For example , nearness to feeder towns and
industrial projects influenced the buying behaviour of the consumers in
respective cluster of villages.
EXPOSURE TO URBAN LIFESTYLES:-
Extent of exposures of rural consumers to urban lifestyles also
influences their buying behaviour.
THE WAY THE CONSUMER USES THE PRODUCT:-
The situation in which the consumers utilize their the product also their
buying behaviour.For example – Lack of electricity automatically
increase the purchase of batteries by rural consumers.: since the rural
consumers cannot use washing powders /detergents powders that much,
as they wash their clothes in streams or ponds , they go is more for
washing bars and detergents cakes.
PLACE OF PURCHASE:-
Different segments of rural buyers buy their requirements from
different places  outlets. Some buy from the village , shopkeepers; some
from village markets/ meals; other buy from the town that serves as the
feeder to the rural area.
MARKETERS’ EFFORT TO REACH OUT THE RURAL
MARKET :-
Many corporate have been trying hard to develop a market their
products in rural areas , investing substainlly in these areas.
Developmental marketing has created discriminating buyers demand in
the rural market. This has brought about some change in the way buyers
purchase different product.
(B)- THE RURAL DEMAND :A Detailed Profile :-
Steady growth
Rural demand has grown steadily over the years. Not only has the market
grown in quantitative terms , but qualitative terms too it has undergone a
significant change.
Change in the composition of Rural Demand
The composition of rural demand has also been changing significantly in
recent years Many new products have entered the consumption basket of
the rural consumers. and the relative shares of the different categories of
products in the consumption basket .The upper segments, in particular ,
have started buying and using a variety of modern consumer products,
which were till recently unknown in the rural market.
Several products already well established in the rural market
Marketers cannot now assumes that rural India consumes only certain
traditional/ essential products and that its share in other product category
is meager. It is perhaps well known that products like packaged tea , bath
soaps and washing products, including detergents/detergents cakes , are
popular items of consumption in rural market .Products like shampoo
,toothpaste and talcum powder , and durables like electric irons , bicycles
, mopeds, scooters and motorcycles have joined this category in recent
years. The rural demand for electric irons , mopeds and motorcycles have
note between 30 and 50 percent of the all-India demand.
In many products , rural consumption accounts for a larger
share than urban:-
In many products , rural consumption now accounts for a larger share
than urban . In washing soaps (cakes/bars ), the rural share is over 60 per
cent .
In popular bath soaps , it is more than 50 per cent and in batterie4s ,it is
more than 56 per cent .similar is the case with packed tea and hair oils.
Among durable, the rural market now accounts for a larger share
of the total sales in
 Sewing machines.
 Radio/ transistors.
 Tape Recorders.
 Wrist watches.
 Black and White Television sets.
 Cassette recorders.
 Bicycles.
 Table Fans.
 Pressure Cookers.
In Many Products, the rural markets has overtaken the urban
in growth rate:-
A survey by NCAER shows that the rural market is growing faster than
the urban market several products . These includes packaged tea,
detergent powder , washing shop, and detergent cake. Growth of
motorcycle too has been more in the rural market than the urban market.
Position of durables
According to NCAER survey , Rural India’s market for consumer
durables is estimated at Rs . 4500 crore , with an annual growth rate 8 per
cent .
OWNERSHIP OF DURABLES BY RURAL CONSUMERS
Product No. of owner per 100 households
Bicycles 53
Fan (ceiling) 19
Fan (table) 13
TV(B&W) 16
Pressure cooker 13
Wristwatch(mechanical) 76
Radio/Transistors 42
It can be seen from above table that now every other other rural
household has a bicycle, every third households has a fan , every sixth
has a black and white televisions set, and every seventh a pressure
cooker. Also , nearly 80 per cent of rural holds own a mechanical wrist
watch and 42 per cent a radio/transistor .Rural India now purchase a third
of the colour television sets, a fourth of the mixers/ grinders and fifth of
the refrigerators sold in the country.
Factors Behind the growth and Diversification in Rural Demand:-
Variety of factors , acting in concert , have brought about the big growth
and welcome changes in the rural demand, a few of them such as growth
in income , changes in income distribution , changes in lifestyles, and the
expectation.
New income due to agricultural /rural development:-
The technological break through ,popularly known as the GREEN
REVOLUTION, which took place in Indian agriculture from the mid
1970 onwards, has added to the prosperity of rural India considerably.
Moreover, in recent years , as part of the new farm policy , high support
prices are offered for farm products. As a result , there is now more
money in the hands of the owner-farmers in the rural areas.
The expectation revolution:-
The ‘rising expectations’ of the rural people have greatly influenced the
rural market environment . It has enlarged the desire as well as awareness
of the rural people ; it has strengthen their motivation to work ,earn and
consume. The rise income provide substance to the aspiration.
Rural Demand is More Seasonal:-
Rural demand is more seasonal compared to urban demand .The pre-
dominance of agriculture in the income pattern is one main reason for
this. The relatively greater influence of marriages and festival on the
purchase pattern is the another. After all, agriculture in many parts of
India is still depends on the vagaries of the monsoon.
TAPPING THE RURAL MARKETS :-
While rural India does constitute an attractive and sizeable market, firm
have to strive hard for securing a share of it. Practically in every task of
marketing , rural marketing poses some unique problems.
The major tasks that need unique handling in rural marketing are:
 Segmentation and targeting.
 Product management.
 Physical distribution.
 Channel management.
 Marketing communications.
A. SEGMENTATION AND TARGETING :-
The rural consumers are not a homogeneous lot in economic conditions,
or literacy, or lifestyles, or buying behaviour. It would, therefore, firm to
assume that the rural market as a whole can be served by a single offer or
a single product -price-promotion combination. firm have to analyses the
consumers in –depth, carry out thorough market segmentation and select
relevant segments as target markets. And they have to develop a
distinctive positioning and a distinctive marketing mix for each target
segment.
Geographical Segmentation:-
The rural market can be segmented geographically, using different
geographical bases.
Climate and level of irrigation:-
Climate can be one of them; regions endowed with favorable climate are
usually more prosperous compared with climatically handicapped region.
Level of irrigation can be another base; irrigated areas and dry land areas
pose different economic and marketing environments.
Nearness to a feeder town:-
Firms can also segment the rural market using ‘nearness to a feeder
town’ as the base. Consumers located close to a feeder town visit it at
least once a month to sell their product and/or to buy their requirements,
and in buying habits , they differ from those living in the interior areas. It
will thus be meaningful to segment the rural market in to consumers
located closer to a feeder town and consumers located away from them .
Demographic segmentation:-
The rural market can be segmented demographically too. In fact, there are
many possibilities of segmenting the rural market demographically.
 Population concentration:-
It can be one base. About 40 percent of the rural population live in 7
percent of the villages in the country and remaining 60 percent in the
other 93 per cent of the villages. Thus, the market can be segmented on
the basis of different size classes with regard to population.
 Age:-
In particular, the youth in the rural areas can be picked up as a separate
market. There is a population of more than 20 crore in the age group of
16-30 years in the rural market. Surveys have revealed that the younger
generation dominates the purchase in the rural market. The rural youth
differ from their elders in their buying behaviours .It will thus be
meaningful to segment the rural youth as a separate market.
 Literacy level:-
It can be another demographic base for segmenting the rural market.
Though rural India, is characterized by low literacy ,there are wide
variations in the matter of literacy within rural India . for example- The
rural literacy rate in Kerela is 80 Per cent , that in Bihar is only 15 per
cent.
 Income:-
The rural consumers can be segmented in to different income classes. The
rural consumers can also be segmented into regular income and demand
.All rural consumers are not characterized by seasonality of income
.There is a sizeable salaried class in the rural areas . There is also a
sizeable self-employed group, consisting of shopkeepers and service
providers. There is nothing seasonal about the income of such people
.Obviously, those with regular income will differ in buying habits
compared with those whose income is seasonal.
Buying behaviour segmentation:-
Rural consumer differ in their buying behaviour from their urban
counterparts as well as among themselves. This fact too could be factored
in to segmentation exercise . firms should ,however , generate relevant
data on the rural consumers and their buying behaviour , perception and
attitudes ,and then segment them using their buying behaviour as the
base.
Thompson rural index:-
Hindustan Thompson Associates have
developed the ‘Thompson rural market index’
based on 26 variables , including area of the
concerned district , demographic pattern
occupational pattern , agriculture –related data
, rural electrification data and commercial
bank data . The index can be used in
segmentation.
B. PRODUCT STRATEGY :-
The first decision to be made in product strategy in the rural context is
whether the product that is sold in the rural context is whether the
Product is sold in the urban market can be supplied to the rural market as
it is , or whether it must be adapted . it depends on the situation and the
nature of the product .Basically , the firm must find out what kind of
product is actually required by the rural consumer and then decide if it
should make an altogether distinct product or adapt the existing product.
Economic and income realities of the market should certainly be
considered while developing the product strategy for the rural market .
when products are designed reflecting both these influences ,the chance
of success is greater.
Lower priced product versions do help in many cases in the rural
market ,but no generalization can be made in this regard . Many
companies try to reduce the prices of their products for the rural market
by creating smaller size ,m or by decreasing the quality . The approach
works sometimes and with some products, but not all times, with all
products.
Specifically – Designed Products:-
Specifically –designed product to help in many cases
TRACTOR /TRAILEIER : -
The tractor /trailer is an apt example. It is a product specifically designed
for the rural market. It is designed as a replacement for the plough as well
as a vehicle for transporting both men an d material in rural areas.
EVEREADY’S JEEVAN SATHI TORCH:-
Eveready ‘s Jeevan Sathi brass torch is another example of suucesssful
rural specific product strategy. Initially Eveready’s brass torch was not
picking up well in the rural areas . Union carbide launched a market
research study for locating the reasons. The study by the ad agency OBM
found that the rural folks rejected the torch since all of its parts are not
made of brass .the design , developed abroad, had given the product
certain plastic parts, like the reflector. The Indian rural consumer felt that
the plastic parts would not durable . OBM also found that the rural people
were prepared to pay high prices for the same torch if it were made ’all
brass’. Eveready then introduced for the rural market the all brass torch
designed to last life long and positioned it ‘Jeevan Sathi’ as a ‘life long ‘
companion.
MODEL VARIANT:-
Models developed specifically for the rural market have found more
takers in the market . For instance, Motorcycles that are designed to take
on the rig ours of rural roads have succeeded more in the rural market.
COLOUR VARIANT :-
The rural consumer differ from their urban cousins in colour preference .
in case of some products , colour may matter vary much . firms can
exploit this fact to their advantage . For example , ASIAN PAINTS
understood the substantial difference between the rural buyer in the
colour preference . Asian Paints introduced paints with bright colours for
the rural markets . Asian Paints also communicated the feature well
through its communication campaigns.
Different products/ models , Different brands, packing, pricing
and different positioning:-
By and large, the rural market can be tapped better through different
products / models , different brands, different packaging and different
positioning.
PACKAGE DESIGN AND PACK SIZE:-
In some case , the product can be the same , but the package and pack
size may have to be different for the rural target group. Package design
and colour help identification of brands by rural buyers . Many rural
consumers are not quite conversant with various brands .All the same,
they manage to pick the brand that they want . They recognize the brands
by its packaging . This the reason why a number of local brands in rural
areas imitate the packaging of big national brands.
As regard pack size , as a general , it can be stated that smaller packs
are more suited to the rural areas . Low purchasing power and limited
availability of cash for shopping force the rural consumer to go in for
smaller packs with low unit price. In some cases ,they also prefer small
packs so that they can make a beginning on small scale and after trial and
satisfaction go in for regular purchases.
In recent years , sale of shampoo brands were priced at Re 1 or below
per sachet helped the trail and adoption. The 5-gram Vicks Vapourb tin
and the small –size Lifebuoy soap are other such examples.
HLL, has deepened coverage of many of its products in the rural
market through such combination. It has come up with a series of small
pack sizes/saches that specially cater to low –end consumers.
Logo , Symbols and Mnemonics :-
Image is far more potent the rural market , which in many cases is an
uninitiated market. Symbols, therefore , add value to brand recall and
brand personality in the rural market.
Asian Paints’ Gattu:-
Asian Paints Gattu though equally well known in urban and rural market ,
has greater effectiveness as an identity tool in the rural market .Actually
in many rural parts of India , Asian Paints is referred to as the
bahahawala or chokrawala company.
The Nirma Girl:-
The Nirma Girl in Frock on the packs of Nirma washing powder has
become the mnemonic for effective and good value in washing powders.
The Dettol Sword and the Mortein Genie:
For the same reason , Reckitt& Colman has been focusing on the Dettol
Sword and the Mortein genie in its rural communication.
Brand Decisions :-
Branding too needs skillful handling in the rural market. The rural
consumers have already graduated from generic products to branded
products. Today, the brand name is the surest means of conveying quality
to rural consumers. In other words, brand is the key to confidence
building among the rural consumers. Besides quality, it conveys that the
manufacturer is going to show sustained interest in those products ands
markets. Whether the same brand is used in both urban and rural market,
or appropriate variants of the brand must be adopted for the rural market
, is a matter for conscious decisions by the individual firms depending on
the context. In quite afew cases , the ‘same brand’ is providing right and
cost effective . In some cases, however, the brand name that is suited to
the urban market may not be quite suitable to the rural market. Low
priced variants seem to work better in majority of cases in the rural
market. It will, however , be incorrect to assume that rural consumers
prefer local brands to national brands.
Sell Value Brands, Not Cheap Brands;-
While brands specifically developed for the rural market and low – priced
variants may work better in many cases , the strategy should be one of
selling value brands . HLL’s Lifebuoy, for example, is a low –priced
carbolic soap that is often the first choice of bath soap by a rural
consumer .HLL, however , does not sell it as a cheap soap. Instead, sell it
as a hygiene brand. It communicates the value of the brand to the target
market. It also tries to enhances the value of the offer by giving suitable
‘add-ons’ .for example, while targeting rural students for the soap , it
distributed height charts along with the soap and conveyed its concern for
their health and well being . Rural marketers would do well to add some
value to their products in this fashion if they are keen to secure the loyalty
of the consumers.
C. PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION :-
The problems faced by the marketer in the Physical distribution in rural
context are as follows:-
The Problems in Transportation and Warehousing :-
It is well known that transportation infrastructure s quite poor in rural
India . Though the country has the fourth largest railway system in the
world , many parts of rural India remain outside the rail network . As
regards Road transport , nearly 50 per cent of the 570,000 – odd villages
in the country are still not connected by proper roads . While some
improvement is taking place on account of the various rural development
programmes, many areas still have only KACHA roads and most of the
interiors have hardly any roads worth mentioning .As regards transport
carriers , the most common ones are delivery vans and the animal drawn
carts. Because of the difficulty in accessibility, delivery of products and
services continues to be difficult in rural areas. In warehousing too, there
are special problems n rural context. Business firms find it quite difficult
to get suitable godowns in many part of rural India.
Cost –service Dilemma Becomes more Acute :-
The firms can not simply rely on ‘trickle down of stocks ‘to the rural
buyers. They need a network of clearing and forwarding (c&f) agents and
distributors at strategic locations for facilitating proper distribution of the
products in the rural market. They have to commit themselves to
servicing the villages will help not only the availability of the product,
but product promotion as well.
In the matter of transportation, combining different modes can
be cost –effective. Trucks for medium distance movement and delivery
vans and bullock carts for local haulage may serve the purpose better.
Water transport too has a role in specific areas Bullock carts have a
special role on rural distribution, especially in tertiary transport. They are
cheaper; they are available in plenty and are ideal for the rural roads.
The Delivery Van ;-
The delivery van has a key role in rural distribution The companies
concerned and their C & F agents /stockist / distributors operates these
vans. Companies like Hindustan lever and ITC , who are pioneers in
rural marketing in India, have a fleet of company delivery vans for rural
distribution . The van take the products to the retail shops in every nook
and corner of the rural market . It enables the firms to establish direct
contact with rural dealers and consumers. It also help the firm in
promotion . But the cost of operating such vans is quite high . Firms like
HLL and ITC had the resources as wells the wisdom to consider van as
initial investment in the market. Through the van , they were not only
solving their transportation problem of the rural market, but were also
developing the market for their products.
D. Channel Management :-
Organizing marketing channels is the second part of the distribution task .
Multiple tier add to the cost :-
The distribution chain in rural context usually requires more tiers,
compared with he urban distribution chain . The distance between the
production points and the rural market , and the scattered location of the
consumer make it necessary . At the minimum, the distribution chain in
the rural context need three tiers i.e. The village shopkeeper, the
distributor , and the Whole seller/ stockist/ C&F agent in the town .in
addition it involves the manufactures’ branch office operations in the
territory.
Producers who can reach the customers through the shortest
distribution chain can do better in this market.
Non-Availability of Dealers :-
Firms find that availability of dealers is limited and the scope for
appointment fresh / exclusive dealers of the company is equally limited in
view of the low demand and non-availability of suitable candidates.
Poor viability of the outlets :-
A good number of retail outlets in the rural market suffer from poor
viability . A familiar paradox in rural distribution is that on the one hand
the manufacturer incurs additional expanses on distribution and on the
other hand , the retail outlets find that the business is un – remunerative
to them. The additional funds the manufacturers pumps into the system
are used by the scattered nature of the market and the multiplicity tiers in
the distribution chain.
Inadequate banking and credit facilities :-
Distribution in rural markets is also capped due to the lack of adequate
banking and credit facilities. It is estimated that there is only one bank
branch for every 50 villages. Rural outlets need banking support for two
important purposes:
(1)- For remittances to principals and to get fast replenishment of stocks .
(2)- For securing credit.
Firms have been in search of a low- cost system of
distribution with the wholesaler serving all the retailers , including the
ones at the tail –end , and the latter servicing the consumer . This is the
strategy followed by Nirma to compete with HLL. Nirma relies on the
wholesaler network . HLL is trying to get around the problem by giving
credit to the distributors.
