Chapter - 29

Rural Marketing

30.1
• Factors Contributing to Growing Interests in
Rural Markets:

• Increasing Competition in Urban Markets

• Socio-Economic Changes in Rural India
• Size of the Rural Market

30.2
 The Rural Consumer

Characteristics of the rural consumer:

A-Education Profile: Less educated than his/her urban
counterparts
Implication:
•Visual displays and phonetics become important in promoting
the product in rural areas.
•Demonstration on product usage becomes integral to the
marketers strategy
•Mass and personalized communication required
30.3
B-Low Income Levels:

An average rural consumer has a much lower income than

his/her urban counterpart
Implication:
•Large part of his income goes to provide basic necessities,
leaving a smaller number to be spent on other consumer
goods
•An average rural customer buys a single unit of the product
and not in bulk
•Rural demand is for low priced products
•Assured performance products
•Credit is an accepted pattern
• Repayment linked to crop condition
30.4
Occupations:

Principal occupation is farming, animal husbandry,

poultry farming, trading, crafts, plumbing, electric
works, primary health workers and teachers

Basis for differentiation is the size and ownership of

the land

30.5
Reference Groups:

•Primary health workers, doctors, teachers, and the

panchayat members

•The village trader or the grocery shop owner

•Rural bank’s officer or the manager

30.6
Media Habits:

Rural customer is fond of music and folklore

•“Nautanki’s” and “Tamasha’s” entertained the rural

customer in the earlier days

•TV, radio and video have replaced traditional forms of

entertainment

•Audio and video has more impact than the print media
on the rural customer

30.7
 Marketing Mix for the Rural Markets
• Product Decisions:

• Simpler, easy to use, serviced or maintained.

• Product literature to be simple
• Dispensable in single units
• Brand identity in rural markets is often created through the
visual logo of the product, the color of product or the taste
of the product

30.8
Pricing Decision:

The rural consumer is price sensitive

•Some approaches to making product more affordable

•Work through rural banks and offer hire purchase
terms to the customer
•Offer smaller unit sizes
•Pass the benefits of lower costs by buying from smaller
firms and marketing in rural markets
•Finance through intermediaries

30.9
Promotion Decision:

•Jingles, folklore, and music can combine to make a

message and brand name memorable
•Visual copy has a much greater appeal than just the
audio or the print
•Media- TV, radio, wall paintings, roof paintings are
effective
•Bus panels, stickers, shelf display, and hoardings are
also effective
•Rural sports like Kho-Kho, Kabaddi, bullock cart race,
rural fairs, haats can be used to promote brands

30.10
Distribution:

Key to penetrating rural markets

•Firm should deploy a mobile distribution strategy,

covering several villages in a single van cycle

•Competition is driving firms to reach to the buyer

•Weekly rural market/haat also aid effective

distribution

30.11