INTRODUCTION The term rural marketing used to be an umbrella term for the people who dealt with rural

people in one way or other. It got a separate meaning and importance after the economic revaluation in India after 1990. ural marketing referred to selling of rural products in rural and urban areas and agricultural inputs in rural markets. It was treated as synonymous to agricultural marketing. !efore 19"0# the market was totally unorgani$ed where all banias and mahajans %local business people& dominated this market. The agricultural produces like food grains and industrial inputs like cotton# oil seeds# sugarcane etc. occupied during this period. In the era of 19"0 to 1990# green revolution resulted from scientific farming and transferred many of the poor illages into prosperous business centers. 's a result# the demand for agricultural inputs went up especially in terms of heats and paddies !etter irrigation facilities# soil testing# use of high yield variety seeds# fertili$ers# pesticides and deployment of machinery like powder tillers# harvesters# threshers etc. changed the rural scenario. (ince 1990s# Indias industrial sector had gained in strength and maturity. Its contribution to )*+ increased substantially. ' new service sector had emerged signifying the metamorphosis of agricultural society into industrial society. ,ue to the development programmes of the central and state governments# service organi$ations and socially responsible business groups like -afatlal# Tatas# !irlas# )oenkas and others# the rural area witnessed an all round socio.economic progress. The economic reforms further accelerated the process by introducing competition in the markets. (teadily# the rural market has grown for household consumables and durables. ural marketing is defined as managing all the activities involved in assessing# stimulating and converting the purchasing power of the rural consumers into effective demand for specific products and services and moving them to the people in rural areas to create satisfaction and a better standard of living and thus achieving organi$ational ob/ectives. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RURAL MARKETS 1. Increase in population# and hence increase in demand. The rural population in 1901 was 12.30 crores# which increased to 40.50 crores in 1931# "0.51 crores in 1991 and "".0 crores in 5001. 5. ' marked increase in the rural income due to agrarian prosperity. 2. 6arge inflow of investment for rural development programmes from government and other sources. 1. Increased contact of rural people with their urban counterparts due to development of transport and a wide communication network. 4. Increase in literacy and educational level among rural folks# and the resultant inclination to lead sophisticated lives. ". Inflow of foreign remittances and foreign made goods in rural areas. 0. 7hanges in the land tenure system causing a structural change in the ownership pattern and conse8uent changes in the buying behavior. The general rise in the level of prosperity appears to have resulted in two dominant shifts in the rural consuming system. 9ne is conspicuous consumption of consumer durables by

almost all segments of rural consumers# and the obvious preference for branded goods as compared to non. branded goods of rural. STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS : Large population 'ccording to 5001 census rural population is 05; of total population and it is scattered over a wide range of geographical area. O upation pattern 'griculture and related activities are the ma/or source of income for ma/ority of the rural population. In the event of crop failure# the income of the rural masses is directly affected. Large! "i#er$e an" $ attere" %ar&et Though large# the rural market is geographically scattered. There may be less number of shops available to market products. ,iverse and heterogeneous market in terms of religious# linguistic# social and cultural factors. So io'e ono%i po$ition 'bout "0; of the rural income is from agriculture and hence the demand for consumer goods is high during harvesting season. -a/ority of rural people have low purchasing power and per capita income. 6ow disposable income.

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Lo( litera ) le#el It is estimated that rural India has a literacy level of 2"; as compared to "5; in the urban areas. Lo( $tan"ar" o* li#ing 6ow income# low purchasing power# overall social and economic backwardness lead to low standard of living. In general a rural consumer spends less on non.food items. : : : Ina"e+uate in*ra$tru ture *a ilitie$ Infrastructure facilities like cemented roads# warehouses# and communication system are inade8uate in rural areas. 'bout 50; of the si< lakh villages are without telephone facility even today. 'bout 40; of the markets are not connected by road. -ost of the roads are kachha and become unusable during rainy season. Tra"itional outloo& =illages develop slowly and have a traditional outlook. They accept changes gradually. Di$tan e =illages nearer to towns have elements of the urban life. Interior villages are more traditional.

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Di#er$e $o io'e ono%i ,a &groun" ,ue to dispersion of geographical areas and uneven land fertility# rural people have diverse socio.economic background. Con$er#ati#e li*e$t)le 6ifestyle bounded by tradition# culture# religion and community. Me"ia rea -

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The media reach in rural household is low. (tatistics indicates that the reach of +rint media is 10;# followed by T= 21;# adio 25; and 7inema 2";.