E. Marketing Communication:-
In marketing communication and promotion too, rural markets pose many
problems.
The literacy rate among the rural consumers being low, the scope
for using the printed word is rather limited. The traditional bound nature
of the people and heir cultural barriers add to difficulty of the
communication task. Marketing communication in the rural areas has to
be necessarily in the local language and idiom.
Rural communication is quite expansive. Rural communication has
to go through the time consuming stages of creating awareness, altering
attitudes and changing behavior. In addition, it has to break the deep-
rooted behaviour pattern.
Managing the communication task:-
The rural communicator will do well to choose a combination of formal
and non formal media. The possibilities are indicated in below table:-
POSSIBLE MEDIA MIX IN THE RURAL CONTEXT
Formal / organised Non-formal /Rural -Specific
media Media
TV Audio-Visual/Publicity Vans
Cinema
Rural specific art forms like
puppet
show and HARIKHATHA.
Radio Demonstrations
Print Media-Press
Meeting ,Announcements,
Processions
Other Print Media
Caparisoned elephants and
decorated
bullock carts carrying
advertisement panels
Outdoor Music records.
POPs
Selecting The Media Mix :-
TV :-
With he increase in coverage and increase in TV ownership in rural areas
, TV is gradually becoming the prime media for rural communication .
Cinema :-
The cinema is a useful medium in rural context . most large and medium
villages have one or more cinema house. Also, more than one-third of all
rural people do see cinema as a matter of regular lifestyle. Advertisement
films , short feature films, with disguised advertisement message, and
documentaries that combine knowledge and advertisements, can be
employed for rural communication.
It has been estimated that 33 per cent of the total cinema earnings
in the country come from rural India.
Radio:-
The radio is well -established medium in rural areas. A big expansion in
broadcasting facilities has taken place in the country over the years. The
availability of radio sets has also expanded. While radio as a medium
cannot match TV in potency and effectiveness, in the existing context ,it
can certainly play a significant role in rural communication.
Print media too has some scope :-
The role of print media is certainly limited in the rural context. Even the
remotest rural parts have a small group, which is literate. Moreover, while
the group may be numerically small , its member usually happen to be the
opinion leaders , influencing the purchasing behaviour of the large
segment of the rural consumers. so, it would be unwise to assume that the
print media has no scope at all in the rural areas . Moreover, the younger
generation in the rural areas is comparatively more literate. With the new
trend of increasing rural literacy , the scope for using print media in rural
communication will increase further.
Outdoor:-
The outdoors , which include hoardings, wall paintings, illumination and
other displays, also lend well for rural communication . In fact , many
companies are using the outdoors in the rural communication mix.
POPs( print of purchase) :-
The POPs – Point of purchase promotional tools- are also quite useful in
the rural markets. The POPs meant for the rural market should be
specially designed to suit the rural requirements. Symbols, Pictures, and
colours must be liberally in POPs meant for the rural market. Colour is of
particular significance . As a general rule ,the rural people love bright
colours. The effective Communicator utilize such cues.
Audio-visual / publicity vans :-
The AV unit or the publicity van is very useful for the rural
communication .The van is a comprehensive mobile promotion station at
the exclusive command of the concerned firm. The firm can exhibit its
films and other audio-visual presentations, such as slide shows, sound and
sight presentations, puppet shows etc. from the instant promotion station.
A potable shamiana or Platform often forms a part of the van. Even
public meeting can be organised using the potable shamiana . The van
can also be used for the sale campaign. It can also be used for Product
demonstration.
Naturally, the AV vans are quite popular with rural marketing
firms’ .Practically all firms in the agri – inputs business have their own
AV vans followed by those marketing consumer durables.
Colgate-Palmolive has supply vans that offer the free samples
and screen video films on oral hygiene. It has an on – going rural van
programme, which cover on an average 80 million rural consumers per
year. Vans are supplemented with bicycle vendors, who go to villages not
accessible by the vans.
Godrej has vans that play music and announce free gifts in the
village square. The van than goes to few shops in the villages to sell the
product.
Syndicated AV vans :-
In recent years, rural AV vans have become a sharable service. Firms
which can not afford to operate vans of their own, utilize syndicated AV
van service offered by independent agencies.
Multi-purpose vans: Jain TV’s Video -on-wheels :-
Recent years have witnessed the emergence of tools that are more
innovative than the AV van. Jan TV‘s Video – on- wheels is one of them.
Puppet shows, Harikhatha :-
Popular entertainment programmes like puppet show , dance, dramas, and
Harikathas , specially developed for the product- promotion purpose , are
now being used in rural markets. The traditional art forms readily render
for communication with rural society . Village fairs , festivals and melas
are ideal venues for projecting these programmes. In certain cases , public
meeting too many be used for rural promotion.
Music Cassettes :-
Music cassettes are another effective medium for rural communication. It
can be reached is an appealing and a comparatively inexpensive medium.
Different language groups can be reached with low budget. They can be
played in cinema houses or in other places where rural people assemble.
HLL rural specific communication for Surf :-
For propagating ‘Surf’, Hindustan Lever brought out separate
advertisement films for the urban and rural audience. In the film meant
for the rural audience, the company took particular care to demonstrate
step-by-step the method to be adopted in washing with surf for getting the
best whitening effect. The company knew that an elaborate demonstration
was essential for the rural audience.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In order to carry out any research investigation there is a need of a
Systematic method and to adopt a well defined procedure for each and
every research there is also a need of methodology . Methodology of
any research constitutes the selection of representative sample of
the universe or the general population ,application of the appropriate
research tools and the techniques.
There is an old saying in Spain “TO BE A BULLFIGHTER YOU
MUST LEARN TO BE BULL” means you never really understand a
Person until you consider things from his point of view . In the same
way to meet and satisfy the target customer the study of customers
behaviour of crucial important because he is king. Customer behaviour
studies , how individuals , groups and organizations selected buy use and
dispose of goods , services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and
desires.
According to JAMES F. FUGAL, “Customers behaviour consists of the
acts of individuals in obtain and using goods and services including the
decision process that precede and determine these acts.
The research involves the following steps:-
1. DEFINE THE PROBLEM AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:-
If the problem is clearly defined ,it is half solved .The problem
/Objective here to assess the scope of rural marketing for FMCG
sector.
2 - COLLECT THE INFORMATION :-
The information is collected from secondary sources- websites ,
magazines , newspapers , and magazines.
3- ANLAYZE THE INFORMATION :-
The next step in the marketing research process is to exact
findings from the collected data .
4-PRESENT THE FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS :-
As the last step ,the findings and conclusion of whole
research are presented in the end . .
INTERPRETATION
Rural Marketing Becomes Attractive To Corporate :-
A variety of factors have rendered the rural market quite attractive to
corporate in recent years.
The growing opportunity in the rural market is no doubt the prime factor.
The rural demand has been growing rapidly and its composition has been
changing for the better in the recent years. The increased income/
purchasing power of the rural consumer and the improved income
distribution has enhanced rural demand for several products. Better
access to many modern products/brands has added to this growth.
The heat of competition in the urban market actually serves as the
stronger driver behind the growing interest of cooperates in the rural
market. The fact that the rural market is still largely an untapped as well
as the early entrants can tap it without having to face intense
competition as in the case of the urban market, makes the rural market all
the more attractive to them.
Corporate have been finding the going increasingly tough in
the urban market , especially for the products in respect of which
penetration levels are already high . For example penetration level for the
toothpaste in the urban market has now reached close to 80 per cent. In
contrast, it is below 30 per cent in the rural market. Moreover in the urban
market many consumers have been using a toothpaste for quite some time
and have settle
down to the brand, its flavour , and other characteristics .They can not be
expected to switch their brand very easily . In contrast, in rural markets,
there a lot of first time users of toothpaste whom the company can tap
from the scratch.
Corporate find that the highly penetrated urban markets allow little
room for volume growths for most of what are called,’ necessity
products’ (toothpaste, bath soap, washing products, tea etc). Growth
opportunity for many of the ‘emerging products’ (coffee, shampoo,
talcum powder etc) too is rather low in the urban market . The rural
market thus becomes essential for companies with strong aspirations. Not
comprising in the rural market keep them out of about half of the
country’s market for the ‘necessity products’ and the one-third for the
‘emerging products’ by value .It is but natural that in these circumstances,
corporate set their sights on the rural market
Many company have already taken to the market in a Big Way
:-
EXTENT OF RURAL SALES BY SELECTED COMPANIES
Company Rural Sales(% share)
HLL 50
COLGATE 50
GODREJ 33
CADBURY 25
SMITHKLINE BEECHAN 25
HEINZ 20
GLAXO 25
CIPLA 18
RANBAXY 17
HERO HONDA 40
KINETIC 30
SOURCE:Economic times
EXTENT OF RURAL SALES BY SELECT INDUSTRIES
Company Rural Sales
AUDIO 40%
REFRIGATORS 24%
CTVs 22%
PHARMA 20%
CEMENT
10-
20%
PAINTS
10-
12%
WASHNG MACHINES 9%
SOURCE:Economic times
Above tables shows that the extent of rural sales by select
companies/Industries. Many companies/ Industries have already taken to
the rural market in a big way.
It can be shown from above table that in the FMCG Category, half of the
revenue of HINDUSTAN LEVER and Colgates Come from the rural
market . In the case of another companies too, the countryside accounts
for a substantial part (25-30) per cent of the total sales. It can also be seen
that about One-Fifth of Pharma sales occur in rural India . Kinetic sells
about 30 per cent of its scooters. Hero Honda 40 percent of its bikes.
STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY DIFFERENT FMCG COMPANIES
IN RURAL MARKETING
Strategies adopted for rural marketing by different FMCG Companies :-
ITC's e-choupal :-
ITC's e-choupal initiative is changing the lives of farmers on a scale no
other venture has ever done. The company is entering more than 30 new
villages a day, every single day of the week, 365 days a year.
. Take a remote village. Go to the smallest farmer there. Educate him in
the best farming techniques. Inform him of daily weather conditions and
price movements in the market. Make available to him at his doorsteps
the best possible seeds, pesticides and fertilizers at the most competitive
prices. And when his crop is ready, help him find the best buyer.
Imagine doing all of this in 30,000 villages across six
states season after season, year after year. Doing it at no cost to the
farmer and yet making money for yourself. Impossible, would be the
most obvious verdict to such a proposal.
Yogesh Chander Deveshwar, chairman of Rs 12,000 crore ITC, said
when S. Sivakumar, chief executive of its agri-business, approached him
with an equally ambitious idea in 2000. Knowing that he was asking for
the moon, Sivakumar initially requested Rs 50 lakh to test the idea among
soya farmers in Madhya Pradesh. Deveshwar granted him Rs 10 crore.
The rest, as they say, is history. ITC's e-choupal network has already
reached 3.1 million farmers, and is expanding into 30 new villages a day-
making it corporate India's most ambitious rural initiative ever.
Partnering ITC in the network are 37 companies, NGOs and state
governments, together creating a new ecosystem for villages and
establishing a direct link between what consumers eat and what farmers
grow.
THE POWER OF 'e'
The e-choupal redefines choupal, the Hindi word for village square where
elders meet to discuss matters of importance. The all-important letter in
the word is "e". It stands for a computer with an Internet connection for
farmers to gather around and interact not just among themselves but with
people anywhere in the country and even beyond. It begins with ITC
installing a computer with solar-charged batteries for power and a VSAT
Internet connection in selected villages. The computer's functioning is
freed from the notorious power and telecom facilities at the village level.
A local farmer called sanchalak (conductor) operates the computer on
behalf of ITC, but exclusively for farmers. The e-choupal offers farmers
and the village community five distinct services.
Farming methods specific to each crop and region, soil testing, expert
advice-mostly sourced from agriculture universities-all for free.
Purchase: Farmers can buy seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and a host of other
products and services ranging from cycles and tractors to insurance
policies. Over 35 companies have become partners in the e-choupal to
sell their products through the network.
Sales: Farmers can sell their crops to the ITC centres or the local market,
after checking the prices on the Net.
Development work: NGOs working for cattle breed improvement and
water harvesting, and women self-help groups are also reaching villages
through e-choupal. In some states farmers can even access their land
records online, sitting in their village. Access to health and education
services through e-choupal begins next month.
In many villages e-choupals have become the axis around which the local
community revolves. Be it for accessing newspapers online in the
mornings (many villagers have discontinued their newspaper
subscriptions) or checking the supply of products they ordered on the Net,
or watching movies on farming techniques in the evenings, farmers
frequent e-choupal at all times of the day. Each e-choupal covers between
five and six villages.
EMPOWERING THE SMALLEST
Indian farmers typically buy at retail prices and sell their produce at
wholesale prices, losing out on both ends of the deal. By virtually
aggregating them, e-choupal brings the power of scale to the smallest of
farmers. ITC ensures that there are at least two suppliers of all products
sold through the e-choupal. Farmers can pool their demand, compare
prices and place orders on the Net. Bargain and choice-two key virtues of
competition-are delivered to the farmers right on their doorstep.
When it is time to sell the produce, e-choupal helps the
farmers by breaking the monopoly of local markets that are controlled by
trade cartels. In most mandis, farmers are cheated at several stages-
arbitrary pricing, under weighing, delayed payments. In Uttar Pradesh,
farmers lose between 10 and 30 per cent of their income to such
malpractices. ITC is setting up its own purchase centres in the six states
covered by e-choupals. The farmers' response has been overwhelming. In
2001-2, the company purchased 60,000 metric tonnes of crop through e-
choupal. By 2003-4 the purchase increased to 2,10,000 tonnes and in four
months of 2004-5, the company picked up 1,80,000 tonnes of farm
produce.
For farmers it is a win-win situation. Sitting in their village, they can
check the prevailing purchase price at the mandi and the ITC centre
through e-choupal and sell wherever they wish to. ITC's entry into crop
purchase invariably means a rise in mandi rates too, benefiting even those
farmers who can't sell to ITC. In places where ITC rates aren't higher than
the mandi rates, farmers are drawn to ITC centres because the company
uses electronic weighing, better quality testing and ensures spot payment.
ITC'S E- choupal achievement
It's achievement :-
(1)- 5,050 choupals, 29,500 villages, 3.1 million farmers.
(2)- Using e-choupal to source a range of farm produce (foodgrains,
oilseeds, coffee, shrimps).
(3)- Marketing a variety of goods and services though e-choupal(agri-
inputs, consumer goods, insurance, market research).
(4)-Transactions:$100 in (2003).
STRATEGY ADOPTED BY HLL
Hindustan Lever to expand Project Shakti reachthe rural
market:-
FMCG major Hindustan Lever will take its Project Shakti, the rural
direct-to-home distributor model, national and reach out to 100 million
people in four years' time. The project is at present on in Andhra Pradesh
but will be soon be rolled out to other remote villages across the nation.
The target is to establish access with 100 million people in 3-4 years'
time.The importance of the project is rural economy had immense
potential and they were the consumers of tomorrow.
Supported by micro-credit, the women from self-help groups were HLL's
rural direct-to-home distributors.
The idea behind Project Shakti was to help the company reach, penetrate
and communicate with rural consumers. The initiative benefited women
in more than 4,750 villages.
VISION OF THE PROJECT:-
The vision was to change the lives of women in 100,000 villages by
making them Shakti dealers. This would provide economic opportunities
for the underprivileged while creating a distribution and communication
channel for brands to access untapped rural markets with a consumer base
of 100 million rural Indians.
STRATEGY ADOPTED BY COCO-COLA
Coca-Cola India doubled the number of outlets in rural areas from 80,000
in 2001 to 160,000 in 2003, which increased market penetration from 13
per cent to 25 per cent.
It brought down the average price of its products from Rs 10 to Rs 5,
thereby bridging the gap between soft drinks and other local options like
tea, butter milk or lemon water.
It doubled the spend on Doordarshan, increased price compliance from 30
per cent to 50 per cent in rural markets and reduced overall costs by 40
per cent.
It also tapped local forms of entertainment like annual haats and fairs and
made huge investments in infrastructure for distribution and marketing.
Result: the rural market accounts for 80 per cent of new Coke drinkers
and 30 per cent of its volumes.
The rural market for Coca-Cola grew at 37 per cent over the last year,
against a 24 per cent growth in urban areas. Per capita consumption in
rural areas has doubled in the last two years.
The launch of the Rs 5 pack has reaped rich dividends in terms of sales
and the bottles are expected to account for 50 per cent of the company's
sales in 2003.
Coca-Cola is just one example. A lot of fast-moving consumer goods and
consumer electronic companies are aggressively targeting rural
consumers. The necessity arose because the growth rates of consumer
products were slowing down not because the markets were getting
saturated in terms of penetration.
While overall volumes continue to grow reasonably well, there are too
many players eating into each other's market share.
The companies, therefore, reduce prices in urban areas and invest heavily
in sales promotion, intensifying the battle for market share.
The companies, therefore, reduce prices in urban areas and invest heavily
in sales promotion, intensifying the battle for market share.
Operating margins come under pressure and new growth markets have to
be explored. This is where the rural markets play an important role.
The rural market was tempting since it comprised 74 per cent of the
country's population, 41 per cent of its middle class, 58 per cent of its
disposable income and a large consuming class, Coca-Cola India CEO
Sanjiv Gupta said.
Today, real growth is taking place in the rural-urban markets, or in the
13,113 villages with a population of more than 5,000.
Of these, 9,988 villages are in seven states -- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West
Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
For manufacturers of consumer goods, these are the markets to look out
for. While the 1980s saw a boom in Class I towns with the spread of
television, the Class II towns showed strong growth in the 90s propelled
by reforms.
According to the National Council for Applied Economic Research, the
millennium belongs to the Class III and IV rural-urban towns.
It estimates that an average rural Indian household will have five major
consumer appliances by 2006, almost double of what it had five years
ago.
