Rural Marketing Strategies (Marketing Mix – Examples and Cases)

Rural marketing concept is a customer-centered ‘sense and respond’ philosophy. The following section deals

with how MNC’s and local companies have successfully established themselves in the rural market.

[1] Product Strategy:

The rural consumer is very conscious about getting ‘value for money’. Low price, high quality and
multiple uses is basic principles rural product design.

Case 1: Nokia 1100

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 Nokia 1100 has so penetrated in to the rural market. Nokia had to stop its
production of 1100 because as its own product has become its toughest competitor.
Nokia’s low-end cell phones are used as radios, alarm - clocks and flash lights by the
rural customers.
Strategy: “digital convergence at the bottom of market”

Case 2 : LG sampoorna TV
LG Electronics launched a customized TV sampoorna’. A more important aspect of
customization is to make TV set which can appeal to local needs, it facilitated on
screen display in vernacular language like Hindi, Tamil and Bengali. selling 1,00,000
sets in the very first year.

Strategy: “thinking locally, succeeding globally”

Case 3: HUL Breeze 2-in-1

HUL developed a combined soap and shampoo that was cost-effective and also
less harsh on hair than ordinary soaps. HUL launched the new soap-cum shampoo
‘Breeze 2-in-1’

Strategy: “value-added product would create a loyal customer”

Case 4: HUL pure-it [a water purifier brand]

HUL launched a innovative product ‘pure-it’ a water Purifier brand. Pure-it is

available at economical price for the rural consumer as there is no clean drinking water in
villages.

Strategy: “Corporate social responsibility means come up with business models to cater to
the BOP”

Case 5: TATA Nano

Tata Motors launched ultra low cost Nano. Nano is a low-end ‘rural car’, hence
its creates a new segment of people of buying car. It is a victory for all those who have
been advocating making available cheaper products for customers at the BOP.

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Strategy: “we needed to create a safer journey of transporting a family”

Suggestions:
 Innovative product designs and packaging.

 Avoid the marketing myopia, which means the costumer will have the same need but will want the new
product.
 Application of value engineering, which means costly metal being replaced by cheaper reinforced plastic.
This technique does not sacrifice the functional efficiency of a product but lower the product price.
 Using chinese product design strategy and raw material.
 Be care full on product duplicates and using security features.

Marketers must often understanding rural customer’s needs and aspirations even better than customers
themselves do and creating products and services that meet existing and latent needs, now and in the future. A fair
amount of research is required to understand the latent needs and desires of rural customers and provide suitable
products.

[2] Price Strategy:

Rural markets are low price high volume growth markets. The rural markets being intensely price-
sensitive in comparison to urban markets, reaching at a lower cost is a major challenge.

Case 1: Nirma
Nirma’s yellow detergent powder- a mass- market Phenomenon. Nirma’s low
price policy has penetrated into the deepest rural markets in India.

Strategy: “value- for- money”

Case 2: Cavinkare’s Chik shampoo

Cavinkare launched Chik in 50 paise sachets. Cavinkare targeted rural and small town
customers who used soaps to wash their hair. it became the market leader in the rural
markets with over 50% market share. It create a ‘sachet revolution’.

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Strategy: “low unit price packs.” (LUP)

Case 3: Mc Donald’s

The Indian customers seek high value for every rupee spent. So Mc Donald’s has
been highlighting the “Happy price menu- Rs. 20” to shackle entry barriers appeal to Indian
customers.

Strategy: “highlighting the value being delivered for a small

. price”.

Case 4: P&G price cut strategy

P&G in 2004 started price cut strategy in their detergent brands. P&G’s increase in
the market share was more at the cost of the low-priced detergents. There was a 200%
increase in Tide after the price cut.

Strategy: bring in the required ‘Economies of Scale’ which would lead to profitability.

Case 5: Britannia Tiger biscuits

Britannia also tasted success because of small affordable packaging of ‘Tiger’
biscuits it is specially design to the rural market, it’s helping the poor become consumers.

Strategy: “low price strategy is begun to appeal target segment”

Case 6: Nestlé’s Maggi

Nestle’s rural initiatives have largely been based on Price-led initiatives. Brand such
as Maggi noodles are priced at Rs.5. It helped Nestle in making inroads in to rural market.

Strategy: “small pack - lower price”

Case 7: Marico parachute

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 Marico launched ‘parachute mini’ a bottle shaped small pack being sold at an MRP of RS.1, 20 ml
parachute a RS 5 that enables loose oil users ad to parachute.

Strategy: “consumers to trail out the products with very little risk”

Suggestions:
 Use backward and forward integration.
 Using value-based pricing strategy. That means fixing of price, starting with customer and end with
product.
 Use psychological tricky pricing strategies. That means method of odd number pricing etc.
 Effective total quality management is helps to low price high quality product.

Companies should focus on creative solutions and product engineering to reduce their cost. Second, the
company can design basic models minus frills to save cost.