Me"i al *a ilitie$ -edical facilities are 8uite inade8uate and the villagers have to travel long distances for getting medical treatment. 9!>?7TI=?( (ensitise participants on the nuances of rural marketing environment ,evelop capabilities for clearly identifying# comple<# real life rural marketing problems in a holistic perspective Identify and assess rural market potential for products and services ?8uip participants with mindset and skill set to help them develop appropriate marketing mi< strategies for products and services in different stages of their life cycle. E%plo)%ent Opportunitie$. The income from new employment and rural development efforts will increase the purchasing power of rural people. Green Re#olution. Through green revolution a technological breakthrough has taken place in rural India# which results into substantial wealth generation in these areas. Litera ) Gro(t-. 6iteracy rate is increasing in rural areas# nearly 14; of rural Indians are literate. This brings social and cultural changes in buying behavior of the rural customers. Ri$ing Di$po$a,le In o%e. )ood monsoons# green revolution and 'dministered +ricing -echanism %+'-& have raised disposable income in rural areas. Attra tion o* Hig-er Stan"ar" o* Li#ing. ural people have been motivated to change their lifestyles and have higher standard of living. SCOPE : : : : : : : Large Population 015 million Indians consisting of 123 million households reside in "#23#2"4 villages %7ensus# 5001&. It constitutes about 02; of the Indian population and 15; of the world population. ,espite the rural urban migration# the rural areas continue to be the place of ma/ority of Indians. Gro(t- o* Mar&et The market has been growing at a rate of 2.1; annually adding more than one million new consumers every year. )rowth rates of the @-7) market and the durable market are higher in rural areas for many products. ural market accounts for close to 40; of volume consumption of @-7). @or products like toilet soaps# talcum powder# cooking oil# vanaspati ghee# tea# cigarettes and hair oil# the share of rural market is more than 40;. In*ra$tru ture I$ I%pro#ing Rapi"l) In 40 years only# 10; villages have been connected by road# in ne<t 10 years another 20; would be connected. -ore than 90; villages are electrified# though only 11; rural homes have electric connections. ural telephone density has gone up by 200; in the last 10 years. In rea$ing In o%e An" Pur -a$ing Po(er

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The agricultural development programs of the government have helped to increase income in the agricultural sector by increasing the productivity and better price for agricultural products# thus enhancing the purchasing power in rural markets. : : : A e$$i,ilit) O* Mar&et$ The road network has facilitated a systemi$ed product distribution system to villages. 'n increasing number of companies are supplying village markets directly. Increasing direct contacts to villages helps product promotion and availability of the product in the village shop. Co%petition In Ur,an Mar&et$ Intensified competition in urban markets increases costs and reduces market share. The rural markets are therefore becoming increasingly attractive in relation to urban markets. @or instance# a/doot motorcycles# !a/a/ scooters or 'mbassador 7ars find ready acceptance in rural markets as compared to urban markets where there is a proliferation of brands. Saturation O* Ur,an Mar&et The urban market is reaching towards saturation point bringing in an urgent need to focus on rural market. Ne( E%plo)%ent Opportunitie$ )overnment schemes like I ,+ %Integrated ural ,evelopment +rogramme&# > A %>awahar o$gar Ao/ana& and T A(?- %Training ural Aouth for (elf ?mployment& have created new employment opportunities in rural India. 7o.operative banks and +ublic sector banks are e<tending loans to rural people thus creating /ob opportunities for them. 's a result very few rural people are now flocking to urban centres. Go#ern%ent Initiati#e$ 7redit cards %Bisan credit card& to farmers from the public sector banks which helped them to take short and medium term loans to buy seeds# fertili$ers# etc. This enabled them to produce more thus increasing their income. 6arge inflow of investment for rural development programmes from the government. (chemes like I ,+ %Integrated ural ,evelopment +rogramme& and ?+ % ural ?lectrification +rogramme& in the 1900s gave a boost to the agrarian economy. This resulted in changes in peoples habits and social life. ?+ gave impetus to the development of consumer durable industry. Rural Mar&eting I$ Not E/pen$i#e 7onventionally it looks that since rural consumers are dispersed# reaching them is costly. !ut according to a research# it costs roughly s.1 7rore to promote a consumer durable inside a state including the e<penses of advertising in vernacular newspapers# television spots# in.cinema advertising# radio# and point of purchase promotion. 7ampaigns like this# which can reach millions# costs twice as much in urban areas.

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METHODOLOG0 1 A2$ Approa 1.Availability (trive to reach at least 12 112 villages with a population market penetration. 5.Affordability Introduce small unit packs 2.Acceptability : 9ffers products and services that suit the rural market : ?asy to understand 1.Awareness

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9ne on one contact programs are e<tremely efficient. ?ducate and try to induce trial. -elas are places where villagers gather once in a while for shopping. 7ompanies take advantage of such events to ,emonstrate and market their products. Caats are a good place to create awareness. There are 15000 rural haats which get more than 1400 visitors per haat. Mar&eting Strateg) -arketers need to understand the psyche of the rural consumers. @irms should refrain from designing products for the urban markets and then pushing them in the rural areas. Dtili$ing various rural folk media to reach them in their own language.