In order to efficiently and cost-effectively target the rural markets, the
companies will have to cover many independent retailers since in these
areas, the retailer influences purchase decisions and stock a single brand
in a product category.
In such an environment, being first on the shelf and developing a
privileged relationship with the retailer is a source of competitive
advantage to consumer good companies.
Most of the companies have started tinkering with pack sizes and creating
new price points in order to reach out to rural consumers since a
significant portion of the rural population are daily wage workers.
Thus, sachets and miniature packs, as in the case of shampoo sachets
priced at Re 1 and Rs 2 or toothpaste at Rs 10, have become the order of
the day in hinterland India and help improve market penetration.
Yet, driving consumption of goods in rural areas is not just about
lowering prices and increasing volumes but also about product innovation
and developing indigenous products to cater to their demands.
For example, soap makers use advanced technology to coat one side of
the soap bar with plastic to prevent it from wearing out quickly.
Also, the companies need to turn to innovative methods of advertising
like fairs or haats to reach their potential customer base.
Two years ago, many companies congregated at the Ganges river for the
Kumbh Mela festival, where about 30 million people, mostly from rural
areas, were expected to come over the span of a month.
The companies provided 'touch and feel' demonstrations and distributed
free samples. This proved to be extremely effective in advertising to the
rural market.
SWOT ANALYSIS FOR THE COLGATE IN RURAL AREAS:
The swot analysis is very important tool for knowing the competitor strategy.
The swot analysis for the Colgate in rural areas is given.
STRENGTH:
(1) The qualified staff-as company is today dealing with best available staff
having good selling techniques.
(2) Strong financial backup.
(3) White gel-it provides maximum freshness in the mouth and also helps
in fighting against bacterial action.
(4) White crystals provide instant freshness help in removal of plague.
(5) It provides 12 hour protection help in prevention of tender germs.
OPPORTUNITIES:
(1) Large investment – as they are easily available with large investment due to
their past sales, they can easily fulfill their financial needs or can make huge
investment.
(2) Intensive distribution – product they are producing & of nature or the daily
usable commodity so the company is using intensive distribution which
provides opportunities for the company.
(3) Stable economic condition – company is having stable economic condition
which helps in boosting the growth of the product.
(4) The technology factor being used by Colgate Company is at its BANG.
(5) Today the world is becoming a global village – so taking it is an
opportunities.
WEAKNESS:
(1) Giant competitors like pepsodent and close up….The company has been
facing immense competition from organized as well as unorganized players.
HLL is the closest rival of Colgate with a share of 34% with its pepsodent
and Colgate.
(2) High taxes – due to highly taxation policy the prices of the tube rises which
sometimes creates a hurdle in the growth of the company.
THREATS:
(1) Chance of failure – as the company produce different types of paste in
Colgate brand like in gel form or in crystal form or the orange gel, so the
product is new to the market may be the people accept .the new taste in the
toothpaste field or maybe they may reject it . Company has no idea of
success.
(2) Many companies are there to compete the same product in the market. There
are high rate of the competition in the market.
(3) Sometimes due unstable political condition as the different government
provides different subsidies.
RECOMMENDATION & SUGGESTION
1. Advertisements on rural media like radio, press media has been
increased .
2. Physical Distribution channel must be made strong.
3. Awareness about the product must be increased among the peoples.
4. Profit –margin percentage of the product for the retailers should be
increased.
5. The rural customers are usually daily wage earners and they don’t
have monthly incomes like the ones in the urban areas have. So the
packaging is in smaller units and lesser-priced packs that they can
afford given their kind of income streams. Then a thing like the
colour that attracts him is also important.
6. A difference in the kind of media mix that is used to convey the
messages to the rural customers. We need to use different models and
means to reach them as what appeals to the urban customer may
not appeal to him due to varying lifestyles. The communication and the
design of it are also different as what attracts one need not attract the
other as well. So again, even if the media reaches him, there might
not be an impact as it may fail to attract him as fails to connect to it
due to the lifestyles being different.
7. Infrastructure like- road, electricity facility must be improved
because most of the MNC’s tap the rural market due to such
difficulties.
8. In advertising local languages can be used to attract more and more
viewers.
THE CHANGING FACE OF FMCG MARKETING
IN RURAL SECTOR
FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) marketing is no more going to
be the same again! The changing consumer mindset thanks to more
knowledgeable and discerning customers coupled with changing
competition and saturated market is giving a tough time to the FMCG
marketers. The changed scenario not only demands a new game plan with
a sharp and decisive strategy but also a lot of creativity and insight. Some
of the players in Indian FMCG industry have already taken a lead and are
smartly moving to chart a success story for their brands. Some brands that
reaped magnificent dividend from adopting a new strategy are Fairever,
Ujala, Ghadi detergent, Chik, and Dandi namak.
The greatest challenge for managers is to visualize an active market when
what exists is abject poverty. These successful brands are just doing that-
focusing on untapped markets. Take the example of Dandi namak. Who
would have advised them to enter the branded salt market when Tata and
HLL virtually share the whole market among them? But they entered this
category when conventional wisdom said no. And they became a success
story overnight. .They entered the market not to compete with Tata and
HLL, but with the focus to take branded salt to rural and semi-urban
areas. With this narrow focus, they not only captured a large rural and
semi-urban market but also got some share of the urban market due to rub
off effect.
Moreover, these small players fully realize that in today’s world,
marketing needs money. So they don’t shy away from investing in
marketing. Again take the example of Dandi namak. They splashed out
money on their lengthy TV commercials to ensure that the message gets
ingrained in the mind of the prospect. Fairever and Ujala adopted the
same strategy. Of course they don’t spend as much as the MNCs do but
they do spend enough to get attraction.
One of the important aspects of the strategy being adopted is effective
communication about product. . Take the case of Dandi namak. The TV
advertisement was bland and uninteresting. However, without any glitz, it
was able to connect to its target customers because it talked in the
language of its target customers. These brands send a powerful message
to their target customers that they are made for each other.
ADVERTISING IN RURAL INDIA
Advertising in Rural India: -
A dramatic change is in progress. Villagers who used to crack open
peanut M & M candies, eat the nut and throw away the shell are now
demanding chocolate candies that will melt in their mouths, not in their
hands. Charcoal-cleaned teeth are a rare sight; so is the case with twigs of
niim (neem) and babul (babool) tree. Today, the ultra bright shine of
Colgate or some other international brand of toothpaste holds more
appeal than the traditional methods of cleaning teeth. Even the native
expressions of cleaning teeth, such as daatun karnaa and musaag
lagaanaa, are endangered to being replaced by new expressions such as
paste karnaa, 'to brush teeth with paste'.
Villages and small towns, which were once inconsequential dots
on maps, are now getting the attention of global marketing giants and
media planners. Thanks to globalization, economic liberalization, IT
revolution, Indian female power, and improving infrastructure, middle
class rural India today has more disposable income than urban India.
Rural marketing is gaining new heights in addition to rural advertising
because of the following reason:-
 Various rural media (conventional and non-conventional) and
integrated marketing communication. In addition to rural market
discourse, media forms such as wall paintings, calendar advertising,
outdoor advertising, print, radio and television advertising
 In particular, uniquely Indian media forms such as video van
technology, which has changed the face of not only marketing but also
political campaigning. Rural markets (haat) which are the mobile
McDonald's or Walmarts of India.
 Targeting women and religious groups in addition to rural population.
 Marketing taboo products such as 'bidi', cigarettes, sanitary supplies,
and other such products
 Globalization and its effects on product naming, product monitoring,
rural discourse and media forms.
 Creativity and deception, together with guidelines for advertisers and
marketers.
 Information structures and logic of rural ads.
 Ads as a social barometer of changing relationships and value
systems.
CONCLUSION
Where the rural market does offer a vast untapped potential , it should
also be recognized that it is not that easy to operate in the rural market
because of several attendant problems . Rural marketing is thus time
consuming affair and requires considerable investment in terms of
evolving appropriate strategies with a view to tackle the problems .
The major problems faced by manufacturing and marketing men in rural
areas are described below:-
1. Underdeveloped people and underdeveloped market:-
The agriculture technology has tried to develop the people and market in
rural areas . unfortunately ,the impact of the technology is not felt
uniformly through out the country .while there are pockets- some districts
in punjab , Haryana or western Uttar Pradesh – where a rural consumer is
some what comparable to his urban counterpart , there are lager areas
and groups of people who have remained beyond the technological break
thorough .
Even today about 75 districts in county are drought prone and
none technology worth the name has percolated to in crease in the
standard of living of these people in addition ,the small agricultural land
holdings have unable to take advantage of new technological
breakthrough . the number of people below poverty line has not decreased
in any appreciable manner. Thus the rural markets, by large number, by
and large are characterized by underdeveloped market... a vast of the rural
people image old customs tradition habits, taboos and practices
2. Lack of proper physical communication facilities:-
Nearly 50% of the villages is the country do not have villages in the
country don’t have all weather roads. Physical communication to these
villages is highly expensive. even today ,most villages is in eastern part
today inaccessible during monsoon season .hence, distribution put in by
manufacturer prove expensive and some times of no consequences .to be
effective the products have to be physically moved to places of
consumption or places to purchase.
3. Media for rural communication:-
Among the mass media, at some point of time, say in late 50s or early 60s
,radio was considered to be a potential ,medium for communication to
the rural families . now the advent and expansion of telecast network
appears for easy communication with rural masses. The question is how
many people access viewing television? There is a need to examine the
ownership pattern of television sets in rural areas to judge the potential
reach of this medium. Another e mass media is cinema. It has been
observed that cinema viewing is fairly satisfactory, where available.
Mobile theaters are also good medium but very expansive companies like
HLL using these vans found 10 to12 times higher in rural areas than
urban areas due to bad roads in areas.
4. Hierarchy of markets:-
Rural consumer has identified market places for different items of their
requirements. So there can not be uniform distribution pattern for all
products. It has been seen that 90% of farmers visited the nearest town ,
where an agricultural produces assembling market is situated at least once
a quarter for either selling the produce or for purchase of there
requirements. So town/ mandi centers with large hinterland villages
become the focal point thus depending upon the purchase habit of rural
people. The distribution network for different commodities has to be
different.
5. Low level of literacy:-
The literacy rate is low in rural areas as compare to urban areas. This
again lead to the problem of communication for promotion purposes.
Print medium becomes in effective and to an extent irrelevant in rural
areas since its reach is poor and so is the level of literacy. The dependent
should be more on electronic media cinema, radio and television. While
the excess to cinema and radio appears to be fairly easy and common. in
not so in case of television. Television advertising is very expensive.
Probable it will be prudent to take advantage of such professional rural
advertising agencies. The promotion of product along with distribution is
also being resorted to by many.
6. Seasonal demand:
The distribution of any product in rural areas agricultural inputs,
consumables or durable should necessarily follow a seasonal pattern.
Since 75% of the rural income is generated through agricultural operation
which is seasonal so the demand pattern is also seasonal. A typical
example is that of fertilizers. The demand of fertilizers is always high
during the start of kharif and Rabi system the fertilizers manufacturers
have evolved a distribution pattern so that the seasonal demand can be
met. Like wise the demand for consumables and durable will be high
during the peek crop harvesting and marketing season. . This is the time
at which the rural people have substantial cash inflows. Hence the
distribution should be fairly intensive. During harvesting season this
arrangement would result in adequate sales realization vise versa in
summer months the demand will be very low festivals seasons like
sankranti, poangal, vaisakhi or depawali are also demand seasons. So the
distribution of rural areas should be more and frequent during the harvest
and festival seasons as opposed to a fairly uniform demand pattern in
urban areas.
7. Many languages and dialects: -
Even assuming that media are available for communication or the
company commit its own media vans the large number of languages and
dialects very wildly from statue to state and reason to reason. The
messages have to be delivered in local; languages and dialects. Even
though the number of recognized languages is only 16, the number of
dialects is estimated to be around 850.
8. Low per capita income:
Even though about 33 to 35 percent of gross domestic product is
generated by rural areas. It is shared 75% of population hence the per
capita income is low compared to urban areas. This apart the distribution
of income is highly is skewed. Since the land holding patterned itself is
skewed thus the rural population present a highly heterogeneous seen.
.Given the low per capita incomes and population spread in the villages,
what will be the off take of any product by rural consumer, say from a
village shop? What should be the inventory levels to be maintained by a
rural shopkeeper and how long will it take for the rural areas shopkeeper
to liquidate his stock? If a company opts to distribute the products up to
village these aspects require very careful consideration while evolving
distribution strategies for rural markets.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIFFERENT FMCG MNC’s
The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base
offers a huge opportunity that MNCs cannot afford to ignore
:-
TO expand the market by tapping the countryside, more and more MNCs
are foraying into India's rural markets. Among those that have made some
headway are Hindustan Lever, Coca-Cola, LG Electronics, Britannia,
Standard Life, Philips, Colgate Palmolive and the foreign-invested
telecom companies.
Opportunity :-
The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers a huge
opportunity that MNCs cannot afford to ignore. With 128 million
households, the rural population is nearly three times the urban.
As a result of the growing affluence, fuelled by good monsoons and the
increase in agricultural output to 200 million tons from 176 million
tonnes in 1991, rural India has a large consuming class with 41 per cent
of India's middle-class and 58 per cent of the total disposable income.
The importance of the rural market for some FMCG and durable
marketers is underlined by the fact that the rural market accounts for
close to 70 per cent of toilet-soap users and 38 per cent of all two-wheeler
purchased.
The rural market accounts for half the total market for TV sets, fans,
pressure cookers, bicycles, washing soap, blades, tea, salt and
toothpowder, What is more, the rural market for FMCG products is
growing much faster than the urban counterpart.
The 4A approach
The rural market may be alluring but it is not without its problems: Low
per capita disposable incomes that is half the urban disposable income;
large number of daily wage earners, acute dependence on the vagaries of
the monsoon; seasonal consumption linked to harvests and festivals and
special occasions; poor roads; power problems; and inaccessibility to
conventional advertising media. However, the rural consumer is not
unlike his urban counterpart in many ways. The more daring MNCs are
meeting the consequent challenges of availability, affordability,
acceptability and awareness (the so-called 4 As)
Availability
The first challenge is to ensure availability of the product or service.
India's 627,000 villages are spread over 3.2 million sq km; 700 million
Indians may live in rural areas, finding them is not easy. However, given
the poor state of roads, it is an even greater challenge to regularly reach
products to the far-flung villages. Any serious marketer must strive to
reach at least 13,113 villages with a population of more than 5,000.
Marketers must trade off the distribution cost with incremental market
penetration. Over the years, India's largest MNC, Hindustan Lever, a
subsidiary of Unilever, has built a strong distribution system which helps
its brands reach the interiors of the rural market. To service remote
village, stockiest use auto rickshaws, bullock-carts and even boats in the
backwaters of Kerala. Coca-Cola, which considers rural India as a future
growth driver, has evolved a hub and spoke distribution model to reach
the villages. To ensure full loads, the company depot supplies, twice a
week, large distributors which who act as hubs. These distributors appoint
and supply, once a week, smaller distributors in adjoining areas. LG
Electronics defines all cities and towns other than the seven metros cities
as rural and semi-urban market. To tap these unexplored country markets,
LG has set up 45 area offices and 59 rural/remote area offices.
Affordability
The second challenge is to ensure affordability of the product or service.
With low disposable incomes, products need to be affordable to the rural
consumer, most of who are on daily wages. Some companies have
addressed the affordability problem by introducing small unit packs.
Godrej recently introduced three brands of Cinthol, Fair Glow and Godrej
in 50-gm packs, priced at Rs 4-5 meant specifically for Madhya Pradesh,
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh — the so-called `Bimaru' States.
Hindustan Lever, among the first MNCs to realize the potential of India's
rural market, has launched a variant of its largest selling soap brand,
Lifebuoy at Rs 2 for 50 gm. The move is mainly targeted at the rural
market. Coca-Cola has addressed the affordability issue by introducing
the returnable 200-ml glass bottle priced at Rs 5. The initiative has paid
off: Eighty per cent of new drinkers now come from the rural markets.
Coca-Cola has also introduced Sun fill, a powdered soft-drink
concentrate. The instant and ready-to-mix Sun fill is available in a single-
serve sachet of 25 gm priced at Rs 2 and mutiserve sachet of 200 gm
priced at Rs 15.
Acceptability
The third challenge is to gain acceptability for the product or service.
Therefore, there is a need to offer products that suit the rural market. One
company which has reaped rich dividends by doing so is LG Electronics.
In 1998, it developed a customized TV for the rural market and
christened it Sampoorna. It was a runway hit selling 100,000 sets in the
very first year. Because of the lack of electricity and refrigerators in the
rural areas, Coca-Cola provides low-cost ice boxes — a tin box for new
outlets and thermocol box for seasonal outlets.
The insurance companies that have tailor-made products for the rural
market have performed well. HDFC Standard LIFE topped private
insurers by selling policies worth Rs 3.5 crore in total preemie. The
company tied up with non-governmental organizations and offered
reasonably-priced policies in the nature of group insurance covers.
Awareness:-
With large parts of rural India inaccessible to conventional advertising
media — only 41 per cent rural households have access to TV —
building awareness is another challenge. Fortunately, however, the rural
consumer has the same likes as the urban consumer — movies and music
— and for both the urban and rural consumer, the family is the key unit of
identity. However, the rural consumer expressions differ from his urban
counterpart. Outing for the former is confined to local fairs and festivals
and TV viewing is confined to the state-owned Doordarshan.
Consumption of branded products is treated as a special treat or
indulgence.
Hindustan Lever relies heavily on its own company-organized media.
These are promotional events organized by stockiest. Godrej Consumer
Products, which is trying to push its soap brands into the interior areas,
uses radio to reach the local people in their language.
Coca-Cola uses a combination of TV, cinema and radio to reach 53.6 per
cent of rural households. It doubled its spend on advertising on
Doordarshan, which alone reached 41 per cent of rural households. It has
also used banners, posters and tapped all the local forms of entertainment.
