Rural Marketing in India

Rajani. A. DevagudiFor “Feacher”

"India's way is not Europe's. India is not Calcutta and Bombay. India lives in her several hundreds of villages"

- Mahatma Gandhi

Introduction

About three-fourth of the total population resides in the rural areas.

Agriculture -24.7% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) & 13.1 to Exports.

Employment to 58.4% of the country's workforce and livelihood to more than 650 million people.

Introduction

What is Rural Marketing?

A rural market is any market that exists in a area where the population is less than 10,000

They not only needs agricultural inputs, but also consumer goods.

Rural market is growing at the rate of five times its urban counterpart.

Rural Attraction

Rural development initiatives.

Increasing agricultural productivity.

Lowering of difference between taste of urban and rural customers.

Good Monsoons

Growing rural infrastructure.

Increasing purchasing power.

Challenges in Rural Marketing

In comparison to just 5,161 towns in India there are 6,38,365 villages in India.

Numbers speak, the rural potential is to be tapped.

Easier said than done.

The challenges are1. Agricultural Situation 2. Lack of Infrastructural Facilities. 3. Spurious Products4. Low Literacy 5. Seasonal Demand6. Transportation

7. Distribution 8. Communication Problems 9. Traditional Life 10. Buying Decisions11. Media For Promotion12. Career In Rural Market13. Cultural Factors

Future Outlook: A joint effort to penetrate the market is required.

Every effort should be made by the companies to

promote the "my brand" feel in the minds of

consumers.

TRADITIONAL STRATEGIES:

No direct interaction.

Print media and Radio used

Focus on price and not quality and durability.

Present Strategy

Now companies have changed traditional and taken up new strategies like

1 Marketing strategy2 Distribution strategy3 Sales Strategy4 Promotional strategy.

Conclusion:

Looking at the challenges and the strategies,

Indian rural market is very promising.

So, the need of the hour is the integration of

all the above stated approaches and

constantly reinventing the products and

bringing new innovations.

Development of a dedicated model for these

areas is a must.

“The future lies with those companies who see the poor as their customers.”

- CK Prahalad

*Real India is Rural India.

*And Real Marketing is RURAL

MARKETING

*SO, GO RURAL

Thank you