NAME: VRUSTI.

RAO DIV: B (SEM II)

Introduction
Rural Marketing is defined as any marketing activity in which the one dominant participant is from a rural area. This implies that rural marketing consists of marketing of inputs (products or services) to the rural as well as marketing of outputs from the rural markets to other geographical area The number of households and population, residing in the rural area makes this sector, very fascinating to the companies. Theres excitement among the corporate about the opportunities in this sector, which has led to new innovations for products and services, keeping rural consumers in mind. Rural Marketing is growing at a far greater speed than its urban counterpart .Multinationals have realized the potential and are ready to tap rural markets .To name a few Colgate, Everyday batteries, LG Electronics, Phillips, BSNL, Life Insurance Corporation, Britannia and Hero Honda are trying to seep in rural markets .

To add these recent examples of rural marketing is as following:

(1)Coca-Cola India has identified rural markets for volume growth in India. The cola giant is slowly adopting a localized marketing strategy with local brand ambassadors and localized marketing campaigns to reach out to the rural consumers. The move has been undertaken to increase Coca-Cola India's consumer base by 30 crore in 2004.Nearly 30% of our sales come from the rural markets. The management has decided to focus on the rural markets to give a significant boost to the entire sales. (2) Bharti Axa to focus on rural markets.

(3) Whirlpool says entry into smaller markets would mainly be driven through refrigerators. In the urban market, there will be a significant push in the water purifier space, which the company made a foray into last year. The company is looking at an investment of over Rs 100 crore over the next three years, and will significantly strengthen its distribution network in the rural markets

(4) FabMart.com launches new retail model for rural markets.FabMart.com, a part of Madanapalle Retail Pvt. Ltd. Venture introduced in Andhra Pradesh, a new retail model aimed at addressing the demand-supply need of retail that exists in smaller towns in India. Christened'RU-

BAN' FabMart.com wants to integrate their retail business with the social fabric of small towns to empower the rural consumer. Rural customers will be offered a choice of products that are otherwise available only in metros and large Indian cities.

How rural Indian shoppers are changing

As per a recent survey 'Shopper Trends' released by Nielsen, there are various parallels between how urban Indian shoppers are evolving and how their rural counterparts too are changing. The study is a global consumer research study conducted in 52 countries to understand shopper attitudes and behavior, and the agency has released the Indian study that was done across 14 cities. The study shows that the companies that win in rural markets are more adept at ensuring the right promotion and better distribution growth than their competitive set. Rural shoppers are much more connected than they were 3 years back. Better employment opportunities, more money flowing back into the villages, awareness of large format retail has meant increased exposure and awareness (to the urban way of living). Add to that the content on mobiles (songs, pictures, downloads), which has also contributed to increased awareness to urban experiences. Rural women now know that they need a 'conditioner' along with a shampoo or how a 'face wash' is better than a regular soap. Rural men no longer wait in front of a tailor shop to get clothes stitched as they have an option of cheaper yet 'fashionable' readymade clothes. "The needs and wants are making way for desires and the line dividing the urban and the rural rich are slowly but surely blurring.

Rural consumption for new products

Rural consumption boost for FMCG companies

Noodles, macaronis and soft-drinks made rapid inroads into the rural markets driving up growth in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry - 10% by volume and 12% by value - in the first ten months of 2011. The consumption story for most part of last year dispelled slowdown fears as Indian rural households piped urban counterparts in growth sweepstakes , said market research agency IMRB. Rural India had clocked a negative volume growth during 2010 (here volume growth is the increase in sales clocked over last year while value growth is volume growth plus price hikes). The urban FMCG market, on the other hand, grew 4% by volume and 7% in value and was led by categories such as ready-to-eat mixes, deodorants, breakfast cereals and soups. Growth for personal care products such as toilet soaps, shampoos and household products stagnated compared to last year, while F&B space saw a healthy growth. The IMRB survey is conducted across 30 product categories.

Rural consumption boost for automobiles

Shares of India's top utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra touched a 52-week high of 874.75 late last month, given the company's robust model of a strong focus on rural and semi-urban markets with its tractors and utility vehicles portfolio.