Since price is a key issue in the rural areas, Coca-Cola advertising
stressed its `magical' price point of Rs 5 per bottle in all media.LG
Electronics uses vans and road shows to reach rural customers. The
company uses local language advertising. Philips India uses wall writing
and radio advertising to drive its growth in rural areas.
The key dilemma for MNCs eager to tap the large and fast-growing rural
market is whether they can do so without hurting the company's profit
margins. Mr. Carlo Donati, Chairman and Managing-Director, Nestle,
while admitting that his company's product portfolio is essentially
designed for urban consumers, cautions companies from plunging
headlong into the rural market as capturing rural consumers can be
expensive. "Any generalization" says Mr. Donati, "about rural India could
be wrong and one should focus on high GDP growth areas, be it urban,
semi-urban or rural.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ;
The study is based totally on the primary data as well as secondary data
and such data relates to something of the past and not the exact present
scenario. Hence totally depending on such given data could at times be
misleading, that is no matter how good the report is one has to do certain
amount of homework before jumping to conclusions on the basis of such
study.
Marketing activity is something that is never stable and is constantly
changing with the changing circumstances, ever changing rules and
regulations that control these activities. Hence something which is very
up-to-date as of now might become obsolete in a very short span of time.
One has to be very cautious before taking any decision based on such
data and has to think beyond what is given. No amount of data can be
accurate enough to give the desired results.
Another major drawback with respect to the study of Scope Of Rural
Marketing For FMCG Company In India is that it is something that has
been here for the past few years only and hence trying to get much
information regarding it is also difficult, and whatever little that is
available has to be taken note of and believed into. Only a few studies on
the topic are available and hence very few facets of it can be seen.
A lot more can be known about it but at a later stage when it has
grown in proportions and is more frequently used by the various MNC’s
for increasing their market share and lot of competition increases among
the MNC’s and the urban market is saturated.
SCOPE OF THE FURTHER RESEARCH
The rural India offers a tremendous market potential. A mere one percent
increase in India’s rural income translates to a mind-boggling Rs 10,000
crore of buying power. Nearly two-thirds of all middle-income
households in the country are in rural India. And close to half of India’s
buying potential lies in its villages. Thus for the country’s marketers,
small and big, rural reach is on the rise and is fast becoming their most
important route to growth. Realizing this Corporate India is now
investing a sizeable chunk of its marketing budget to target the rural
consumers.
Increasing brand awareness
In the rural families, studies indicate a slow but determined shift in the
use of categories. There is a remarkable improvement in the form of
products used. For instance, households are upgrading from indigenous
teeth-cleaning ingredients to tooth powder and tooth-pastes, from
traditional mosquito repellant to coils and mats. There is also a visible
shift from local and unbranded products to national brands. From low-
priced brands to premium brands.
Price promotion
In an occasional effort to capture volume sale, multinational brands use
price promotions that often yield dramatic, if temporary, sales increases
in the rural areas. Their large volume increases reveal a potentially large
market in the villages that remains untapped, just below the actual price
points. To penetrate this market and generate sustainable volume sales, a
permanent product entry at the lower price point is required. Failure to
recognize the potentially huge market of the villages that lies below the
surface of international price points can even place the premium branded
business at risk
FMCG consumption
Organizations like Hindustan Lever Ltd., Nirma Chemical Works,
Colgate Palmolive, Parle foods and Malhotra Marketing have carved
inroads into the heart of rural markets. Various categories of products
have been able to spread their tentacles deep into the rural market and
achieved significant recognition in the country households. And, in the
process, the regional brands, local brands and the other unbranded
offerings got displaced by the leading brands.
Company House hold penetration
HLL 86%
Nirma chemical works 56%
Colgate Palmolive 33%
Parle Foods 31%
Category % volume of local
brands/unbranded
Washing cakes/bars 86%
Tea 55%
Salt 33%
Of the expenditure on consumer goods in rurahousehold, approximately,
44% is on food articles such as biscuits, tea, coffee and salt, 20% on
toiletries, 13% on washing material, 10% on cosmetics, 4% on OTC
products and 9% on other consumables. A number of category products
have established themselves firmly in the rural households.
It is evident that in the villages low-priced brands are well accepted and
one might feel that a larger proportion of the purchases made in rural
market can be attributed to local/ unbranded players. Surprisingly,
however, the unbranded/local component contributes to a substantial
portion of the volume of only a few of the highly penetrated categories.
Category Category
Penetration
Brand with highest
penetration
Toilet Soap 91% Lifebuoy
Washing cakes/Bars 88% Wheel
Edlble oil 84% Double Iran Mustard
Tea 77% Lipton Tazza
Washin powder /
liquid
70% Nirma
Salt 64% Tata Salt
Biscuits 61% Parle G
Focus on urban categories
Though the commodity products have greater penetration, traditionally
urban categories such as skin creams and talcum powder have also made
a mark. While the urban talcum powder market suffered a de-growth, the
rural talcum powder market darted ahead. Similarly, growth of rural skin
cream market was at par with that of urban skin cream market. This
clearly indicated that after being considered urban for a long time, some
categories are now wearing a rural face. And, in many a case, it is the
rural market that is actually driving the growth of category.
Premium brands
Pond’s is the leader in the talcum powder category with a penetration of
65% and volume contribution of 56%. Its rivals viz. Nycil and Liril are
trailing far behind. Moreover, 60% of the Pond’s users have purchased no
other brand i.e. they are 100% brand loyal. This reflects the strength of
the brand in rural bazaar
Category Household Penetration
Skin Cream 18%
Talcom Powder 15%
In the skin care category, Fair & Lovely fairness cream, with a
penetration of 75%, accounts for 60% of the skin care market in rural
India. It also enjoys t he undistinguished patronage of 58% of its
user households. Both Pond’s and Fair & Lovely are enjoying a
monopoly in the rural markets In their respective categories.
Rural India is not averse to trying out the premium brands at high prices.
A study indicated that a majority of the premium brand users are using
the brand for the first time. Similarly 0.9% of the talcum powder-using
families have started using Denim talc and 0.7% of the shampoo using
households started using Pantene. Surveys also reveal that trials are not
restricted to the more affluent echelon of the villages. The experimenting
households are more-or-less evenly spread across the various socio-
economic clusters of the rural market. This should further encourage the
marketers to focus their attention on rural buyers.
Brand Penetration of Category users
Surf 6.20%
Ariel 4.50%
Pantene 1.80%
Denim 1.80%
The rural youths are more open to fresh concepts as against their elderly
family members. Their difference in choice of products/brands with the
seniors of the households often leads to a “dual-usage” of product
categories. As an instance, 20% of the households using tooth powder
also use tooth paste. Similarly, many of the households using premium
brands also use mass market brands. For example, while 15% of Surf and
12% of Ariel using families also use Nirma detergent, 3% of Denim users
use Pond’s Dream flower talc and 18% of Pantene using households use
Clinic shampoo as well.
Income growth goes into consumption
In urban households there are a number of competing demands for ones
money. In rural households, they hardly change their house or go out on a
vacation. They save only a small fraction of his money and spend the rest.
And when there is a growth in their income, the money goes straight into
consumption.
Rural media
Urban consumers shop daily and have 365 opportunities a year to switch
brands while the rural purchasers who buy their goods in weekly haats
have only 54. Attempts to reach rural consumers, even once during the
purchase cycle to ensure repeat purchase, make point of purchase
advertising and trade push indispensable. This requires a significant
reorientation in the allocation of funds across media. For example,
outdoor advertising accounts for over 7% of all media expenditures in
India.
Rural buyers living in small isolated groups distributed across vast
distances have limited access to the broadcast media. The existence of a
multiplicity of languages and varying level of illiteracy complicates the
task of communication further. To overcome some of these challenges,
Unilever pioneered the concept of video vans that travel from village to
village screening films in the local language, interspersed with
advertisements for Unilever’s products. The company also provides
product usage demonstrations to the captive audience because written
instructions on the pack may
Quality consciousness
It will be unjustified to think that rural consumers are less bothered about
product quality. Even the village buyers desire to buy a quality product
and upgrade their quality of life. Marico, an Indian edible oil company,
has found the rural consumers in the interior of India willingly pay a
reasonable price premium for branded cooking oil, over community oil,
because they are certain of its consistent quality. Unbranded products are
often considered by some of them to be adulterated.
Travails in distribution
In spite of recognizing the potential of this vast market of 700 million,
marketers are often unable to cater to it because of lack of adequate
infrastructure. The distances between villages, the terrain and the lack of
pucca roads connecting the places act as impediments for them to reach
their customers. But once if they overcome these hassles and reach those
remote bazaars to be first on the shelf in the product category, they
develop a privileged relationship with the retailer that offers them a
tremendous competitive advantage. Rural retailers are far less specialized
than their urban counterparts and carry a wider range of products. Since
frequent delivery is not possible in their part of the world, they tend to
carry only a single brand in each product category. And, usually, the
brands that are first on the rural shelves become synonymous with
product category and are difficult to dislodge. For instance, Maggie
noodles, the brand that created the category of instant noodles, reached
the rural shelves before anyone else and remained the market leader ever
since. Thus, a drive down the rugged countryside, sans electricity and
other modern facilities, is, surely, torturous. But the pain is worth bearing.
Preference for Low Unit Packs (LUP)
Trial is often encouraged by Low Unit Packs (LUP) or sachets. The
sachet packaging strategy caught the popular FMCG imagination in the
early 1990s and it was considered as a breakthrough in the psyche of the
rural consumers. Today, the sachets are increasingly dominant on shelves.
Shampoo, for instance, has invaded the rural households with sachets at
low affordable prices. Sachets of tea, blues and washing powder are being
launched in a big way in the village hats by leading manufacturers.
Companies like HLL and Marico are making concrete efforts to create
and then meet the demand of rural consumers by launching products in
small affordable packs.
Channel power
The rural consumers interact directly with their retail salespersons who
has a strong conviction power and whose recommendations carry weight.
The owners’ relationship with customers is based on an understanding of
their needs and buying habits and is cemented by the retailer extending
credit. Some of the successful manufacturers creatively develop new
revenue activities for the rural retailer. United Phosphorous Limited
(UPL), an Indian crop protection company, realized that in its rural
markets small farmers were not applying pesticide at all, or applying it
inappropriately due to the lack of application equipment. The capital cost
of the equipment (mounted pumps and dispensers that cost up to $3000)
was placed out of reach of small farmers and most rural retailers. UPL
designed a program in which it arranged for bank loans for its rural
retailers to purchase application equipment and demonstrated to their
retailers the additional revenue possibilities from renting this equipment
to small farmers. The result was an added revenue stream for rural
retailers.
Wider competition for a product
Many of the rural buyers tend to have little stock of money, only a flow.
Consequently, they tend to make purchases only to meet their daily needs
and have little capacity to build inventory. The marketing implications of
this are far-reaching. Not only are pack sizes and price points affected,
but in turns out that consumers have to make a selection from a much
wider array of product categories. Thus the nature of competition for any
given
product is much broader. For instance, in a village hat, Coca Cola
competes not just with Pepsi, but with a broad set of purchases that the
rural consumers consider as “treats”.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Business magazines: Business Today
Internet: www.Indiainfoline.com
www.Google.com
www. Censusindia.com
www.HLL.com
Business Dailies: The Economic Times
Business Standard
Study books: Marketing Management- Philip kotler
Marketing Management- v s
Ramaswamy
S
Namakumari.
APENDIX (QUESTIONNAIRE):
QUS.1. which one you prefer for your teeth?
ANS. (1) Powder (2) Paste
QUS.2. Which paste you like most?
ANS. (1) Colgate (2) Pepsodent (3) Close-up (4) Others
QUS.3. On which basis you like Colgate?
ANS. (1) Price (2) Packaging (3) taste (4) Others
QUS.4. what types of changes you want to do in your toothpaste?
ANS. (1) Taste (2) Quality (3) packaging (4) others
QUS.5. which type of way you are influenced for the purchase and to get the
information about the product?
ANS. (1) Radio (2) T.V (3) Newspaper (4) Hoardings (5) Others
QUS.6. Are you satisfy with Colgate distributer?
ANS. (1) Yes (2) No
QUS.7. How you measure the performance of Colgate?
ANS. (1) Quality (2) Brand quality (3) Packaging (4) All of the above
QUS.8. which type of range you like?
ANS. (1) 10 rs. / 40 gm (2) 25-30 rs. / 100 gm (3) 55-60 rs/ 150 gm
QUS.9. Are the Colgate easily available in the retail shop?
ANS. (1) Yes (2) No
QUS.10. Are you satisfied with your current toothpaste?
ANS. (1) Yes (2) No
If no then why . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Rural marketing on fmcg sector pdf

  • 1. RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT On Scope of rural marketing for F.M.C.G Company This project report is prepared as a partial fulfillment of the PGDM Program (2012-14) SUBMITTED BY SUVRANSU SEKHAR PALA (Regd. no. BIM0612BM012) Under the guidance of Prof. T.N. Shukla (Vice principal) Bhubaneswar Kendra Bhavan’s Centre for Communication and Management Kharvela Nagar, Unit-III Bhubaneswar – 751001, Orissa
  • 2. DECLARATION I hereby declare that this Dissertation Report entitled “Scope of rural marketing for F.M.C.G Company’’ submitted in the partial fulfillment of PGDM Programmed of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BCCM), BHUBANESWAR is based on secondary data found by me in various sources like books, magazines and websites & collected by under guidance of Prof. T.N. Shukla . SUVRANSU SEKHAR PALA
  • 3. CERTIFICATE BY GUIDE This is to certify that the report entitled: “Scope of rural marketing for F.M.C.G Company” Submitted by SUVRANSU SEKHAR PALA(Regd. no. BIM0712BM012) BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN, Bhubaneswar Kendra, Orissa towards partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) bona fide record of the work carried out by her under my supervision and guidance. NAME: PROF. T.N. SHUKLA PLACE: BHUBANESWAR DATE:
  • 4. CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL This is to certify that the report entitled:“Scope of rural marketing for F.M.C.G Company”Submitted by Mr Suvransu sekhar Pala (Regd. no. BIM0712BM012) BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN, Bhubaneswar Kendra, Orissa towards partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) is a bona fide record of the work carried out by me under the supervision and guidance of PROF. T.N. SHUKLA Finance faculty, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bhubaneswar Kendra, Orissa. Vice Principal Director (Academics)
  • 5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to convey my heartiest gratitude to several people, for their support and guidance, which helped me to complete this project. I wish to acknowledge my thankfulness to PROF. T.N.SHUKLA for his valuable suggestions and support in completion of this project. It is with the deep sense of gratitude that I express my sincere indebtedness to him for his guidance, supervision and encouragement the present study was undertaken and completed. His sympathetic, accommodating and constructive nature remained a constant source of inspiration for me throughout the duration of this project. Last but not the least, my endless appreciation goes to my family and my friends who has stood by my side and given me moral support whenever I was low and boosted my will power. Thank you! Mr. SUVRANSU SEKHAR PALA
  • 6. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Executive summary………………………………………………………… 00 2.0 Introduction to the Topic .………………………………………………….. 00 3.0 Introduction to the Organization/Industry………………………………… 00 4.0 Objectives of the Study……………………………………………………. 00 5.0 Scope of the Study………………………………………………………… 00 6.0 Literature Review………………………………………………………...... 00 7.0 Research Methodology…………………………………………………… 00 7.1 Universe of the study…………………………….…………………… 00 7.2 Sample Size…………………………………………….………........... 00 7.3 Sampling Method…………………………………………….……….. 00 7.4 Tools for Data Collection……………………………………..………. 00 8.0 Data Analysis & Interpretation……………………………………………. 00 9.0 Findings…………………………………………………………………….. 00 10.0 Recommendations & Suggestions………………………………………. 00 11.0 Conclusion…...…………………………………………………………… 00 12.1 Limitations of the Study……………………………………………..…… 00 12.2 Scope for further research………………………………………………. 00 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………...... i Appendix [Questionnaire]……………………………………………………... iii
  • 7. Executive summary The purpose and objective of this project report is to find out the Where the rural market does offer a vast untapped potential , it should also be recognized that it is not that easy to operate in the rural market because of several attendant problems . Rural marketing is thus time consuming affair and requires considerable investment in terms of evolving appropriate strategies with a view to tackle the problems . While the prospects of the rural sector are promising, the real challenge lies in cost- effective andefficient distributing and delivering systems. The cost of developing exclusive delivery systemsfor financial products would be prohibitive.“Recognizing the fact that rural prosperity is the key to overall economic development, severalmeasures have been taken by the Government of India for pov erty alleviation, generatingemployment and income in the rural areas throughout the economy. Despite these measures, amajority of small farmers and landless agricultural labourers are still living below the povertyline and therefore, it is necessary to upgrade the policy measures along with specific programsupport for raising the income level for this major section of the rural community. Among other measures, there is an immediate need to fill the information gap in respect of latest technology,market and other inputs like new seeds, etc., for the betterment of the farming population. It isalso necessary to help the small farmers and landless agricultural labourers by enhancing their access to latest and useful technology, market information, and expert advice and risk coverageoptions through knowledge connectivity at all levels.A thorough understanding of the rural markets has become an inherent aspect of marketing in theenvironment of Indian marketing today. This attraction towards the rural markets is primarily because of the huge size of the varied demands of the 700 million rural populations. In fact, therural markets are expanding at such a rapid pace that they have overtaken the growth rates in theurban markets. This rate of growth is however not the only fact that hasdrivenmarketingm a n a g e r s t o g o r u r a l . T h e o t h e r f a c t o r i s t h e f a c t t h a t t h e u r b a n m a r k e t s a r e b e c o m i n g increasingly complex, competitive and saturated.The vast and untapped potential of the rural markets is growing at a rapid pace. The policies of the government largely focus
  • 8. on rural development programmes. This is clearly highlighted bythe fact that the outlay of funds for rural development has risen from Rs 14,000 crores in the 8th plan to Rs 30,000 crores in the 9th plan period. These figures also prove that the rural market isgetting stronger with a gradual increase in rural disposable income. In addition to this, better procurement prices being fixed for the various crops and better yields due to many research programmes have also contributed significantly to the strengthening of the rural markets. Thus,with the rural markets expanding in both size and volume, any marketing manager will bemissing a great potential opportunity if he does not go rural.This however raises a fundamental problem of identifying the differences between urban andrural markets. This is of very important in the Indian marketing environment as rural and urbanmarkets in our country are very diverse in nature such that urban marketing programmes cannot be successfully extended to the rural markets. The buying behavior of the rural Indian differstremendously when compared to the typical urban Indian. Further, the values, and needs of therural people vastly differ from that of the urban population.
