Prepared by

Amol Ashok Jagtap

Rural marketing can be define as a
function that manages all activities
involved in assessing, stimulating and
converting the purchasing power of rural
consumers into an effective demand for
specific products and services and moving
these products and services to the people
in rural areas to create satisfaction and a
better standard of living and thereby
achieving organizational goals.
 Because rural India offers to greatest hub to Indian
markets seeking growth for their production services
with 73 % of Indian population and 12% of world
population living in villages of india.
In India---
 28 states
 600000 villages
 4 major religions
 1650 ethnic group
 15 major languages
 1350 dialects
Proliferation(rapidly change) of brands in
urban
High saturation levels in urban
Greater awareness of brands in rural
Ever-growing aspirations in rural
No effects of slow down on rural markets !
Greater opportunities for business
Large customer area ( 73 % customers live in
rural area in India)
Low competition
 FMCG
 Rs.65000 crore
 Agri-inputs
 Rs.45000 crore
 Durables (long life goods)
 Rs.5000 crore
 Automobiles (2 & 4 Wheelers)
 Rs.8000 crore
 Clothes, footwear etc.
 Rs.35000 crore
 Construction material
 Rs.15000 crore
 Total
 Rs.173000 crore
 Source: CII Report (2008)
Very intelligent and clever – cannot be easily
cheat.
Daily activity is routinised
 Plenty of time / No Sundays
Very conscious of value for money
Does not like to pay extra for frills he cannot
use.
 Eg. Colour TV
High involvement in any product purchased
 Eg. Durables (LIC)
Perceptions, traditions, values vary from state to
state and in some cases from region to region
within a state.(MRF Bullock Cart Tyres)
Divisions based on caste, community and other
hierarchical factors continue to exist.
Keep the communication simple…
No scope for gimmicks( tricks)
Take time in communicating the message
Quickies have no impact.
Think in the local language to capture the local
spirit in the communication aimed at specific
region.
Demonstration – a key element for success
provided your communication is not gimmicky,
suggestive and is easy to comprehend.

 Target the opinion leaders first.( Educated village

youth as opinion leaders)

Hence need for different communication

packages focused on rural audience
Build Recognition
Rural folks understands symbols and
colours better.
‘Pahelwan’ Chap – MRF
‘Haathi’ – Beedi
‘Laal Sabun’ – Lifebuoy
Peela Powder – Nirma
White paste- Colgate
 This also leads to duplicates and fake products
 Largely sold in the Haats (weekly markets) in Rural
India
 Rs.12000 crore p.a. is the estimated loss to FMCG
sector
Untapped potential: it offers a great chance for
different branded goods as well as services for
large number of customers.
It is estimated by HLL  that out of 5 lakh villages
in India , only  lakh has been taped so far , which
goes on to indicate the market potentials of  the
rural market .
Market size and potential :The size of India s
rural market is stated as 12.2 % of the percentage
of the old population this means 12.2% of the
worlds consumers leave in rural India.
In India, rural household farm about 73 % of total
household constitutes a huge market by any
standard.
Increasing income :Different programs
undertaken have helped to improve the economic the
economic situation of the rural areas. The increase in
income is seen in both absolute values as well as in
the increase in average number of days of occupation
in a year.
Competition in urban areas :The urban
market is getting saturated and thus is enable to
provide the much needed market to many companies
and in search of greener pastures many of these
companies are now targeting the rural market.
Accessibility markets :Though the road
network has not developed to the best possible
extent but a fire amount of development has
been made in many regions, making these
regions accessible from the urban region and
making in easier for supplying products to these
regions
To create brand image
Distribution and logistics: Infrastructure
continues to be a challenge in rural India. Moreover,
the lack of an efficient distribution network prevents
penetration of products/services into rural India.
One of the most innovative models in recent times
has been the usage of the postal service by mobile
operators to penetrate scrat
Payment collection: The majority of the rural
population is still unbanked. Clearly, non-cash
collection becomes rather unlikely. Cash collections,
on the other hand, are messy and difficult to monitor,
especially since cash cards or technology-enabled
centralized POS (like Suvidha or Itz World) have still
not reached rural areas. ch cards to the villages
Pricing: In rural areas peoples don’t purchase
high price goods
Social and cultural challenges: The cyber
café (or kiosk) model has not worked in many
parts of rural India due to socio-cultural issues.
Education level in rural areas
Consumer behaviour
Income level of consumer
Standard of living
Education of consumer
Cultural environment
Taste and preference of consumer
Consumption criteria of consumer
Purchasing pattern of consumer( cash or borrow)
etc………..
They understand the regional ‘ethos’ better
They satisfy a perceived local need
Their communication touches a ‘chord’ which
helps in brand acceptance
They are flexible
 Adapt to changing market situations
Eg. Anchor, Gadi, Ajanta, Cavinkare (Chik),
Power, Goldwinner, Swagat baniyans
If you are small with limited budgets start by
concentrating on smaller areas
 Outdoor / local Cable TV / Radio / participate in
local festivals etc.
Even “Nirma” started very small
Today it is a Rs.2000 plus crore
company!
Marketers will have to understand the
rural customers before they can make
inroads in to rural makers.
Indian rural market is undoubtedly
complex but there are some simple truths
that we need to accept. The rural
consumers are very value-conscious. They
may or may not have purchasing power,
but they can make a difference to the
company's growth if concentrated.
So, it is apt to say that “The heart of India
still lies in the villages……..”