Rural consumption boost for electronics

Consumer durables makers are rolling out newer, tweaked products targeting professionals working in small towns, marking a shift in strategy that earlier depended heavily on good monsoon rains and consequently strong rural demand. Increasingly, companies such as LG, Godrej, Panasonic, Mirc and Samsung are targeting an emerging base of consumers in semi-urban areas employed in sectors like telecom, banking and insurance, as well as entrepreneurs, who have more disposable income than farmers.

Communication Stages in Rural Area

Rural Communication to be effective - repeat exposures is a must; and if the gap between them is long, the message loses its edge during this period.

1. Selecting media: Evidently, in the rural context the firm has to choose a combination of formal andnon-formal media. Formal / Organized :TV, Cinema, Press, Other print media, direct mail, radio, point of purchase (POPs), outdoors, Non-formal / rural Specific Media :A V vans / Publicity vans, Dance-dramas, Puppet Shows, rural specific art forms like H a r i k a t h a a n d V i l l u p a t u p e r f o r m e d a t v i l l a g e m e l a s a n d t e m p l e f e s t i v a l s , demonstrations, study classes, mike announcements, processions, caparison elephants, decorated bullocks carts carrying ad panels, music records, house to house campaigns by special promotion squads, information centers on companies products. TV: 77 % of villages in India now receive TV transmission and 27 % of all rural people actual watch TV.

Radio; is a well established medium in rural areas while radio as a medium cannot match TV in potentialit y or effectiveness, radio does have a major role in rural communication. Cinema: 29 % of all rural people do see cinema as a matter of regular lifestyle or habit. Short feature films with disguised advertisement. Messages, direct advertisement, films or documentaries, that combine knowledge or advertisement can be employed for rural communication. Outdoors: Hoardings, wall paintings, illuminations and other displays in rural areas. Pops: More than written words, symbols, pictures and colours must be used.

A V vans : Films can exhibit its films or other A-V presentations such as slide shows, sound or sight presentations, puppet shows, etc. The van is a comprehensive mobile AV vans: Firms which cannot effort to operate publicity vans of their own utilize the syndicated AV van service offered independent agencies 2. Communication for the Rural Market has to be uniquel y assembled and delivered: The theme, the message, the copy, the language or the delivery must match the rural context .In rural marketing; usually a greater time lag is involved between introduction of a product and its economic size sale. This is the rural buyers adoption process is usually more time consuming

Rural markets and rural marketing involve a number of strategies, which include:
Client and location specific promotion Joint or cooperative promotion.. Bundling of inputs Management of demand Developmental marketing Unique selling proposition (USP) Extension services Business ethics Partnership for sustainability

Future segment
(1) What cos like Future Group, Piramal Healthcare, Dabur, PepsiCo, Nestle and others are doing to tap the Rs 30,000 crore slum economy

It might have lost the humiliating tag of being the largest slum in Mumbai and Asia, but Dharavi still feels like a large piece of humanity squeezed into a small box. About a million people reside in an area of 1.7 sq km boxed between Mahim and Sion. While a few thousands of them go to work in the leather and garment units in Dharavi, most go to houses and offices as maids, cooks, plumbers, electricians, security guards, construction workers, and more, earning up to Rs 10,000 a month. Life is not easy. Yet, nudged by need and want, they are spending more. (2)LG India has launched an exhaustive consumer research on lifestyle in villages. Godrej, which is piloting a 45-litre refrigerator called 'Chotukool' in rural Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka priced at Rs 3,750, plans to roll this out across the nation in six months. It is partnering with India Post, NGOs and micro-finance firms for sales support.

Conclusion
Since, the rural market is very large compared to the urban market, its way more complicated to handle it than its counterpart and it has a huge untapped potential. Despite the large size of the market the blend of opportunities and challenges offered by it makes the future very promising to the companies, which can supply the right product at the right price. Companies need to keep pace with highly volatile needs of the rural customers and exploit the market to their best advantage.