  • 9. INTRODUCTION The rural market of India is fascinating and challenging at the same time. It offers large scope on account of its sheer size. And, it is growing steadily. Even a modest growth pushes up the sales of a product substantially, in view of the huge base. It is attractive from yet another angle. Whereas the urban market is highly competitive, the rural market is relatively quiet. In fact, for certain products, it is totally virgin market. Simultaneously, the market also poses several problems and hurdles. The firms have to encounter them squarely and put in a great deal of effort, if they have to get a sizeable share of the market. Efforts to capture the market with due thought and focus on the constraints with streamlined strategies to overcome the same will tend to define the path ahead for rural marketing in India. A Hindi poet has rightly said, “ Bharat mata gram vasini” which means Mother India lives in her villages. According to the 1991 census, India’s population was 850 million, of which 75 percent lived in villages. This are average statistics. There are states like UP, MP, Rajasthan, Kerala, Bihar and Orissa where the rural population varies from 80 to 90 percent. The spread of population in 4,200 cities and towns is to the extent of 25 percent, and of the remaining 75 percent is in 5,76,000 villages. This sheer base defines the volume and scope of rural marketing. Marketing in India has for a long time meant urban marketing. But now rural marketing is being widely researched and discussed. If market potential is considered, the rural market is big with approximately 70 percent of the population still residing in rural areas and with 40 percent the Gross National Product emanating from agriculture. The following transactions, (which broadly outline the landscape of rural marketing) , can be categorized as follows:
  • 10.  Marketing of agricultural inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, farm machinery etc;  Marketing of products made in urban centers and sold to rural areas like soap, toothpaste, television sets, etc;  Marketing of products made in rural areas sold to urban centers like khadi cloth, hand crafted products etc; and  Marketing of products made and sold in rural areas like milk and milk products, locally manufactured toothpowder, cloth etc.
  • 11. OBJECTIVE The over all objective of the thesis is to throw light on Scope of Rural Marketing for FMCG Company in India. SUB OBJECTIVE :  Rural marketing of FMCG Companies – Present and future.  Future growth potential of rural marketing of FMCG Companies in India.  Different Strategies adopted by different FMCG companies to increase our rural market share.  Challenges faced by different FMCG Companies.  Various opportunities for FMCG Companies in the future.
  • 12. SCOPE OF THE STUDY The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers great opportunities to marketers. Two-thirds of countries consumers live in rural areas and almost half of the national income is generated here. It is only natural that rural markets form an important part of the total market of India. Our nation is classified in around 450 districts, and approximately 630000 villages which can be sorted in different parameters such as literacy levels, accessibility, income levels, penetration, distances from nearest towns, etc. The success of a brand in the Indian rural market is as unpredictable as rain. It has always been difficult to gauge the rural market. Many brands, which should have been successful, have failed miserably. More often than not, people attribute rural market success to luck. Therefore, marketers need to understand the social dynamics and attitude variations within each village though nationally it follows a consistent pattern. While the rural market certainly offers a big attraction to marketers, it would be naive to think that any company can easily enter the market and walk away with sizable share. Actually the market bristles with variety of problems. The main problems in rural marketing are:  Physical Distribution  Channel Management  Promotion and Marketing Communication The problems of physical distribution and channel management adversely affect the service as well as the cost aspect. The existent market structure consists of primary rural market and retail sales outlet. The structure involves stock points in feeder towns to service these retail outlets at the village levels. But it becomes difficult maintaining the required service level in the delivery of the product at retail level.
  • 13. One of the way could be using company delivery vans which can serve two purposes- it can take the products to the customers in every nook and corner of the market and it also enables the firm to establish direct contact with them and thereby facilitate sales promotion. However, only the bigwigs can adopt this channel. The companies with relatively fewer resources can go in for syndicated distribution where a tie-up between non-competitive marketers can be established to facilitate distribution. As a general rule, rural marketing involves more intensive personal selling efforts compared to urban marketing. Marketers need to understand the psyche of the rural consumers and then act accordingly. To effectively tap the rural market a brand must associate itself with the same things the rural folks do. This can be done by utilizing the various rural folk media to reach them in their own language and in large numbers so that the brand can be associated with the myriad rituals, celebrations, festivals, melas and other activities where they assemble. One very fine example can be quoted of Escorts where they focussed on deeper penetration .In September-98 they established rural marketing sales. They did not rely on T.V or press advertisements rather concentrated on focused approach depending on geographical and market parameters like fares, melas etc. Looking at the ‘kuchha’ roads of village they positioned their mobike as tough vehicle. Their advertisements showed Dharmendra riding Escort with the punch line ‘Jandar Sawari, Shandar Sawari’. Thus, they achieved whopping sales of 95000 vehicles annually.
  • 14. RURAL MARKETING ENVIRONMENT The rural market environment need a separate examination as it varies significantly from that of the urban market. We shall deal with the subject under the three headings :- 1. The rural consumer. 2. The rural demand. 3. Other aspects of the rural market environment. (A)-THE RURAL CONSUMER : A Detailed Profile :- Size of Rural Consumer Group In numerical terms , India’s rural market is indeed a large one ; it consists of more than 740 million consumers. 73% of India’s total population is rural . The rural market consists of more than 12 crorer households, forming over 70%of the total households in the country. Characteristics of Rural Consumer Group:-  LOCATION PATTERN :- Rural Market of India is a geographically scattered market. The rural population is scattered across 5,70,000 villages . And, of them , only 6300 villages , have a population of more than 5,000 each . More than 3 lakh villages, are in the category of 500 people or less.  SOCIO-ECONOMIC POSITION :- Rural Consumers continue to be marked by low per capita income/ low purchasing power. Similarly, they continue to be a traditional -bound
  • 15. community, with religion, culture and tradition strongly influencing their consumption habits. Nearly 60% of rural income comes from agriculture. Rural Prosperity and discretionary income with rural consumers are thus linked to a sizeable extent with agricultural prosperity.  LITERACY LEVEL :- Rural India has a literacy rate of 28% compared with 55% for the whole country. The adult literacy programmes launched in the rural areas are bound to enhance the rural literacy rates in the years to come . The rate is certainly on the low side.  LIFESTYLE :- The rural consumers are marked by a conservative and tradition-bound lifestyles. But this lifestyle of a sizeable segment of rural consumers has already changed significantly in recent years .The changes can be attributed to several factors such as:  Growth in income and change in income distribution .  Growth in education.  Enlarged media reach ( particularly television).  Growing interaction with urban communities.  Marketers effort to reach out the rural market.  BUYING BEHAVIOUR :- Buying behaviour of rural consumers have been effected by the following factors:- INFLUENCE OF CULTURE:- Rural consumers perception of products are strongly influenced
  • 16. by cultural Factors . For example-the preference in respect of colour, size and shape is the result of cultural factors. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION:- Rural consumer behaviour is also influenced by the geographical location of the consumers. For example , nearness to feeder towns and industrial projects influenced the buying behaviour of the consumers in respective cluster of villages. EXPOSURE TO URBAN LIFESTYLES:- Extent of exposures of rural consumers to urban lifestyles also influences their buying behaviour. THE WAY THE CONSUMER USES THE PRODUCT:- The situation in which the consumers utilize their the product also their buying behaviour.For example – Lack of electricity automatically increase the purchase of batteries by rural consumers.: since the rural consumers cannot use washing powders /detergents powders that much, as they wash their clothes in streams or ponds , they go is more for washing bars and detergents cakes. PLACE OF PURCHASE:- Different segments of rural buyers buy their requirements from different places outlets. Some buy from the village , shopkeepers; some from village markets/ meals; other buy from the town that serves as the feeder to the rural area. MARKETERS’ EFFORT TO REACH OUT THE RURAL MARKET :- Many corporate have been trying hard to develop a market their products in rural areas , investing substainlly in these areas. Developmental marketing has created discriminating buyers demand in the rural market. This has brought about some change in the way buyers purchase different product.
  • 17. (B)- THE RURAL DEMAND :A Detailed Profile :- Steady growth Rural demand has grown steadily over the years. Not only has the market grown in quantitative terms , but qualitative terms too it has undergone a significant change. Change in the composition of Rural Demand The composition of rural demand has also been changing significantly in recent years Many new products have entered the consumption basket of the rural consumers. and the relative shares of the different categories of products in the consumption basket .The upper segments, in particular , have started buying and using a variety of modern consumer products, which were till recently unknown in the rural market. Several products already well established in the rural market Marketers cannot now assumes that rural India consumes only certain traditional/ essential products and that its share in other product category is meager. It is perhaps well known that products like packaged tea , bath soaps and washing products, including detergents/detergents cakes , are popular items of consumption in rural market .Products like shampoo ,toothpaste and talcum powder , and durables like electric irons , bicycles , mopeds, scooters and motorcycles have joined this category in recent years. The rural demand for electric irons , mopeds and motorcycles have note between 30 and 50 percent of the all-India demand. In many products , rural consumption accounts for a larger share than urban:- In many products , rural consumption now accounts for a larger share than urban . In washing soaps (cakes/bars ), the rural share is over 60 per cent . In popular bath soaps , it is more than 50 per cent and in batterie4s ,it is more than 56 per cent .similar is the case with packed tea and hair oils. Among durable, the rural market now accounts for a larger share of the total sales in  Sewing machines.  Radio/ transistors.
  • 18.  Tape Recorders.  Wrist watches.  Black and White Television sets.  Cassette recorders.  Bicycles.  Table Fans.  Pressure Cookers. In Many Products, the rural markets has overtaken the urban in growth rate:- A survey by NCAER shows that the rural market is growing faster than the urban market several products . These includes packaged tea, detergent powder , washing shop, and detergent cake. Growth of motorcycle too has been more in the rural market than the urban market. Position of durables According to NCAER survey , Rural India’s market for consumer durables is estimated at Rs . 4500 crore , with an annual growth rate 8 per cent . OWNERSHIP OF DURABLES BY RURAL CONSUMERS Product No. of owner per 100 households Bicycles 53 Fan (ceiling) 19 Fan (table) 13 TV(B&W) 16
  • 19. Pressure cooker 13 Wristwatch(mechanical) 76 Radio/Transistors 42 It can be seen from above table that now every other other rural household has a bicycle, every third households has a fan , every sixth has a black and white televisions set, and every seventh a pressure cooker. Also , nearly 80 per cent of rural holds own a mechanical wrist watch and 42 per cent a radio/transistor .Rural India now purchase a third of the colour television sets, a fourth of the mixers/ grinders and fifth of the refrigerators sold in the country. Factors Behind the growth and Diversification in Rural Demand:- Variety of factors , acting in concert , have brought about the big growth and welcome changes in the rural demand, a few of them such as growth in income , changes in income distribution , changes in lifestyles, and the expectation. New income due to agricultural /rural development:- The technological break through ,popularly known as the GREEN REVOLUTION, which took place in Indian agriculture from the mid 1970 onwards, has added to the prosperity of rural India considerably. Moreover, in recent years , as part of the new farm policy , high support prices are offered for farm products. As a result , there is now more money in the hands of the owner-farmers in the rural areas. The expectation revolution:- The ‘rising expectations’ of the rural people have greatly influenced the rural market environment . It has enlarged the desire as well as awareness
  • 20. of the rural people ; it has strengthen their motivation to work ,earn and consume. The rise income provide substance to the aspiration. Rural Demand is More Seasonal:- Rural demand is more seasonal compared to urban demand .The pre- dominance of agriculture in the income pattern is one main reason for this. The relatively greater influence of marriages and festival on the purchase pattern is the another. After all, agriculture in many parts of India is still depends on the vagaries of the monsoon. TAPPING THE RURAL MARKETS :- While rural India does constitute an attractive and sizeable market, firm have to strive hard for securing a share of it. Practically in every task of marketing , rural marketing poses some unique problems. The major tasks that need unique handling in rural marketing are:  Segmentation and targeting.  Product management.  Physical distribution.  Channel management.  Marketing communications. A. SEGMENTATION AND TARGETING :- The rural consumers are not a homogeneous lot in economic conditions, or literacy, or lifestyles, or buying behaviour. It would, therefore, firm to assume that the rural market as a whole can be served by a single offer or a single product -price-promotion combination. firm have to analyses the consumers in –depth, carry out thorough market segmentation and select relevant segments as target markets. And they have to develop a
  • 21. distinctive positioning and a distinctive marketing mix for each target segment. Geographical Segmentation:- The rural market can be segmented geographically, using different geographical bases. Climate and level of irrigation:- Climate can be one of them; regions endowed with favorable climate are usually more prosperous compared with climatically handicapped region. Level of irrigation can be another base; irrigated areas and dry land areas pose different economic and marketing environments. Nearness to a feeder town:- Firms can also segment the rural market using ‘nearness to a feeder town’ as the base. Consumers located close to a feeder town visit it at least once a month to sell their product and/or to buy their requirements, and in buying habits , they differ from those living in the interior areas. It will thus be meaningful to segment the rural market in to consumers located closer to a feeder town and consumers located away from them . Demographic segmentation:- The rural market can be segmented demographically too. In fact, there are many possibilities of segmenting the rural market demographically.  Population concentration:- It can be one base. About 40 percent of the rural population live in 7 percent of the villages in the country and remaining 60 percent in the
  • 22. other 93 per cent of the villages. Thus, the market can be segmented on the basis of different size classes with regard to population.  Age:- In particular, the youth in the rural areas can be picked up as a separate market. There is a population of more than 20 crore in the age group of 16-30 years in the rural market. Surveys have revealed that the younger generation dominates the purchase in the rural market. The rural youth differ from their elders in their buying behaviours .It will thus be meaningful to segment the rural youth as a separate market.  Literacy level:- It can be another demographic base for segmenting the rural market. Though rural India, is characterized by low literacy ,there are wide variations in the matter of literacy within rural India . for example- The rural literacy rate in Kerela is 80 Per cent , that in Bihar is only 15 per cent.  Income:- The rural consumers can be segmented in to different income classes. The rural consumers can also be segmented into regular income and demand .All rural consumers are not characterized by seasonality of income .There is a sizeable salaried class in the rural areas . There is also a sizeable self-employed group, consisting of shopkeepers and service providers. There is nothing seasonal about the income of such people .Obviously, those with regular income will differ in buying habits compared with those whose income is seasonal. Buying behaviour segmentation:- Rural consumer differ in their buying behaviour from their urban counterparts as well as among themselves. This fact too could be factored in to segmentation exercise . firms should ,however , generate relevant data on the rural consumers and their buying behaviour , perception and attitudes ,and then segment them using their buying behaviour as the base.
  • 23. Thompson rural index:- Hindustan Thompson Associates have developed the ‘Thompson rural market index’ based on 26 variables , including area of the concerned district , demographic pattern occupational pattern , agriculture –related data , rural electrification data and commercial bank data . The index can be used in segmentation. B. PRODUCT STRATEGY :- The first decision to be made in product strategy in the rural context is whether the product that is sold in the rural context is whether the Product is sold in the urban market can be supplied to the rural market as it is , or whether it must be adapted . it depends on the situation and the nature of the product .Basically , the firm must find out what kind of product is actually required by the rural consumer and then decide if it should make an altogether distinct product or adapt the existing product. Economic and income realities of the market should certainly be considered while developing the product strategy for the rural market . when products are designed reflecting both these influences ,the chance of success is greater. Lower priced product versions do help in many cases in the rural market ,but no generalization can be made in this regard . Many companies try to reduce the prices of their products for the rural market by creating smaller size ,m or by decreasing the quality . The approach works sometimes and with some products, but not all times, with all products. Specifically – Designed Products:-
  • 24. Specifically –designed product to help in many cases TRACTOR /TRAILEIER : - The tractor /trailer is an apt example. It is a product specifically designed for the rural market. It is designed as a replacement for the plough as well as a vehicle for transporting both men an d material in rural areas. EVEREADY’S JEEVAN SATHI TORCH:- Eveready ‘s Jeevan Sathi brass torch is another example of suucesssful rural specific product strategy. Initially Eveready’s brass torch was not picking up well in the rural areas . Union carbide launched a market research study for locating the reasons. The study by the ad agency OBM found that the rural folks rejected the torch since all of its parts are not made of brass .the design , developed abroad, had given the product certain plastic parts, like the reflector. The Indian rural consumer felt that the plastic parts would not durable . OBM also found that the rural people were prepared to pay high prices for the same torch if it were made ’all brass’. Eveready then introduced for the rural market the all brass torch designed to last life long and positioned it ‘Jeevan Sathi’ as a ‘life long ‘ companion. MODEL VARIANT:- Models developed specifically for the rural market have found more takers in the market . For instance, Motorcycles that are designed to take on the rig ours of rural roads have succeeded more in the rural market. COLOUR VARIANT :-
  • 25. The rural consumer differ from their urban cousins in colour preference . in case of some products , colour may matter vary much . firms can exploit this fact to their advantage . For example , ASIAN PAINTS understood the substantial difference between the rural buyer in the colour preference . Asian Paints introduced paints with bright colours for the rural markets . Asian Paints also communicated the feature well through its communication campaigns. Different products/ models , Different brands, packing, pricing and different positioning:- By and large, the rural market can be tapped better through different products / models , different brands, different packaging and different positioning. PACKAGE DESIGN AND PACK SIZE:- In some case , the product can be the same , but the package and pack size may have to be different for the rural target group. Package design and colour help identification of brands by rural buyers . Many rural consumers are not quite conversant with various brands .All the same, they manage to pick the brand that they want . They recognize the brands by its packaging . This the reason why a number of local brands in rural areas imitate the packaging of big national brands. As regard pack size , as a general , it can be stated that smaller packs are more suited to the rural areas . Low purchasing power and limited availability of cash for shopping force the rural consumer to go in for smaller packs with low unit price. In some cases ,they also prefer small packs so that they can make a beginning on small scale and after trial and satisfaction go in for regular purchases.
