RURAL MARKETING

TELECOM SERVICE PROVIDERS IN THE

VILLAGES

Aniruddha Bhagwat Roll No. 148

Penaaz Shaikh Roll No. 70
Chaitra Desai Roll No. 117
Charu Gupta Roll No. 145
AN OVERVIEW
The expansion of India's telecom industry has led to an
"all-inclusive growth" of the Indian economy in terms
of GDP
In the 2006/07 the country saw the growth rate hit 9.6
percent-Majorly due to telecom sector.
The demand for telecommunication services are
surging across rural India, as middle class and upper
classes are growing in most villages
OPPORTUNITY IN RURAL INDIA
A huge population – 720 million people in 630,000
villages across 3.2 million square miles.
A massive economy – over 50% of India’s total GDP.
There are almost same number of middle to high
income households in rural areas (21.16 mn) as urban
India (23.22 mn).
A booming economy – with the consumer durables
market, for example, growing at 25% per year (vs 10%
nationally).
A parallel economy – with the same needs as
developed markets but a reduced ability to pay.
GAP BETWEEN URBAN AND
RURAL
No celebrities will work
No mass media coverage
-Due to lack of access to technology
Rural market lies in the bottom of the Pyramid. The 4
A’s work for them
Availability
Affordability
Acceptability
Awareness
COMMUNICATION HELPS
 Lack of transportation
-Coordinated rural transportation based on mobile information
delivery, will increase convenience and allow users to find
reliable, regular and affordable transportation ‘on-demand’.
 Difficulties in managing commercial transactions
-Micro-commerce ventures like mobile ordering, payments and
delivery requests can all help isolated small-scale
entrepreneurs in remote locations.
 Lack of healthcare services
-Telecom and broadband intervention will allow doctors,
nurses and midwives to stay in closer contact with patients.
 Ignorance of governance policies
-Rural governance services giving access to citizen data will
allow the rural population to be more informed about
national level developments and reduce the urban-rural
divide.
IDEA
The most favorable service provider in one of the 2
villages
Has good network in the village
Availability is high but the distribution is not well
channelized
Branding is seen in and around the village- not
extensive
The amount that people spend is Rs 10/- to Rs.150/-
AIRTEL
Is favored in one village and not in the rest
The network is good in Sonwadi because of the
existence of a tower
Availability is high, but distribution is poor
Very poor branding around the villages
The spending of the people remain the same
irrespective of the network
VODAFONE
Not favored by the villagers
Usage rate of Vodafone is extremely low because of
poor network
Availability is not as high as that of Idea and Airtel.
This is because of low demand
Huge amount of branding is done all around the
villages and district
NEED GAP ANALYSIS
No direct distribution of sim cards and recharges
People hesitate to buy a cellphone because of
discomfort with usage
Network: Only Idea and Airtel have good network
Nominal women users
Few purchase location: only 2 outlets in one bazaar
No initiative taken by the company
Inadequate branding (except for Vodafone)
DISTRIBUTION
Well channelized distribution
- Direct distribution to the rural market
Trade discount and trade promotions
- Incentives to the shopkeepers for branding and
meeting sales target
- prizes
Tie-up with a mobile company for low cost phones to
be distributed
PROMOTIONS
Women’s initiative
- Educate them in the village to encourage sales
- Special schemes , e.g. speak to the ancestral home free
of cost
- Interaction with women on Mondays
Festival branding
- The service provider can brand the pandals
- Built kiosks
Cultural fairs, dramas and respected community elders
Fairs and weddings
PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES
Communicating and changing quality perception
- Value for money
Communication in Indian language
Exploit social and cultural values
- Sensitive people
Talking about a normal Indian
- Base advertisements and interactions on normal Indian
families
Marathi names for the schemes
BRANDING
Umbrellas
Rooftops
Run down buildings
Interior branding
- Inside stores
Initiatives in college and high schools
Communication
- Focus on network
Increase towers for better network
- e.g. Vodafone
- Create awareness about the tower
More shops needs to have the products
- Only two shops in the entire bazaar had the products
Companies need to come and show initiative in the
villages
CSR ACTIVITIES
Workshops to educate the children in the villages
- The best performer gets a mobile phone with sim card
Sponsor cricket tournaments
- The target audience is the youth
Medical check ups twice in a year
- This will help the villagers to connect with the brand
 THANK YOU

Submitted by:
Penaaz Shaikh (70)
Chaitra Desai (117)
Charu Gupta (145)
Aniruddha Bhagwat (148)