Identify a product offering in the rural market and describe the consumer behavior

differences and possible bases of segmenting in the identified product market.

We all know that Agriculture is one of the primary occupations in the Rural sector of our
country. We have chosen ‘Tractors’ as the product offering on which we will be doing our
research product. The Tractor is considered a necessity in modern-day farming as it helps
ease the farming process. The factors that influence buying a tractor are product design (looks
and performance), availability of spares and easy reparability, cost of spares, resale value,
loan availability, brand reputation, and reference group influence.
The segmentation for the Tractor can be done on multiple bases, which are stated as follows:-
Based on Location
• Top Agricultural States:- Punjab, Haryana, UP, Karnataka, Telangana are regarded as
the top agricultural states which produce the majority of agricultural products. They are the
primary target segments for any tractor company.
• Medium Produce – High Volume states:- Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are the states
which come next in line and are also a part of Target Group for tractor Companies.
• Other States:- Companies do not invest heavily in marketing their products in other
states since they do not bring volume sales. Generally, companies keep their minimal
presence in these states to minimize operational and functional costs.
Based on land holdings
• Farmers with agricultural lands above 10 hectares
• Farmers with agricultural lands between 2 hectares and 10 hectares
• Farmers with lands less than 2 hectares
• Farmers working on rented lands

Select a marketer competing in the identified product market and describe the
marketing strategy. This may include a different approach for different segments or a
targeted effort at an identified segment in the product market.
Mahindra and Mahindra is the world largest farm tractor manufacturer and has been the
market leader in Indian Subcontinent for the past 3 decades. Mahindra’s success can be
accredited to its customer centric approach starting right from the design phase and its focus
on delivering quality products.
Marketing Strategy of Mahindra & Mahindra
Accessibility
Mahindra has established the largest network in India with more than 900 registered dealers,
branches, numerous authorised service points and techmasters, providing services in every
small village.
Acceptability
Mahindra has the most elaborate portfolio in terms of market offering in the farm tractors
industry and provides end to end solutions for the diverse needs, from harvesting, reaping,
paddling and haulage. The tractors are highly fuel efficient and are considered value for
money adding to their popularity
Awareness
Mahindra over the years have achieved remarkable a brand recall, the promotion campaigns
and content can be seen in various regional languages and forms from print flyers,
newspapers, radios televisions, wall paintings and others. Few major promotion campaigns
can be seen as below:

 Mahindra Tractor Mohotsav

 Mileage se Music Tak
 Alive a day in farmer’s life
 Aircraft Shows in Rural Areas

The messages used in the promotional campaigns:

 Pride in Being No. 1

 Easy / Affordable Services
 Easy Financing Solutions
 Showcasing Big / Powerful / Dependability

Affordability
Mahindra Farm Tractor Solutions are available in Price Range of Rs. 2 Lakh to 20 Lakhs
based on the application, size, engine type and HP. Mahindra Finance provides easy
financing options to farmers to aid purchases, customisable to their needs and suitability and
boasts highest Loan to Value in the industry. With the popularity and brand awareness, the
resale value is also higher than most competitors.

Identify the competitors in the product market. Describe the competitive strategies of
these competing offerings including the segments served by these competing players.
Competitors & their Strategies
Other leading players in this product market competing with Mahindra & Mahindra are John
Deere India Pvt. Ltd, Sonalika International Tractors Ltd, Preet Tractors Pvt Ltd, Tractors
and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE) etc.
 John Deere tractors focus on customers' needs and wants, and hence they are also
into procuring other products and equipment which the customers find to be
complimenting their purchase. This entails better customer satisfaction whenever they
visit and buy the tractors at John Deere. The company emphasizes on delivering quality
products to the farmers to ensure value for money. Hence the company does not believe in
altering prices based on the competitors’ prices. John Deere, instead of lowering prices,
focuses on strategizing their offerings primarily by extensive promotions and educating
the customers about the non-cost benefits, innovative technologies that have been
incorporated in their tractors.
Sonalika strongly believes in introducing smart farming techniques in its tractors so as
to increase its customers' confidence. With superior technology products, Sonalika is focused
on enhancing the farming community. For this, Sonalika even offers customized tractors to
the customers at reasonable prices, boosting farmers who own innovative farm solutions to
purchase their tractors. Sonalika strategizes in bringing amazing offers to the customers at
regular intervals to provide trending technologies in their tractors and increase farmers’
productivity.
Preet Tractors provide a wide range of tractors varying from mini-tractors to large
farm-tractors. Along with being at par with newer technologies, Preet Tractors emphasize
majorly on customers’ comfort and performance at a reasonable price. For this, Preet also
introduced an air conditioner cabin for the customer segment who find it to be useful
considering the highly fluctuating climatic conditions and then styled with high performance.
TAFE strongly believes in nurturing relationships with their customers while moving
closely with them and understanding their requirements. TAFE does not believe in selling
their tractors in a conventional way of marketing, i.e., by advertising on TV or usual
campaigns, instead, they tend to build relationships organically by sponsoring rural local
events, where they appropriately find their target audience. In addition, TAFE tractors also
come with superior aftersales services and dedicated customer care services teams, whereby
customers can understand and learn from their issues or problems. Due to this close
relationship with its customers, TAFE tractors have seen a significant growth rate.