  • 26. In recent years , sale of shampoo brands were priced at Re 1 or below per sachet helped the trail and adoption. The 5-gram Vicks Vapourb tin and the small –size Lifebuoy soap are other such examples. HLL, has deepened coverage of many of its products in the rural market through such combination. It has come up with a series of small pack sizes/saches that specially cater to low –end consumers. Logo , Symbols and Mnemonics :- Image is far more potent the rural market , which in many cases is an uninitiated market. Symbols, therefore , add value to brand recall and brand personality in the rural market. Asian Paints’ Gattu:- Asian Paints Gattu though equally well known in urban and rural market , has greater effectiveness as an identity tool in the rural market .Actually in many rural parts of India , Asian Paints is referred to as the bahahawala or chokrawala company. The Nirma Girl:- The Nirma Girl in Frock on the packs of Nirma washing powder has become the mnemonic for effective and good value in washing powders. The Dettol Sword and the Mortein Genie: For the same reason , Reckitt& Colman has been focusing on the Dettol Sword and the Mortein genie in its rural communication. Brand Decisions :-
  • 27. Branding too needs skillful handling in the rural market. The rural consumers have already graduated from generic products to branded products. Today, the brand name is the surest means of conveying quality to rural consumers. In other words, brand is the key to confidence building among the rural consumers. Besides quality, it conveys that the manufacturer is going to show sustained interest in those products ands markets. Whether the same brand is used in both urban and rural market, or appropriate variants of the brand must be adopted for the rural market , is a matter for conscious decisions by the individual firms depending on the context. In quite afew cases , the ‘same brand’ is providing right and cost effective . In some cases, however, the brand name that is suited to the urban market may not be quite suitable to the rural market. Low priced variants seem to work better in majority of cases in the rural market. It will, however , be incorrect to assume that rural consumers prefer local brands to national brands. Sell Value Brands, Not Cheap Brands;- While brands specifically developed for the rural market and low – priced variants may work better in many cases , the strategy should be one of selling value brands . HLL’s Lifebuoy, for example, is a low –priced carbolic soap that is often the first choice of bath soap by a rural consumer .HLL, however , does not sell it as a cheap soap. Instead, sell it as a hygiene brand. It communicates the value of the brand to the target market. It also tries to enhances the value of the offer by giving suitable ‘add-ons’ .for example, while targeting rural students for the soap , it distributed height charts along with the soap and conveyed its concern for their health and well being . Rural marketers would do well to add some value to their products in this fashion if they are keen to secure the loyalty of the consumers.
  • 28. C. PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION :- The problems faced by the marketer in the Physical distribution in rural context are as follows:- The Problems in Transportation and Warehousing :- It is well known that transportation infrastructure s quite poor in rural India . Though the country has the fourth largest railway system in the world , many parts of rural India remain outside the rail network . As regards Road transport , nearly 50 per cent of the 570,000 – odd villages in the country are still not connected by proper roads . While some improvement is taking place on account of the various rural development programmes, many areas still have only KACHA roads and most of the interiors have hardly any roads worth mentioning .As regards transport carriers , the most common ones are delivery vans and the animal drawn carts. Because of the difficulty in accessibility, delivery of products and services continues to be difficult in rural areas. In warehousing too, there are special problems n rural context. Business firms find it quite difficult to get suitable godowns in many part of rural India. Cost –service Dilemma Becomes more Acute :- The firms can not simply rely on ‘trickle down of stocks ‘to the rural buyers. They need a network of clearing and forwarding (c&f) agents and distributors at strategic locations for facilitating proper distribution of the products in the rural market. They have to commit themselves to servicing the villages will help not only the availability of the product, but product promotion as well.
  • 29. In the matter of transportation, combining different modes can be cost –effective. Trucks for medium distance movement and delivery vans and bullock carts for local haulage may serve the purpose better. Water transport too has a role in specific areas Bullock carts have a special role on rural distribution, especially in tertiary transport. They are cheaper; they are available in plenty and are ideal for the rural roads. The Delivery Van ;- The delivery van has a key role in rural distribution The companies concerned and their C & F agents /stockist / distributors operates these vans. Companies like Hindustan lever and ITC , who are pioneers in rural marketing in India, have a fleet of company delivery vans for rural distribution . The van take the products to the retail shops in every nook and corner of the rural market . It enables the firms to establish direct contact with rural dealers and consumers. It also help the firm in promotion . But the cost of operating such vans is quite high . Firms like HLL and ITC had the resources as wells the wisdom to consider van as initial investment in the market. Through the van , they were not only solving their transportation problem of the rural market, but were also developing the market for their products. D. Channel Management :- Organizing marketing channels is the second part of the distribution task . Multiple tier add to the cost :- The distribution chain in rural context usually requires more tiers, compared with he urban distribution chain . The distance between the production points and the rural market , and the scattered location of the
  • 30. consumer make it necessary . At the minimum, the distribution chain in the rural context need three tiers i.e. The village shopkeeper, the distributor , and the Whole seller/ stockist/ C&F agent in the town .in addition it involves the manufactures’ branch office operations in the territory. Producers who can reach the customers through the shortest distribution chain can do better in this market. Non-Availability of Dealers :- Firms find that availability of dealers is limited and the scope for appointment fresh / exclusive dealers of the company is equally limited in view of the low demand and non-availability of suitable candidates. Poor viability of the outlets :- A good number of retail outlets in the rural market suffer from poor viability . A familiar paradox in rural distribution is that on the one hand the manufacturer incurs additional expanses on distribution and on the other hand , the retail outlets find that the business is un – remunerative to them. The additional funds the manufacturers pumps into the system are used by the scattered nature of the market and the multiplicity tiers in the distribution chain. Inadequate banking and credit facilities :- Distribution in rural markets is also capped due to the lack of adequate banking and credit facilities. It is estimated that there is only one bank branch for every 50 villages. Rural outlets need banking support for two important purposes: (1)- For remittances to principals and to get fast replenishment of stocks .
  • 31. (2)- For securing credit. Firms have been in search of a low- cost system of distribution with the wholesaler serving all the retailers , including the ones at the tail –end , and the latter servicing the consumer . This is the strategy followed by Nirma to compete with HLL. Nirma relies on the wholesaler network . HLL is trying to get around the problem by giving credit to the distributors. E. Marketing Communication:- In marketing communication and promotion too, rural markets pose many problems. The literacy rate among the rural consumers being low, the scope for using the printed word is rather limited. The traditional bound nature of the people and heir cultural barriers add to difficulty of the communication task. Marketing communication in the rural areas has to be necessarily in the local language and idiom. Rural communication is quite expansive. Rural communication has to go through the time consuming stages of creating awareness, altering attitudes and changing behavior. In addition, it has to break the deep- rooted behaviour pattern. Managing the communication task:- The rural communicator will do well to choose a combination of formal and non formal media. The possibilities are indicated in below table:- POSSIBLE MEDIA MIX IN THE RURAL CONTEXT Formal / organised Non-formal /Rural -Specific
  • 32. media Media TV Audio-Visual/Publicity Vans Cinema Rural specific art forms like puppet show and HARIKHATHA. Radio Demonstrations Print Media-Press Meeting ,Announcements, Processions Other Print Media Caparisoned elephants and decorated bullock carts carrying advertisement panels Outdoor Music records. POPs Selecting The Media Mix :- TV :- With he increase in coverage and increase in TV ownership in rural areas , TV is gradually becoming the prime media for rural communication . Cinema :- The cinema is a useful medium in rural context . most large and medium villages have one or more cinema house. Also, more than one-third of all rural people do see cinema as a matter of regular lifestyle. Advertisement films , short feature films, with disguised advertisement message, and documentaries that combine knowledge and advertisements, can be employed for rural communication.
  • 33. It has been estimated that 33 per cent of the total cinema earnings in the country come from rural India. Radio:- The radio is well -established medium in rural areas. A big expansion in broadcasting facilities has taken place in the country over the years. The availability of radio sets has also expanded. While radio as a medium cannot match TV in potency and effectiveness, in the existing context ,it can certainly play a significant role in rural communication. Print media too has some scope :- The role of print media is certainly limited in the rural context. Even the remotest rural parts have a small group, which is literate. Moreover, while the group may be numerically small , its member usually happen to be the opinion leaders , influencing the purchasing behaviour of the large segment of the rural consumers. so, it would be unwise to assume that the print media has no scope at all in the rural areas . Moreover, the younger generation in the rural areas is comparatively more literate. With the new trend of increasing rural literacy , the scope for using print media in rural communication will increase further. Outdoor:- The outdoors , which include hoardings, wall paintings, illumination and other displays, also lend well for rural communication . In fact , many companies are using the outdoors in the rural communication mix.
  • 34. POPs( print of purchase) :- The POPs – Point of purchase promotional tools- are also quite useful in the rural markets. The POPs meant for the rural market should be specially designed to suit the rural requirements. Symbols, Pictures, and colours must be liberally in POPs meant for the rural market. Colour is of particular significance . As a general rule ,the rural people love bright colours. The effective Communicator utilize such cues. Audio-visual / publicity vans :- The AV unit or the publicity van is very useful for the rural communication .The van is a comprehensive mobile promotion station at the exclusive command of the concerned firm. The firm can exhibit its films and other audio-visual presentations, such as slide shows, sound and sight presentations, puppet shows etc. from the instant promotion station. A potable shamiana or Platform often forms a part of the van. Even public meeting can be organised using the potable shamiana . The van can also be used for the sale campaign. It can also be used for Product demonstration. Naturally, the AV vans are quite popular with rural marketing firms’ .Practically all firms in the agri – inputs business have their own AV vans followed by those marketing consumer durables. Colgate-Palmolive has supply vans that offer the free samples and screen video films on oral hygiene. It has an on – going rural van programme, which cover on an average 80 million rural consumers per year. Vans are supplemented with bicycle vendors, who go to villages not accessible by the vans.
  • 35. Godrej has vans that play music and announce free gifts in the village square. The van than goes to few shops in the villages to sell the product. Syndicated AV vans :- In recent years, rural AV vans have become a sharable service. Firms which can not afford to operate vans of their own, utilize syndicated AV van service offered by independent agencies. Multi-purpose vans: Jain TV’s Video -on-wheels :- Recent years have witnessed the emergence of tools that are more innovative than the AV van. Jan TV‘s Video – on- wheels is one of them. Puppet shows, Harikhatha :- Popular entertainment programmes like puppet show , dance, dramas, and Harikathas , specially developed for the product- promotion purpose , are now being used in rural markets. The traditional art forms readily render for communication with rural society . Village fairs , festivals and melas are ideal venues for projecting these programmes. In certain cases , public meeting too many be used for rural promotion. Music Cassettes :- Music cassettes are another effective medium for rural communication. It can be reached is an appealing and a comparatively inexpensive medium. Different language groups can be reached with low budget. They can be played in cinema houses or in other places where rural people assemble. HLL rural specific communication for Surf :-
  • 36. For propagating ‘Surf’, Hindustan Lever brought out separate advertisement films for the urban and rural audience. In the film meant for the rural audience, the company took particular care to demonstrate step-by-step the method to be adopted in washing with surf for getting the best whitening effect. The company knew that an elaborate demonstration was essential for the rural audience.
  • 37. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY In order to carry out any research investigation there is a need of a Systematic method and to adopt a well defined procedure for each and every research there is also a need of methodology . Methodology of any research constitutes the selection of representative sample of the universe or the general population ,application of the appropriate research tools and the techniques. There is an old saying in Spain “TO BE A BULLFIGHTER YOU MUST LEARN TO BE BULL” means you never really understand a Person until you consider things from his point of view . In the same way to meet and satisfy the target customer the study of customers behaviour of crucial important because he is king. Customer behaviour studies , how individuals , groups and organizations selected buy use and dispose of goods , services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and desires. According to JAMES F. FUGAL, “Customers behaviour consists of the acts of individuals in obtain and using goods and services including the decision process that precede and determine these acts.
  • 38. The research involves the following steps:- 1. DEFINE THE PROBLEM AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:- If the problem is clearly defined ,it is half solved .The problem /Objective here to assess the scope of rural marketing for FMCG sector. 2 - COLLECT THE INFORMATION :- The information is collected from secondary sources- websites , magazines , newspapers , and magazines. 3- ANLAYZE THE INFORMATION :- The next step in the marketing research process is to exact findings from the collected data . 4-PRESENT THE FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS :- As the last step ,the findings and conclusion of whole research are presented in the end . .
  • 39. INTERPRETATION Rural Marketing Becomes Attractive To Corporate :- A variety of factors have rendered the rural market quite attractive to corporate in recent years. The growing opportunity in the rural market is no doubt the prime factor. The rural demand has been growing rapidly and its composition has been changing for the better in the recent years. The increased income/ purchasing power of the rural consumer and the improved income distribution has enhanced rural demand for several products. Better access to many modern products/brands has added to this growth. The heat of competition in the urban market actually serves as the stronger driver behind the growing interest of cooperates in the rural market. The fact that the rural market is still largely an untapped as well as the early entrants can tap it without having to face intense competition as in the case of the urban market, makes the rural market all the more attractive to them. Corporate have been finding the going increasingly tough in the urban market , especially for the products in respect of which penetration levels are already high . For example penetration level for the toothpaste in the urban market has now reached close to 80 per cent. In contrast, it is below 30 per cent in the rural market. Moreover in the urban market many consumers have been using a toothpaste for quite some time and have settle
  • 40. down to the brand, its flavour , and other characteristics .They can not be expected to switch their brand very easily . In contrast, in rural markets, there a lot of first time users of toothpaste whom the company can tap from the scratch. Corporate find that the highly penetrated urban markets allow little room for volume growths for most of what are called,’ necessity products’ (toothpaste, bath soap, washing products, tea etc). Growth opportunity for many of the ‘emerging products’ (coffee, shampoo, talcum powder etc) too is rather low in the urban market . The rural market thus becomes essential for companies with strong aspirations. Not comprising in the rural market keep them out of about half of the country’s market for the ‘necessity products’ and the one-third for the ‘emerging products’ by value .It is but natural that in these circumstances, corporate set their sights on the rural market Many company have already taken to the market in a Big Way :- EXTENT OF RURAL SALES BY SELECTED COMPANIES Company Rural Sales(% share) HLL 50 COLGATE 50 GODREJ 33 CADBURY 25 SMITHKLINE BEECHAN 25 HEINZ 20 GLAXO 25
  • 41. CIPLA 18 RANBAXY 17 HERO HONDA 40 KINETIC 30 SOURCE:Economic times EXTENT OF RURAL SALES BY SELECT INDUSTRIES Company Rural Sales AUDIO 40% REFRIGATORS 24% CTVs 22% PHARMA 20% CEMENT 10- 20% PAINTS 10- 12% WASHNG MACHINES 9% SOURCE:Economic times Above tables shows that the extent of rural sales by select companies/Industries. Many companies/ Industries have already taken to the rural market in a big way. It can be shown from above table that in the FMCG Category, half of the revenue of HINDUSTAN LEVER and Colgates Come from the rural market . In the case of another companies too, the countryside accounts
  • 42. for a substantial part (25-30) per cent of the total sales. It can also be seen that about One-Fifth of Pharma sales occur in rural India . Kinetic sells about 30 per cent of its scooters. Hero Honda 40 percent of its bikes.
