Sensitizing research to rural markets

Rural marketing- research is critical. 2 reasons

1. Marketer has limited understanding of the rural consumer
2. Marketer who is urban oriented- may find it useful to learn
consumer response & various decision variables
Research process used in urban markets- incompatible with
rural markets
Alternative methods for research in rural markets- include
design, measures & sampling
Research design reference frame
2 levels of research design
1. Reference frame for understanding the rural consumers
2. Suitable research approach: methods of experiments,
survey & case studies are evaluated for suitability to rural
markets
Reference frame:
When researching rural markets- urban markets are taken
as reference point
Standard to measure & examine different aspects of
relatively unknown phenomenon
Helps to understand perceptions, attitudes & preference of
rural consumers
Research approach
2 types of approach: Experimental, Survey Or Case Study
Approach
Experimental approach:
Relevant for understanding the causation- limited application
in rural markets
Case study & survey approach:
Understanding consumer behavior- have high cost in terms of
time & money
Absence of information- difficulty to get rural respondents to
articulate their perception, attitude & behavior so in depth
survey is preferred option
In-depth survey:
Understand their perception, attitude & behavior- usual
questionnaire survey
Involvement of respondents is higher
Diffusion of Innovation
Used in product development & design. These include:
1. Study of existing products
2. The use of extension centres for
1. In depth interviews
2. Feedback on prototype
Study of existing products:
Systematic examination of product- used by consumer to
meet his/her need
Useful insights on usage patterns, skills & habits of users
Valuable inputs for design & features
Provides info about weakness also
Use of extension counters:
Opportunity to gather information from villagers
Familiar person to interview consumer
Feedback used for product design
Eg: ASTRA ole:
ASTRA (Application of Science &
Technology in Rural Areas)- cell in IISC
Bangalore, Karnataka
Rural households- wood- deforestation-
develop fuel efficient wood stove
Problems faced:
1. Shape & overall size
2. Preferably made by materials available
locally
3. Agri residues (coconut fibres, husks, twigs)
4. Disperse of smoke
5. Easy & light to extinguish
6. Cheap & easy to construct
7. No significant changes in food habits &
traditional cooking practices of villagers
Redesigned stove- 50% thermal efficiency- resulted in 3
design features:
1. Grate for entry of primary air to combustion zone
2. Increased combustion temperature y controlling &
optimizing excess air
3. Improved heat transfer- proper dimension- air to pass-
chimney to pass smoke
Advantages:
1. High fuel efficiency & low fuel consumption
2. Low cooking time
3. Smokeless operation
Development studies
Relevant approach used in development studies is PRA
(Participatory Rural Appraisal)
PRA method is applied to study the behavior of the cattle
farmers in their purchase of inputs fro cattle rearing & in
the sale of milk produce
Case study to explain PRA:
Cattle owner behavior: Purchase of input & sale of milk
Study uses both intensive interactive approach & structured
interviews
1. Intensive Interactive Approach:
1. First- decide on venue, where interaction was to take place-
suitable venue- villagers milk producers society
2. Informal stroll around the village- type of cattle, kind of
shelter for cattle
3. Establishing rapport & understanding with the villagers
4. Collection of additional data requires for the study
Later villagers were asked to indicate different aspects like
availability & preference for various inputs like forage,
health & various services
Eg:

1. Inputs Dry fodder Grass Cattle feed
Availability throughout
the year
Availability during
season
Price during season
Yield of cattle
PRA approach
This method- extensively used in development studies
Involvement of the respondent or rural consumer is very
high
Steps of PRA approach:

Identify location-
facilitates discussion
& increases likelihood
of the respondents
Walk thru village-
familiarise researcher
with the surroundings
Village mapping-
ground, black boards
etc- discussions
Use tools to capture additional
data:
Timeline: prepare a list of
activities & events
Seasonality dgms: break up info-
greater clarity from info available

Contd..
Matrix ranking: capture the
perception, attitude & preference.
Indication is made by objects
Venn diagrams: identify various
entities

Need for PRA
Helps to understand their perception & their needs
Focus of PRA involve respondents to share & create a
method to record data
Case study: MPMU (Milk Processing & Marketing Unit)
Procuring, processing & marketing milk & milk products-
southern states in India
Provides input to cattle owners like feeds, veterinary
support, medicines, procures milk & market milk & milk
products
Faced competition from smaller diaries.
Lower price to the consumers by smaller diaries because of
lower overheads also provided higher price to the suppliers
MPMU- losing its market share-coz it was keen on increasing
the procurement to maintain supplies- had to increase
consumer price
Solution: PRA approach- indicated that cattle owner more
concerned about the returns feed of cattle, medicines-
MPMU provided those services- cattle owners could not
So the farmer sought high price to MPMU
Sampling
Random sampling is used in geographical categories-
stratified & quota sampling
Villages will be selected- select the entire village or select
respondents randomly after listing all the villagers
Measures:
In-depth interviews & structured interviews
Measures of structured interviews- reflect respondents
characteristics, should be in local language
Preferred scale is Nominal scale & ordinal scale
Operational aspects of data collection
Data collection must be made with utmost care, else it
may result in:
1. Distortion of sample characteristics
2. Distortion in data recorded
The following biases should be avoided:
1. Roadside bias: interior village- difficult to access
2. Big farmer bias: he is responsive & influences others
3. Literacy bias: farmer is educated- understands the
concepts better- easier to get info from him
4. Gender bias: males- easier to access & get info from them
5. Seasonal bias: better to carry out surveys in cooler
months than in summer