References:

 https://www.mbaskool.com/marketing-mix/products/16764-john-deere.html
 https://www.adgully.com/sonalika-tractors-empowers-farmers-through-toofani-
dhamaka-campaign-102125.html
 https://preettractor.blogspot.com/2020/11/preet-tractor-in-india.html
 https://www.financialexpress.com/archive/tafe-drawing-a-new-route-map-to-
generate-growth/46125/
Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the selected marketer in the identified product
market across different segments relative to the competition.
Strengths of Mahindra and Mahindra tractors: -

- It is the number one tractor brand in India by volume and has around 42% market
share. This number is double than the second largest market share holder.
- It is India’s only tractor brand in global top 10 rankings which it uses to leverage in
the market and attract more customers.
- The parent company also has Mahindra Finance which finances the buying of tractors
for the customers seamlessly. The customers for tractors in rural markets cannot pay
the full price of tractors in one go and need loans for it. Mahindra finance helps here.
Also, there is a tie up with Kotak Mahindra bank which has a scheme for tractor
finance
- The buying decision of tractors for rural customers are influenced by people of higher
status in villages who gives their thoughts about the product. Chain reaction happens
- Strengthened portfolio and new launches: have offering in all power segments for
tractors
- After sale costs for Mahindra tractors are lower compared to other competitors. Also,
the people get easy availability of all the spare parts required in times of repairs
because of the strong distributor networks which the company has created being in the
automotive industry.
- Strong Research and Development (R&D): M&M has a highly focused R&D
department constantly focusing on developing new products and technologies. M&M
majorly focuses on Value addition and Value engineering (VAVE) approach,
designing modularity, use of alternate materials etc.

Weakness of Mahindra and Mahindra Tractors: -

- The sales are highly dependent on agricultural sector. If the agriculture sector faces
problems such as low monsoon, etc. the sales of Mahindra tractors also drop
- It has less technological ability compared to the foreign players in the market
- One other weakness for this company is the multi franchise model.

Describe the marketing approach of the marketer by segment. Examine the

performance of the market offering. Infer the contribution of a targeted marketing
effort on performance.
Mahindra and Mahindra, uses 2 different market approaches for 2 different market segments.
In the first approach the segmenting is based on location of the farmers, land holdings. In this
type of segmentation, the company focuses on states, that are primarily focussed on
agriculture production, like Punjab, Haryana, UP etc. In these states the majority of people
are engaged in farming activities and contribute the maximum output towards the total
agriculture produce of the country. The marketer approaches this segment primarily through
demo product offering in the harvesting season, educating the customer through conducting
workshops along with highlighting the benefits of the suitable products. Word of mouth from
other people associated in relatable occupation in the same field also happens to play an
important in approaching the targeted market.
In the second approach, according to land holdings, changes are made in the product offering,
according to the need of the farmers. Basic product is offered at a very convenient price, to
make it affordable to a large segment of farmers. For the top-notch farmers, the company
adds more features which enhance the working capabilities of the suitable product offerings.

The market offering finds itself, suitable to the needs of the targeted segment, which can be
seen through a jump of 154.3% year to year basis. This growth proves that the marketing
approach used by the company is working in the right direction and company is able to
stretch its customer base to new areas in the market.

Targeted marketing efforts done by Mahindra include, giving discounts in harvesting seasons,
advertising in frequently conducted melas in villages, promise of cross selling their harvest in
return for some monthly EMI’s at predetermined rate. All these marketing efforts in the rising
covid scenarios, have bear fruits as Shares of India's top utility vehicle maker Mahindra and
Mahindra touched a 52-week high of 874.75 late last month. Standalone operating profit
margin is expected to strengthen by 460 basis points YoY to 11.9% in the second quarter of
FY2022.