  • 43. STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY DIFFERENT FMCG COMPANIES IN RURAL MARKETING Strategies adopted for rural marketing by different FMCG Companies :- ITC's e-choupal :- ITC's e-choupal initiative is changing the lives of farmers on a scale no other venture has ever done. The company is entering more than 30 new villages a day, every single day of the week, 365 days a year. . Take a remote village. Go to the smallest farmer there. Educate him in the best farming techniques. Inform him of daily weather conditions and price movements in the market. Make available to him at his doorsteps the best possible seeds, pesticides and fertilizers at the most competitive prices. And when his crop is ready, help him find the best buyer. Imagine doing all of this in 30,000 villages across six states season after season, year after year. Doing it at no cost to the farmer and yet making money for yourself. Impossible, would be the most obvious verdict to such a proposal. Yogesh Chander Deveshwar, chairman of Rs 12,000 crore ITC, said when S. Sivakumar, chief executive of its agri-business, approached him with an equally ambitious idea in 2000. Knowing that he was asking for the moon, Sivakumar initially requested Rs 50 lakh to test the idea among soya farmers in Madhya Pradesh. Deveshwar granted him Rs 10 crore. The rest, as they say, is history. ITC's e-choupal network has already reached 3.1 million farmers, and is expanding into 30 new villages a day- making it corporate India's most ambitious rural initiative ever. Partnering ITC in the network are 37 companies, NGOs and state governments, together creating a new ecosystem for villages and
  • 44. establishing a direct link between what consumers eat and what farmers grow. THE POWER OF 'e' The e-choupal redefines choupal, the Hindi word for village square where elders meet to discuss matters of importance. The all-important letter in the word is "e". It stands for a computer with an Internet connection for farmers to gather around and interact not just among themselves but with people anywhere in the country and even beyond. It begins with ITC installing a computer with solar-charged batteries for power and a VSAT Internet connection in selected villages. The computer's functioning is freed from the notorious power and telecom facilities at the village level. A local farmer called sanchalak (conductor) operates the computer on behalf of ITC, but exclusively for farmers. The e-choupal offers farmers and the village community five distinct services. Farming methods specific to each crop and region, soil testing, expert advice-mostly sourced from agriculture universities-all for free. Purchase: Farmers can buy seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and a host of other products and services ranging from cycles and tractors to insurance policies. Over 35 companies have become partners in the e-choupal to sell their products through the network. Sales: Farmers can sell their crops to the ITC centres or the local market, after checking the prices on the Net. Development work: NGOs working for cattle breed improvement and water harvesting, and women self-help groups are also reaching villages through e-choupal. In some states farmers can even access their land
  • 45. records online, sitting in their village. Access to health and education services through e-choupal begins next month. In many villages e-choupals have become the axis around which the local community revolves. Be it for accessing newspapers online in the mornings (many villagers have discontinued their newspaper subscriptions) or checking the supply of products they ordered on the Net, or watching movies on farming techniques in the evenings, farmers frequent e-choupal at all times of the day. Each e-choupal covers between five and six villages. EMPOWERING THE SMALLEST Indian farmers typically buy at retail prices and sell their produce at wholesale prices, losing out on both ends of the deal. By virtually aggregating them, e-choupal brings the power of scale to the smallest of farmers. ITC ensures that there are at least two suppliers of all products sold through the e-choupal. Farmers can pool their demand, compare prices and place orders on the Net. Bargain and choice-two key virtues of competition-are delivered to the farmers right on their doorstep. When it is time to sell the produce, e-choupal helps the farmers by breaking the monopoly of local markets that are controlled by trade cartels. In most mandis, farmers are cheated at several stages- arbitrary pricing, under weighing, delayed payments. In Uttar Pradesh, farmers lose between 10 and 30 per cent of their income to such malpractices. ITC is setting up its own purchase centres in the six states covered by e-choupals. The farmers' response has been overwhelming. In 2001-2, the company purchased 60,000 metric tonnes of crop through e- choupal. By 2003-4 the purchase increased to 2,10,000 tonnes and in four
  • 46. months of 2004-5, the company picked up 1,80,000 tonnes of farm produce. For farmers it is a win-win situation. Sitting in their village, they can check the prevailing purchase price at the mandi and the ITC centre through e-choupal and sell wherever they wish to. ITC's entry into crop purchase invariably means a rise in mandi rates too, benefiting even those farmers who can't sell to ITC. In places where ITC rates aren't higher than the mandi rates, farmers are drawn to ITC centres because the company uses electronic weighing, better quality testing and ensures spot payment. ITC'S E- choupal achievement It's achievement :- (1)- 5,050 choupals, 29,500 villages, 3.1 million farmers. (2)- Using e-choupal to source a range of farm produce (foodgrains, oilseeds, coffee, shrimps). (3)- Marketing a variety of goods and services though e-choupal(agri- inputs, consumer goods, insurance, market research). (4)-Transactions:$100 in (2003). STRATEGY ADOPTED BY HLL Hindustan Lever to expand Project Shakti reachthe rural market:- FMCG major Hindustan Lever will take its Project Shakti, the rural direct-to-home distributor model, national and reach out to 100 million people in four years' time. The project is at present on in Andhra Pradesh but will be soon be rolled out to other remote villages across the nation.
  • 47. The target is to establish access with 100 million people in 3-4 years' time.The importance of the project is rural economy had immense potential and they were the consumers of tomorrow. Supported by micro-credit, the women from self-help groups were HLL's rural direct-to-home distributors. The idea behind Project Shakti was to help the company reach, penetrate and communicate with rural consumers. The initiative benefited women in more than 4,750 villages. VISION OF THE PROJECT:- The vision was to change the lives of women in 100,000 villages by making them Shakti dealers. This would provide economic opportunities for the underprivileged while creating a distribution and communication channel for brands to access untapped rural markets with a consumer base of 100 million rural Indians. STRATEGY ADOPTED BY COCO-COLA Coca-Cola India doubled the number of outlets in rural areas from 80,000 in 2001 to 160,000 in 2003, which increased market penetration from 13 per cent to 25 per cent. It brought down the average price of its products from Rs 10 to Rs 5, thereby bridging the gap between soft drinks and other local options like tea, butter milk or lemon water. It doubled the spend on Doordarshan, increased price compliance from 30 per cent to 50 per cent in rural markets and reduced overall costs by 40 per cent.
  • 48. It also tapped local forms of entertainment like annual haats and fairs and made huge investments in infrastructure for distribution and marketing. Result: the rural market accounts for 80 per cent of new Coke drinkers and 30 per cent of its volumes. The rural market for Coca-Cola grew at 37 per cent over the last year, against a 24 per cent growth in urban areas. Per capita consumption in rural areas has doubled in the last two years. The launch of the Rs 5 pack has reaped rich dividends in terms of sales and the bottles are expected to account for 50 per cent of the company's sales in 2003. Coca-Cola is just one example. A lot of fast-moving consumer goods and consumer electronic companies are aggressively targeting rural consumers. The necessity arose because the growth rates of consumer products were slowing down not because the markets were getting saturated in terms of penetration. While overall volumes continue to grow reasonably well, there are too many players eating into each other's market share. The companies, therefore, reduce prices in urban areas and invest heavily in sales promotion, intensifying the battle for market share. The companies, therefore, reduce prices in urban areas and invest heavily in sales promotion, intensifying the battle for market share. Operating margins come under pressure and new growth markets have to be explored. This is where the rural markets play an important role. The rural market was tempting since it comprised 74 per cent of the country's population, 41 per cent of its middle class, 58 per cent of its disposable income and a large consuming class, Coca-Cola India CEO Sanjiv Gupta said.
  • 49. Today, real growth is taking place in the rural-urban markets, or in the 13,113 villages with a population of more than 5,000. Of these, 9,988 villages are in seven states -- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. For manufacturers of consumer goods, these are the markets to look out for. While the 1980s saw a boom in Class I towns with the spread of television, the Class II towns showed strong growth in the 90s propelled by reforms. According to the National Council for Applied Economic Research, the millennium belongs to the Class III and IV rural-urban towns. It estimates that an average rural Indian household will have five major consumer appliances by 2006, almost double of what it had five years ago. In order to efficiently and cost-effectively target the rural markets, the companies will have to cover many independent retailers since in these areas, the retailer influences purchase decisions and stock a single brand in a product category. In such an environment, being first on the shelf and developing a privileged relationship with the retailer is a source of competitive advantage to consumer good companies. Most of the companies have started tinkering with pack sizes and creating new price points in order to reach out to rural consumers since a significant portion of the rural population are daily wage workers. Thus, sachets and miniature packs, as in the case of shampoo sachets priced at Re 1 and Rs 2 or toothpaste at Rs 10, have become the order of the day in hinterland India and help improve market penetration. Yet, driving consumption of goods in rural areas is not just about lowering prices and increasing volumes but also about product innovation and developing indigenous products to cater to their demands.
  • 50. For example, soap makers use advanced technology to coat one side of the soap bar with plastic to prevent it from wearing out quickly. Also, the companies need to turn to innovative methods of advertising like fairs or haats to reach their potential customer base. Two years ago, many companies congregated at the Ganges river for the Kumbh Mela festival, where about 30 million people, mostly from rural areas, were expected to come over the span of a month. The companies provided 'touch and feel' demonstrations and distributed free samples. This proved to be extremely effective in advertising to the rural market. SWOT ANALYSIS FOR THE COLGATE IN RURAL AREAS: The swot analysis is very important tool for knowing the competitor strategy. The swot analysis for the Colgate in rural areas is given. STRENGTH: (1) The qualified staff-as company is today dealing with best available staff having good selling techniques. (2) Strong financial backup. (3) White gel-it provides maximum freshness in the mouth and also helps in fighting against bacterial action. (4) White crystals provide instant freshness help in removal of plague. (5) It provides 12 hour protection help in prevention of tender germs. OPPORTUNITIES: (1) Large investment – as they are easily available with large investment due to their past sales, they can easily fulfill their financial needs or can make huge investment. (2) Intensive distribution – product they are producing & of nature or the daily usable commodity so the company is using intensive distribution which provides opportunities for the company. (3) Stable economic condition – company is having stable economic condition which helps in boosting the growth of the product. (4) The technology factor being used by Colgate Company is at its BANG.
  • 51. (5) Today the world is becoming a global village – so taking it is an opportunities. WEAKNESS: (1) Giant competitors like pepsodent and close up….The company has been facing immense competition from organized as well as unorganized players. HLL is the closest rival of Colgate with a share of 34% with its pepsodent and Colgate. (2) High taxes – due to highly taxation policy the prices of the tube rises which sometimes creates a hurdle in the growth of the company. THREATS: (1) Chance of failure – as the company produce different types of paste in Colgate brand like in gel form or in crystal form or the orange gel, so the product is new to the market may be the people accept .the new taste in the toothpaste field or maybe they may reject it . Company has no idea of success. (2) Many companies are there to compete the same product in the market. There are high rate of the competition in the market. (3) Sometimes due unstable political condition as the different government provides different subsidies.
  • 52. RECOMMENDATION & SUGGESTION 1. Advertisements on rural media like radio, press media has been increased . 2. Physical Distribution channel must be made strong. 3. Awareness about the product must be increased among the peoples. 4. Profit –margin percentage of the product for the retailers should be increased. 5. The rural customers are usually daily wage earners and they don’t have monthly incomes like the ones in the urban areas have. So the packaging is in smaller units and lesser-priced packs that they can afford given their kind of income streams. Then a thing like the colour that attracts him is also important. 6. A difference in the kind of media mix that is used to convey the messages to the rural customers. We need to use different models and means to reach them as what appeals to the urban customer may not appeal to him due to varying lifestyles. The communication and the design of it are also different as what attracts one need not attract the other as well. So again, even if the media reaches him, there might not be an impact as it may fail to attract him as fails to connect to it due to the lifestyles being different. 7. Infrastructure like- road, electricity facility must be improved because most of the MNC’s tap the rural market due to such difficulties. 8. In advertising local languages can be used to attract more and more viewers.
  • 53. THE CHANGING FACE OF FMCG MARKETING IN RURAL SECTOR FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) marketing is no more going to be the same again! The changing consumer mindset thanks to more knowledgeable and discerning customers coupled with changing competition and saturated market is giving a tough time to the FMCG marketers. The changed scenario not only demands a new game plan with a sharp and decisive strategy but also a lot of creativity and insight. Some of the players in Indian FMCG industry have already taken a lead and are smartly moving to chart a success story for their brands. Some brands that reaped magnificent dividend from adopting a new strategy are Fairever, Ujala, Ghadi detergent, Chik, and Dandi namak. The greatest challenge for managers is to visualize an active market when what exists is abject poverty. These successful brands are just doing that- focusing on untapped markets. Take the example of Dandi namak. Who would have advised them to enter the branded salt market when Tata and HLL virtually share the whole market among them? But they entered this category when conventional wisdom said no. And they became a success story overnight. .They entered the market not to compete with Tata and HLL, but with the focus to take branded salt to rural and semi-urban areas. With this narrow focus, they not only captured a large rural and semi-urban market but also got some share of the urban market due to rub off effect. Moreover, these small players fully realize that in today’s world, marketing needs money. So they don’t shy away from investing in marketing. Again take the example of Dandi namak. They splashed out money on their lengthy TV commercials to ensure that the message gets ingrained in the mind of the prospect. Fairever and Ujala adopted the
  • 54. same strategy. Of course they don’t spend as much as the MNCs do but they do spend enough to get attraction. One of the important aspects of the strategy being adopted is effective communication about product. . Take the case of Dandi namak. The TV advertisement was bland and uninteresting. However, without any glitz, it was able to connect to its target customers because it talked in the language of its target customers. These brands send a powerful message to their target customers that they are made for each other. ADVERTISING IN RURAL INDIA
  • 55. Advertising in Rural India: - A dramatic change is in progress. Villagers who used to crack open peanut M & M candies, eat the nut and throw away the shell are now demanding chocolate candies that will melt in their mouths, not in their hands. Charcoal-cleaned teeth are a rare sight; so is the case with twigs of niim (neem) and babul (babool) tree. Today, the ultra bright shine of Colgate or some other international brand of toothpaste holds more appeal than the traditional methods of cleaning teeth. Even the native expressions of cleaning teeth, such as daatun karnaa and musaag lagaanaa, are endangered to being replaced by new expressions such as paste karnaa, 'to brush teeth with paste'. Villages and small towns, which were once inconsequential dots on maps, are now getting the attention of global marketing giants and media planners. Thanks to globalization, economic liberalization, IT revolution, Indian female power, and improving infrastructure, middle class rural India today has more disposable income than urban India. Rural marketing is gaining new heights in addition to rural advertising because of the following reason:-  Various rural media (conventional and non-conventional) and integrated marketing communication. In addition to rural market discourse, media forms such as wall paintings, calendar advertising, outdoor advertising, print, radio and television advertising  In particular, uniquely Indian media forms such as video van technology, which has changed the face of not only marketing but also political campaigning. Rural markets (haat) which are the mobile McDonald's or Walmarts of India.  Targeting women and religious groups in addition to rural population.
  • 56.  Marketing taboo products such as 'bidi', cigarettes, sanitary supplies, and other such products  Globalization and its effects on product naming, product monitoring, rural discourse and media forms.  Creativity and deception, together with guidelines for advertisers and marketers.  Information structures and logic of rural ads.  Ads as a social barometer of changing relationships and value systems.
  • 57. CONCLUSION Where the rural market does offer a vast untapped potential , it should also be recognized that it is not that easy to operate in the rural market because of several attendant problems . Rural marketing is thus time consuming affair and requires considerable investment in terms of evolving appropriate strategies with a view to tackle the problems . The major problems faced by manufacturing and marketing men in rural areas are described below:- 1. Underdeveloped people and underdeveloped market:- The agriculture technology has tried to develop the people and market in rural areas . unfortunately ,the impact of the technology is not felt uniformly through out the country .while there are pockets- some districts in punjab , Haryana or western Uttar Pradesh – where a rural consumer is some what comparable to his urban counterpart , there are lager areas and groups of people who have remained beyond the technological break thorough . Even today about 75 districts in county are drought prone and none technology worth the name has percolated to in crease in the standard of living of these people in addition ,the small agricultural land holdings have unable to take advantage of new technological breakthrough . the number of people below poverty line has not decreased in any appreciable manner. Thus the rural markets, by large number, by and large are characterized by underdeveloped market... a vast of the rural people image old customs tradition habits, taboos and practices 2. Lack of proper physical communication facilities:-
  • 58. Nearly 50% of the villages is the country do not have villages in the country don’t have all weather roads. Physical communication to these villages is highly expensive. even today ,most villages is in eastern part today inaccessible during monsoon season .hence, distribution put in by manufacturer prove expensive and some times of no consequences .to be effective the products have to be physically moved to places of consumption or places to purchase. 3. Media for rural communication:- Among the mass media, at some point of time, say in late 50s or early 60s ,radio was considered to be a potential ,medium for communication to the rural families . now the advent and expansion of telecast network appears for easy communication with rural masses. The question is how many people access viewing television? There is a need to examine the ownership pattern of television sets in rural areas to judge the potential reach of this medium. Another e mass media is cinema. It has been observed that cinema viewing is fairly satisfactory, where available. Mobile theaters are also good medium but very expansive companies like HLL using these vans found 10 to12 times higher in rural areas than urban areas due to bad roads in areas. 4. Hierarchy of markets:- Rural consumer has identified market places for different items of their requirements. So there can not be uniform distribution pattern for all products. It has been seen that 90% of farmers visited the nearest town , where an agricultural produces assembling market is situated at least once a quarter for either selling the produce or for purchase of there
  • 59. requirements. So town/ mandi centers with large hinterland villages become the focal point thus depending upon the purchase habit of rural people. The distribution network for different commodities has to be different. 5. Low level of literacy:- The literacy rate is low in rural areas as compare to urban areas. This again lead to the problem of communication for promotion purposes. Print medium becomes in effective and to an extent irrelevant in rural areas since its reach is poor and so is the level of literacy. The dependent should be more on electronic media cinema, radio and television. While the excess to cinema and radio appears to be fairly easy and common. in not so in case of television. Television advertising is very expensive. Probable it will be prudent to take advantage of such professional rural advertising agencies. The promotion of product along with distribution is also being resorted to by many. 6. Seasonal demand: The distribution of any product in rural areas agricultural inputs, consumables or durable should necessarily follow a seasonal pattern. Since 75% of the rural income is generated through agricultural operation which is seasonal so the demand pattern is also seasonal. A typical example is that of fertilizers. The demand of fertilizers is always high during the start of kharif and Rabi system the fertilizers manufacturers have evolved a distribution pattern so that the seasonal demand can be met. Like wise the demand for consumables and durable will be high during the peek crop harvesting and marketing season. . This is the time at which the rural people have substantial cash inflows. Hence the
  • 60. distribution should be fairly intensive. During harvesting season this arrangement would result in adequate sales realization vise versa in summer months the demand will be very low festivals seasons like sankranti, poangal, vaisakhi or depawali are also demand seasons. So the distribution of rural areas should be more and frequent during the harvest and festival seasons as opposed to a fairly uniform demand pattern in urban areas. 7. Many languages and dialects: - Even assuming that media are available for communication or the company commit its own media vans the large number of languages and dialects very wildly from statue to state and reason to reason. The messages have to be delivered in local; languages and dialects. Even though the number of recognized languages is only 16, the number of dialects is estimated to be around 850. 8. Low per capita income: Even though about 33 to 35 percent of gross domestic product is generated by rural areas. It is shared 75% of population hence the per capita income is low compared to urban areas. This apart the distribution of income is highly is skewed. Since the land holding patterned itself is skewed thus the rural population present a highly heterogeneous seen. .Given the low per capita incomes and population spread in the villages, what will be the off take of any product by rural consumer, say from a village shop? What should be the inventory levels to be maintained by a rural shopkeeper and how long will it take for the rural areas shopkeeper to liquidate his stock? If a company opts to distribute the products up to
  • 61. village these aspects require very careful consideration while evolving distribution strategies for rural markets. OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIFFERENT FMCG MNC’s The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers a huge opportunity that MNCs cannot afford to ignore :- TO expand the market by tapping the countryside, more and more MNCs are foraying into India's rural markets. Among those that have made some headway are Hindustan Lever, Coca-Cola, LG Electronics, Britannia, Standard Life, Philips, Colgate Palmolive and the foreign-invested telecom companies. Opportunity :- The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers a huge opportunity that MNCs cannot afford to ignore. With 128 million households, the rural population is nearly three times the urban. As a result of the growing affluence, fuelled by good monsoons and the increase in agricultural output to 200 million tons from 176 million tonnes in 1991, rural India has a large consuming class with 41 per cent of India's middle-class and 58 per cent of the total disposable income. The importance of the rural market for some FMCG and durable marketers is underlined by the fact that the rural market accounts for close to 70 per cent of toilet-soap users and 38 per cent of all two-wheeler purchased.