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Di$tri,ution Strateg) Dsing company delivery vans# melas# haats# and mandisE agri markets. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Pro%otional Strateg) ich traditional media forms like puppetry# folk dances# audio visuals# etc. should be used to convey the right message to the rural folk. @orms with which the rural consumers are highly comfortable with should be used. B) Co%%uni ating An" C-anging 3ualit) Per eption 7ompanies are coming up with new technology and they are properly communicating it to the customer. There is a trade.off between the 8uality a customer perceives and a company wants to communicate. The perception of the rural Indian about the desired product is changing. B) Proper Co%%uni ation In Lo al Language The companies have reali$ed the importance of proper communication in local language for promoting their products. They have started selling the concept of 8uality with proper communication. B) Un"er$tan"ing Cultural An" So ial 4alue$ 7ompanies have recogni$ed that social and cultural values have a very strong hold on the people. It plays a ma/or role in deciding what to buy. -oreover# rural people are emotional and sensitive. B) Pro#i"ing 5-at Cu$to%er 5ant$ The customers want value for money. They aim for the basic functionality of the product rather than the frills associated which would not be of much use and will increase the price of the product. Cowever# if the seller provide frills free of cost they are happy with that. B) A$$o iating T-e%$el#e$ 5it- In"ia -*7s are associating themselves with India by talking about India# by e<plicitly saying that they are Indian. -.T= during Independence ,ay and epublic ,ay time make their logo with Indian tri.color. In 1993# *okia had launched cellular phone 4110# with the India tricolor and a ringtone of F(are >ahan se achchaF. 7ompanies are picking up Indian models and actors for advertisements and promotions. It is a normal tendency of an Indian to try to associate himselfEherself with the product. If heEshe can visuali$e himselfEherself with the product# heEshe becomes loyal to it. That is why @-7) companies usually showcase their products in around families in their advertisements.

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B) gi#ing In"ian ter%$ *or ,ran"$ 7ompanies use Indian words for brands. 6ike 6) has used India brand nameF(ampoornaF for its T=. The term is a part of the !engali# Cindi# -arathi and Tamil tongue. B) a"opting lo ali6e" (a) o* "i$tri,ution +roper distribution channels are recogni$ed by companies. To succeed in India they have to reach the nook and the corner of the country. -*7 shoe giants# 'didas# eebok# *ike started with e<clusive stores but soon reali$ed that they do not en/oy much !rand ?8uity in India# and to capture the market share in India they have to go the local market shoe sellers and with low priced products. B) e**e ti#e %e"ia o%%uni ation 7ompanies can either go for the traditional media or the modern media or an effective combination of both. The traditional media include melas# puppetry# folk theatre etc. while the modern media includes T=# radio# and e chaupal. 6I7 uses puppets to educate rural masses about its insurance policies. In between such shows# the lights are switched off and a torch is flashed in the dark%?vereadys tact&.

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LIMITATION IN RURAL MARKETING 4a$tne$$ an" Une#en Gro(t-. The villages in India are scattered over a wide range of geographical area# and also they are not uniform in si$e. Tran$port Pro,le%. Transportation infrastructure is very poor in rural India. Though India has the fourth largest railway system in the world# many villages remain outside the railway network. -any villages have only kaccha roads while many of rural interiors are totally unconnected by roads. !ecause of this the physical distribution is difficult in rural areas. Co%%uni ation Pro,le%$. 7ommunication infrastructure consisting of posts# telegraphs and telephones is inade8uate. 5are-ou$ing Pro,le%$. 7entral Garehousing 7orporation and (tate Garehousing 7orporation do not e<tend their services to the rural parts. The warehouses at mandi level are managed by co.operative societies who provide services to members only. Man) Language$ an" Diale t$. The number of language and dialects vary widely from state to state# region to region and even from district to district. Though the recogni$ed languages are only 1" the number of dialects is around 340. Mar&et Organi6ation 7 Sta**. ural marketing needs large marketing organi$ation and staff to have an effective control# which re8uires huge investment. Non'A#aila,ilit) o* Dealer$. It is not possible to have direct outlets in each rural marketH firms have to have service of dealers# which is not easily available. Hierar -) o* Mar&et. ural consumers have identified market places for different items of their re8uirements. Thus depending upon the purchase habit of rural people# the distribution network of different commodities has to be different. Bran"ing. The brand is the surest means of conveying 8uality to rural consumers. ,ay by day# though national brands are getting popular# local brands are also playing a significant role in rural areas. This may be due to illiteracy# ignorance and low purchasing power of rural consumers.