[3] Promotion Strategy:

The challenge is to create communication that would help the rural consumer in recognizing brands,
logos, visuals and colors. To effectively tap the rural markets, a brand must associate with their culture and
personality.

Case 1: Idea cellular

Idea’s aggressive promotion campaigns ‘what an idea sirjee’ ad creates a real rural feel
came through Strong advertisement.

Strategy: spreading a social message “each one has aimed at the changing someone’s life
for better”

Case 2: Coca-cola
Coca-cola ad ‘thanda matlab coca-cola’ caught attention of the rural consumers so much. Aamir khan
playing foot sic with village bells.

Strategy: “Using a renowned celebrity from in rural background”

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Case 3: Godrej
Godrej uses radio to reach to the local people in their language and push its soap in interior and remote
areas.

Strategy: “low-cost marketing technique to gain maximum result”

Case 4: HUL Lifebuoy

HUL launched a direct rural contact program called ‘Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetana’
campaign, made sales goes up by 20% in 17,000 villages.

Strategy: “lifebuoy has always been positioned on the platform of health and .

hygiene”

Case 5: MRF Bullock cart Tyres

MRF introduced nylon tyres for bullock carts with real life pahalwans. MRF use the
communication through wall paintings in villages association with the muscleman symbol,
(i.e.,Pahalwan=Muscleman).The result was that the MRF bullock cart tyres became the
brand leader in this segment .

Strategy: “Rural consumers understands symbols better and looks for .

endorsement by icons”

Case 6: HUL Vim

HUL launched a dish washing bar Vim. HUL Started to communicated the brand in rural
area through public challenging campaigns. In this campaigns is succeed people washing
utensils with sand are being educated to shift to dish washing bars.

Strategy: “Brand awareness creates people using local unbranded products to national brands”

Case 7: Dabur Chyawanprash

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 Dabur Chyawanprash was able communicate its core benefits of energy and immunity by involving locals
in a game of bowling wherein, the nine pins, symbolizing various diseases, were demolished by a chyawanprash
ball.

Strategy: “For a brand to succeed in India, its communication and image must respect Indian values and serve to
uphold them”.

Case 8: HUL Surf

Surf used the ‘Lalita ji; campaign to communicate the message of ‘getting more for your
money’ to housewives and this message is well received by them.

Strategy: “value for money need not necessarily mean cheap”

Suggestions:
 Provide social outlet campaigns, the outlet provide free to any one, what brand they choose. Its creates a
‘trust factors’ to the consumers.
 Be care full on retail margins otherwise they promoted local brands.
 Face-to-face ‘below the line’ touch, that means feel and talk mode at heats, melas and mandis.
 To capture the local sprit in the communication. Using local language.
 Patience is the name of the game. That means a rural consumer is not in a hurry and you can take your
time in communicating the message.
 Developed a website, which gathers valuable feedback from satisfied customers and also display the total
amount saved by consumers with the product impact.

World-of-mouth communication strategy works better in rural markets as these markets enjoy limited
reach media. Once people become familiar with these products, they would perceive them as necessities.

[4] Distribution strategy:

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 Planning physical distribution, managing logistics and controlling marketing communication are major
impediments for entering rural markets. The distribution structure involves stock points in feeder towns to service
these retail outlets at the village levels.

Case 1: Coca - Cola

Coca -Cola is a pioneer company in distribution network. Coca-Cola has evolved
a ‘hub and spoke’ distribution model for effectively reaching and serving rural
markets. Coca-Cola provides low-cost ice boxes to the small distributors in rural areas
because of the lack of the electricity. In this marketing strategy a wake up call
for coke’s rural focus.

Strategy: “Coke is available where, even water is not available”

Case 2: HUL

Hindustan unilever, the pioneer and a large player in India’s FMCG

market. HUL is the first company to step into the Indian rural marketing. HUL
launched ‘operation stream line’, distributed HUL’s products in villages using
unconventional transport like ‘bullock carts’, ‘tractors’ and cycles. Today
HUL’s products touch the lives of two out of every three Indians.

Strategy: “HUL product can reach a place, where you can not reach”

Suggestions:
 Best solution for enter into the rural markets, that is the company should start the production in rural
areas. Then it is easy to distribute and also its increase the local sprit.
 Tie’up with public distribution system (Fair Price Shops). In our country, the public distribution system is
fairly well organized. The revamped PDS places more emphasis on reaching remote rural areas of hills
and tribaks. So FMCG companies collaborated with the PDS to utilize its well-established sales and
distribution network in the rural markets.
 Develop rural shopping malls. Rural shopping malls act as a two-way supply chain. While selling goods to
the farmers and also buy their farm produce.
 Use a combination of wholesalers and retailers to penetrate every nook and corner of rural market.
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 Going paces ahead of small packs and sachets’ the corporate world is now coming out with ‘Rural Malls’
and ‘Self help groups’ as channel partners to promote consumer products in rural India. Unilever and ITC are
working towards increasing their visibility and reach through marketing - cum social responsibility projects such
as ‘shakti and e-choupal’ respectively.