  • 62. The rural market accounts for half the total market for TV sets, fans, pressure cookers, bicycles, washing soap, blades, tea, salt and toothpowder, What is more, the rural market for FMCG products is growing much faster than the urban counterpart. The 4A approach The rural market may be alluring but it is not without its problems: Low per capita disposable incomes that is half the urban disposable income; large number of daily wage earners, acute dependence on the vagaries of the monsoon; seasonal consumption linked to harvests and festivals and special occasions; poor roads; power problems; and inaccessibility to conventional advertising media. However, the rural consumer is not unlike his urban counterpart in many ways. The more daring MNCs are meeting the consequent challenges of availability, affordability, acceptability and awareness (the so-called 4 As) Availability The first challenge is to ensure availability of the product or service. India's 627,000 villages are spread over 3.2 million sq km; 700 million Indians may live in rural areas, finding them is not easy. However, given the poor state of roads, it is an even greater challenge to regularly reach products to the far-flung villages. Any serious marketer must strive to reach at least 13,113 villages with a population of more than 5,000. Marketers must trade off the distribution cost with incremental market penetration. Over the years, India's largest MNC, Hindustan Lever, a subsidiary of Unilever, has built a strong distribution system which helps its brands reach the interiors of the rural market. To service remote village, stockiest use auto rickshaws, bullock-carts and even boats in the
  • 63. backwaters of Kerala. Coca-Cola, which considers rural India as a future growth driver, has evolved a hub and spoke distribution model to reach the villages. To ensure full loads, the company depot supplies, twice a week, large distributors which who act as hubs. These distributors appoint and supply, once a week, smaller distributors in adjoining areas. LG Electronics defines all cities and towns other than the seven metros cities as rural and semi-urban market. To tap these unexplored country markets, LG has set up 45 area offices and 59 rural/remote area offices. Affordability The second challenge is to ensure affordability of the product or service. With low disposable incomes, products need to be affordable to the rural consumer, most of who are on daily wages. Some companies have addressed the affordability problem by introducing small unit packs. Godrej recently introduced three brands of Cinthol, Fair Glow and Godrej in 50-gm packs, priced at Rs 4-5 meant specifically for Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh — the so-called `Bimaru' States. Hindustan Lever, among the first MNCs to realize the potential of India's rural market, has launched a variant of its largest selling soap brand, Lifebuoy at Rs 2 for 50 gm. The move is mainly targeted at the rural market. Coca-Cola has addressed the affordability issue by introducing the returnable 200-ml glass bottle priced at Rs 5. The initiative has paid off: Eighty per cent of new drinkers now come from the rural markets. Coca-Cola has also introduced Sun fill, a powdered soft-drink concentrate. The instant and ready-to-mix Sun fill is available in a single- serve sachet of 25 gm priced at Rs 2 and mutiserve sachet of 200 gm priced at Rs 15.
  • 64. Acceptability The third challenge is to gain acceptability for the product or service. Therefore, there is a need to offer products that suit the rural market. One company which has reaped rich dividends by doing so is LG Electronics. In 1998, it developed a customized TV for the rural market and christened it Sampoorna. It was a runway hit selling 100,000 sets in the very first year. Because of the lack of electricity and refrigerators in the rural areas, Coca-Cola provides low-cost ice boxes — a tin box for new outlets and thermocol box for seasonal outlets. The insurance companies that have tailor-made products for the rural market have performed well. HDFC Standard LIFE topped private insurers by selling policies worth Rs 3.5 crore in total preemie. The company tied up with non-governmental organizations and offered reasonably-priced policies in the nature of group insurance covers. Awareness:- With large parts of rural India inaccessible to conventional advertising media — only 41 per cent rural households have access to TV — building awareness is another challenge. Fortunately, however, the rural consumer has the same likes as the urban consumer — movies and music — and for both the urban and rural consumer, the family is the key unit of identity. However, the rural consumer expressions differ from his urban counterpart. Outing for the former is confined to local fairs and festivals and TV viewing is confined to the state-owned Doordarshan. Consumption of branded products is treated as a special treat or indulgence. Hindustan Lever relies heavily on its own company-organized media. These are promotional events organized by stockiest. Godrej Consumer
  • 65. Products, which is trying to push its soap brands into the interior areas, uses radio to reach the local people in their language. Coca-Cola uses a combination of TV, cinema and radio to reach 53.6 per cent of rural households. It doubled its spend on advertising on Doordarshan, which alone reached 41 per cent of rural households. It has also used banners, posters and tapped all the local forms of entertainment. Since price is a key issue in the rural areas, Coca-Cola advertising stressed its `magical' price point of Rs 5 per bottle in all media.LG Electronics uses vans and road shows to reach rural customers. The company uses local language advertising. Philips India uses wall writing and radio advertising to drive its growth in rural areas. The key dilemma for MNCs eager to tap the large and fast-growing rural market is whether they can do so without hurting the company's profit margins. Mr. Carlo Donati, Chairman and Managing-Director, Nestle, while admitting that his company's product portfolio is essentially designed for urban consumers, cautions companies from plunging headlong into the rural market as capturing rural consumers can be expensive. "Any generalization" says Mr. Donati, "about rural India could be wrong and one should focus on high GDP growth areas, be it urban, semi-urban or rural. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ; The study is based totally on the primary data as well as secondary data and such data relates to something of the past and not the exact present scenario. Hence totally depending on such given data could at times be misleading, that is no matter how good the report is one has to do certain
  • 66. amount of homework before jumping to conclusions on the basis of such study. Marketing activity is something that is never stable and is constantly changing with the changing circumstances, ever changing rules and regulations that control these activities. Hence something which is very up-to-date as of now might become obsolete in a very short span of time. One has to be very cautious before taking any decision based on such data and has to think beyond what is given. No amount of data can be accurate enough to give the desired results. Another major drawback with respect to the study of Scope Of Rural Marketing For FMCG Company In India is that it is something that has been here for the past few years only and hence trying to get much information regarding it is also difficult, and whatever little that is available has to be taken note of and believed into. Only a few studies on the topic are available and hence very few facets of it can be seen. A lot more can be known about it but at a later stage when it has grown in proportions and is more frequently used by the various MNC’s for increasing their market share and lot of competition increases among the MNC’s and the urban market is saturated. SCOPE OF THE FURTHER RESEARCH The rural India offers a tremendous market potential. A mere one percent increase in India’s rural income translates to a mind-boggling Rs 10,000 crore of buying power. Nearly two-thirds of all middle-income households in the country are in rural India. And close to half of India’s buying potential lies in its villages. Thus for the country’s marketers, small and big, rural reach is on the rise and is fast becoming their most
  • 67. important route to growth. Realizing this Corporate India is now investing a sizeable chunk of its marketing budget to target the rural consumers. Increasing brand awareness In the rural families, studies indicate a slow but determined shift in the use of categories. There is a remarkable improvement in the form of products used. For instance, households are upgrading from indigenous teeth-cleaning ingredients to tooth powder and tooth-pastes, from traditional mosquito repellant to coils and mats. There is also a visible shift from local and unbranded products to national brands. From low- priced brands to premium brands. Price promotion In an occasional effort to capture volume sale, multinational brands use price promotions that often yield dramatic, if temporary, sales increases in the rural areas. Their large volume increases reveal a potentially large market in the villages that remains untapped, just below the actual price points. To penetrate this market and generate sustainable volume sales, a permanent product entry at the lower price point is required. Failure to recognize the potentially huge market of the villages that lies below the surface of international price points can even place the premium branded business at risk FMCG consumption Organizations like Hindustan Lever Ltd., Nirma Chemical Works, Colgate Palmolive, Parle foods and Malhotra Marketing have carved inroads into the heart of rural markets. Various categories of products
  • 68. have been able to spread their tentacles deep into the rural market and achieved significant recognition in the country households. And, in the process, the regional brands, local brands and the other unbranded offerings got displaced by the leading brands. Company House hold penetration HLL 86% Nirma chemical works 56% Colgate Palmolive 33% Parle Foods 31%
  • 69. Category % volume of local brands/unbranded Washing cakes/bars 86% Tea 55% Salt 33% Of the expenditure on consumer goods in rurahousehold, approximately, 44% is on food articles such as biscuits, tea, coffee and salt, 20% on toiletries, 13% on washing material, 10% on cosmetics, 4% on OTC products and 9% on other consumables. A number of category products have established themselves firmly in the rural households. It is evident that in the villages low-priced brands are well accepted and one might feel that a larger proportion of the purchases made in rural market can be attributed to local/ unbranded players. Surprisingly, however, the unbranded/local component contributes to a substantial portion of the volume of only a few of the highly penetrated categories. Category Category Penetration Brand with highest penetration Toilet Soap 91% Lifebuoy
  • 70. Washing cakes/Bars 88% Wheel Edlble oil 84% Double Iran Mustard Tea 77% Lipton Tazza Washin powder / liquid 70% Nirma Salt 64% Tata Salt Biscuits 61% Parle G Focus on urban categories Though the commodity products have greater penetration, traditionally urban categories such as skin creams and talcum powder have also made a mark. While the urban talcum powder market suffered a de-growth, the rural talcum powder market darted ahead. Similarly, growth of rural skin cream market was at par with that of urban skin cream market. This clearly indicated that after being considered urban for a long time, some categories are now wearing a rural face. And, in many a case, it is the rural market that is actually driving the growth of category. Premium brands Pond’s is the leader in the talcum powder category with a penetration of 65% and volume contribution of 56%. Its rivals viz. Nycil and Liril are trailing far behind. Moreover, 60% of the Pond’s users have purchased no
  • 71. other brand i.e. they are 100% brand loyal. This reflects the strength of the brand in rural bazaar Category Household Penetration Skin Cream 18% Talcom Powder 15% In the skin care category, Fair & Lovely fairness cream, with a penetration of 75%, accounts for 60% of the skin care market in rural India. It also enjoys t he undistinguished patronage of 58% of its user households. Both Pond’s and Fair & Lovely are enjoying a monopoly in the rural markets In their respective categories. Rural India is not averse to trying out the premium brands at high prices. A study indicated that a majority of the premium brand users are using the brand for the first time. Similarly 0.9% of the talcum powder-using families have started using Denim talc and 0.7% of the shampoo using households started using Pantene. Surveys also reveal that trials are not restricted to the more affluent echelon of the villages. The experimenting households are more-or-less evenly spread across the various socio- economic clusters of the rural market. This should further encourage the marketers to focus their attention on rural buyers. Brand Penetration of Category users Surf 6.20% Ariel 4.50% Pantene 1.80%
  • 72. Denim 1.80% The rural youths are more open to fresh concepts as against their elderly family members. Their difference in choice of products/brands with the seniors of the households often leads to a “dual-usage” of product categories. As an instance, 20% of the households using tooth powder also use tooth paste. Similarly, many of the households using premium brands also use mass market brands. For example, while 15% of Surf and 12% of Ariel using families also use Nirma detergent, 3% of Denim users use Pond’s Dream flower talc and 18% of Pantene using households use Clinic shampoo as well. Income growth goes into consumption In urban households there are a number of competing demands for ones money. In rural households, they hardly change their house or go out on a vacation. They save only a small fraction of his money and spend the rest. And when there is a growth in their income, the money goes straight into consumption. Rural media
  • 73. Urban consumers shop daily and have 365 opportunities a year to switch brands while the rural purchasers who buy their goods in weekly haats have only 54. Attempts to reach rural consumers, even once during the purchase cycle to ensure repeat purchase, make point of purchase advertising and trade push indispensable. This requires a significant reorientation in the allocation of funds across media. For example, outdoor advertising accounts for over 7% of all media expenditures in India. Rural buyers living in small isolated groups distributed across vast distances have limited access to the broadcast media. The existence of a multiplicity of languages and varying level of illiteracy complicates the task of communication further. To overcome some of these challenges, Unilever pioneered the concept of video vans that travel from village to village screening films in the local language, interspersed with advertisements for Unilever’s products. The company also provides product usage demonstrations to the captive audience because written instructions on the pack may Quality consciousness It will be unjustified to think that rural consumers are less bothered about product quality. Even the village buyers desire to buy a quality product and upgrade their quality of life. Marico, an Indian edible oil company, has found the rural consumers in the interior of India willingly pay a reasonable price premium for branded cooking oil, over community oil, because they are certain of its consistent quality. Unbranded products are often considered by some of them to be adulterated. Travails in distribution
  • 74. In spite of recognizing the potential of this vast market of 700 million, marketers are often unable to cater to it because of lack of adequate infrastructure. The distances between villages, the terrain and the lack of pucca roads connecting the places act as impediments for them to reach their customers. But once if they overcome these hassles and reach those remote bazaars to be first on the shelf in the product category, they develop a privileged relationship with the retailer that offers them a tremendous competitive advantage. Rural retailers are far less specialized than their urban counterparts and carry a wider range of products. Since frequent delivery is not possible in their part of the world, they tend to carry only a single brand in each product category. And, usually, the brands that are first on the rural shelves become synonymous with product category and are difficult to dislodge. For instance, Maggie noodles, the brand that created the category of instant noodles, reached the rural shelves before anyone else and remained the market leader ever since. Thus, a drive down the rugged countryside, sans electricity and other modern facilities, is, surely, torturous. But the pain is worth bearing. Preference for Low Unit Packs (LUP) Trial is often encouraged by Low Unit Packs (LUP) or sachets. The sachet packaging strategy caught the popular FMCG imagination in the early 1990s and it was considered as a breakthrough in the psyche of the rural consumers. Today, the sachets are increasingly dominant on shelves. Shampoo, for instance, has invaded the rural households with sachets at low affordable prices. Sachets of tea, blues and washing powder are being launched in a big way in the village hats by leading manufacturers. Companies like HLL and Marico are making concrete efforts to create
  • 75. and then meet the demand of rural consumers by launching products in small affordable packs. Channel power The rural consumers interact directly with their retail salespersons who has a strong conviction power and whose recommendations carry weight. The owners’ relationship with customers is based on an understanding of their needs and buying habits and is cemented by the retailer extending credit. Some of the successful manufacturers creatively develop new revenue activities for the rural retailer. United Phosphorous Limited (UPL), an Indian crop protection company, realized that in its rural markets small farmers were not applying pesticide at all, or applying it inappropriately due to the lack of application equipment. The capital cost of the equipment (mounted pumps and dispensers that cost up to $3000) was placed out of reach of small farmers and most rural retailers. UPL designed a program in which it arranged for bank loans for its rural retailers to purchase application equipment and demonstrated to their retailers the additional revenue possibilities from renting this equipment to small farmers. The result was an added revenue stream for rural retailers. Wider competition for a product Many of the rural buyers tend to have little stock of money, only a flow. Consequently, they tend to make purchases only to meet their daily needs and have little capacity to build inventory. The marketing implications of this are far-reaching. Not only are pack sizes and price points affected,
  • 76. but in turns out that consumers have to make a selection from a much wider array of product categories. Thus the nature of competition for any given product is much broader. For instance, in a village hat, Coca Cola competes not just with Pepsi, but with a broad set of purchases that the rural consumers consider as “treats”.
  • 77. BIBLIOGRAPHY Business magazines: Business Today Internet: www.Indiainfoline.com www.Google.com www. Censusindia.com www.HLL.com Business Dailies: The Economic Times Business Standard Study books: Marketing Management- Philip kotler Marketing Management- v s Ramaswamy S Namakumari.
  • 78. APENDIX (QUESTIONNAIRE): QUS.1. which one you prefer for your teeth? ANS. (1) Powder (2) Paste QUS.2. Which paste you like most? ANS. (1) Colgate (2) Pepsodent (3) Close-up (4) Others QUS.3. On which basis you like Colgate? ANS. (1) Price (2) Packaging (3) taste (4) Others QUS.4. what types of changes you want to do in your toothpaste? ANS. (1) Taste (2) Quality (3) packaging (4) others QUS.5. which type of way you are influenced for the purchase and to get the information about the product? ANS. (1) Radio (2) T.V (3) Newspaper (4) Hoardings (5) Others QUS.6. Are you satisfy with Colgate distributer? ANS. (1) Yes (2) No QUS.7. How you measure the performance of Colgate? ANS. (1) Quality (2) Brand quality (3) Packaging (4) All of the above QUS.8. which type of range you like? ANS. (1) 10 rs. / 40 gm (2) 25-30 rs. / 100 gm (3) 55-60 rs/ 150 gm QUS.9. Are the Colgate easily available in the retail shop? ANS. (1) Yes (2) No QUS.10. Are you satisfied with your current toothpaste? ANS. (1) Yes (2) No If no then why . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .