PROJECT REPORT

ON
Case Study Of parle-g based on Rural marketing

RURAL MARKETING

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the two year

Post Graduate Programme (PGP)

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Mrs. KAVITA SHUKLA ANKIT TYAGI (PG20095049)

ANKIT SHANDILYA (PG20095068)

ARJUN DHARIWAL (PG20095151)

CHANDAN SINGH (PGP2009)

IILM Institute for Higher Education

 RURAL MARKET

THE OVERVIEW
In our country over 70% of the total population live in villages. There are states like U.P, M.P,
Bihar, Rajasthan and Orissa where rural population varies form 80 to 90 per cent.
Agriculture and agriculture related activities contribute to about 75% of the income in ruralareas.
Over 6, 31,307 villages, 700 million people a myriad of languages many traditions anda rich
culture. A vibrant land with a long History. Rural Indian people are known as much for their
warmth as their diversity. The real “BHARAT”.

“EXPLORE THE RURAL MARKETS

DO NOT EXPLOIT THEM ”

NDIAN ECONOMY

RURAL SECTOR URBAN SECTOR

AGRICULTURAL NON AGRICULTURAL

--CROP CULTIVATION --INDUSTRY

--ANIMAL HUSBANDRY –BUSINESS
--DAIRYING --SERVICES
--FISHERIES
--POULTRY
--FORESTRY
---INDUSTRY
--BUSINESS,SERVICES
Till recently, the focus of marketers in India was the urban consumer and by large no specific
efforts were made to reach the rural markets. But now it is felt with the tempo of development
accelerating in rural India, coupled with increase in purchasing power, because of scientific
agriculture, the changing life style and consumption pattern of villagers with increase in
education, social mobility, improved means of transportation and its various satellite channels
have exposed rural India to the outside world and hence their outlook to life has changed.
Because of all these factors, rural India is attracting more and more marketers.

Increase in competition, saturated urban markets, more and more new products demanding urban
customers, made the companies to think about new potential markets. Thus, Indian rural markets
have caught the attention to many companies, advertisers and multinational companies.
According to a recent survey conducted by National Council for Applied Economic Research
(NCAER), the purchasing power of the rural people has increased due to increase in productivity
and better price commanded by the agricultural products. By and large this rise in purchasing
power remains unexploited and with growing reach of the television, it is now quite easy for the
marketers to capture these markets.

Rural marketing has become the latest mantra of most corporates. Companies like Hindustan
Lever, Colgate, Palmolive, Britannia, and even Multinational Companies (MNCs) like Pepsi,
Coca Cola, L.G., Philips, and Cavin Kare are all eyeing rural to capture the large Indian Market.

Coming to the frame work of Rural Marketing broadly involves reaching the rural customer,
understanding their needs and wants, supply goods and services to meet their requirements,
carrying out after sales service that leads to customer satisfaction and repeat purchase/ sales.

CONCEPT OF RURAL MARKETING

Rural marketing is a process of developing, pricing, promoting, distributing ruralspecific
goods and services leading to exchange between urban and rural markets which specifies
consumer demand and also achieves organizational objectives.

Rural marketing involves a two-way marketing process, however, the prevailing flow
of goods and services from rural to rural areas cannot be undervalued.

Since demands’ of urban and rural folks are different, companies should manufacture
products to suit the rural demand rather than dump urban products on rural consumers.

The process should be able to straddle the attitudinal and socio-economic disparity between the
urban and rural consumers.

RURAL MARKETING IN INDIA

A thorough understanding of the rural markets has become an important aspect ofmarketing in
the Indian marketingenvironment today. This attractiontowards the rural markets isprimarily due
to the colossal size ofthe varied demands of the 230million rural people. In fact, therural markets
are expanding inIndia at such a rapid pace that they have overtaken the growth in urban markets.
This rate of growth of the rural market segment is however not the only factor that has driven
marketing managers to go rural. The other compelling factor is the fact that the urban markets
are becoming increasingly complex, competitive and saturated.

Further, the vast untapped potential of the rural markets is growing at a rapid pace. The policies
of the government largely favour rural development programmes. This is clearly highlighted by
the fact that the outlay for rural development has risen from Rs 14000 crores in the 7th plan to Rs
30000 crores in the 8th plan period. These figures also prove that the rural market is emerging
stronger with a gradual increase in disposable income of the rural folk. In addition, better
procurement prices fixed for the various crops and better yields due to many research
programmes have also contributed to the strengthening of the rural markets. Thus, with the rural
markets bulging in both size and volume, any marketing manager will be missing a great
potential opportunity if he does not go rural.

DISTINCTIVENESS OF RURAL MARKETS

The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers great opportunities to
marketers. Two-thirds of countries consumers live in rural areas and almost half of the national
income is generated here. It is only natural that rural markets form an important part of the total
market of India. Our nation is classified in around 450 districts, and approximately 630000
villages, which can be sorted in different parameters such as literacy levels, accessibility, income
levels, penetration, distances from nearest towns, etc. The features of Indian rural markets are:

· Major income from agriculture: Nearly 60 % of the rural income is from agriculture. Hence
rural prosperity is tied with agricultural prosperity.

· Low standard of living: The consumer in the village area do have a low standard of living
because of low literacy, low per capita income, social backwardness, low savings, etc.

· Traditional Outlook : The rural consumer values old customs and tradition. They do not
prefer changes.

· Diverse socio-economic backwardness: Rural consumers have diverse socioeconomic

backwardness. This is different in different parts of the country.

· Infrastructure Facilities : The Infrastructure Facilities like roads, warehouses,communication

system, and financial facilities are inadequate in rural areas. Hence physical distribution becomes
costly due to inadequate Infrastructure facilities.

PROBLEM RELATED TO RURAL MARKETING

Although the rural market does offer a vast untapped potential, it should also be recognized that
it is not that easy to operate in rural market because of several problems. Rural marketing is thus
a time consuming affair and requires considerable investments in terms of evolving appropriate
strategies with a view to tackle the problems.

The major problems faced are:

 Underdeveloped People and Underdeveloped Markets : The number of people below

poverty line has not decreased in any appreciable manner. Thus underdeveloped people
and consequently underdeveloped market by and large characterize the rural markets.
Vast majorities of the rural people are tradition bound, fatalistic and believe in old
customs, traditions, habits, taboos and practices.
 Lack of Proper Physical Communication Facilities: Nearly fifty percent of the villages
in the country do not have all weather roads. Physical communication of these villages is
 highly expensive. Even today most villages in the eastern parts of the country are
inaccessible during the monsoon.

 Media for Rural Communication : Among the mass media at some point of time in the
late 50's and 60's radio was considered to be a potential medium for communication to the
rural people. Another mass media is television and cinemas. Statistics indicate that the rural
areas account for hardly 2000 to 3500 mobile theatres, which is far less when compared to
the number of villages.

 Dispersed Market : Rural areas are scattered and it is next to impossible to ensure the
availability of a brand all over the country. Seven Indian states account for 76% of the
country’s rural retail outlets, the total number of which is placed at around 3.7 million.
Advertising in such a highly heterogeneous market, which is widely spread, is very
expensive.
 Many Languages and Dialects : The number of languages and dialects vary widely
from state to state, region to region and probably from district to district. The messages
have to be delivered in the local languages and dialects. Even though the number of
recognized languages is only 16, the dialects are estimated to be around 850.

 Low Per Capita Income: Even though about 33-35% of gross domestic product is
generated in the rural areas it is shared by 74% of the population. Hence the per capita
incomes are low compared to the urban areas.

 Low Levels of Literacy : - The literacy rate is low in rural areas as compared to urban
areas. This again leads to problem of communication for promotion purposes. Print
Medium becomes ineffective and to an extent irrelevant in rural areas since its reach is
Poor and so is the level of literacy.
  Prevalence of spurious brands and seasonal demand: - For any branded product there
are a multitude of ‘local variants’, which are cheaper, and, therefore, more
desirable to villagers.
 Different way of thinking: - There is a vast difference in the lifestyles of the people The
kind of choices of brands that an urban customer enjoys is different from the choices
available to the rural customer. The rural customer usually has 2 or 3 brands to choose
from whereas the urban one has multiple choices.

MASS MEDIAM
The past two decades have seen a dramatic expansion of exposure to mass media in rural areas.
Since these are, almost, by definition urban media at present is an overwhelmingly urban
portrayal of life and values, their impact on attitudes and behavior has been profound.

· Radio is the medium with the widest coverage. Studies have recently shown high levels of
exposure to radio broadcasting both within urban and rural areas, whether or not listeners
actually own a set. Many people listen to other people's radios or hear them in public places.
Surveys indicate that in rural areas more than a one third of the married women of reproductive
age have listened to a radio within the last week.

· Television, video and films expose viewers to a common window on styles of life and
behaviour, an impact increased by the supranational reach of the media.Television is extremely
popular where it is available. Television increasingly exposes viewers to a wide range of
national, regional and international viewpoints. Rural exposure to television has been lower by
far than radio. The mass media brings change wherever they go; but change does not have to be
random. Successful media campaigns have changed attitudes and behaviour in a variety of areas,
from basic literacy to health care and family planning.

· But Advertising to rural consumers continues to be a hit and miss affair . At best, it is
an exercise where communicators grapple with issues of language, regional and religious
affiliations and local sensitivities. Most often finding the right mix that will have a pan-Indian
rural appeal is the greatest challenge for advertisers. But more often than not, marketers throw in
the towel going in for simplistic solutions: such as going in for a mere transliteration of
advertising copy. The result: advertising that is rooted in urban sensitivities and do not touch the
hearts and minds of the rural consumer.

To understand the way the rural markets work - we need to go to these markets and spend time
there in understanding them. We live in surroundings where the things are
completely different from what the rural customer experiences. And we can't understand him
unless we go and spend time there. Things like what time does he get up, etc need to be studied
and customer needs to be understood. Also these studies need to be passed on so others can also
benefit from the ground works done and enhance them further. We need in depth studies of the
market, the medium, the message and the rural customer in center of all these to understand the
rural markets completely. The winning combination will be a good product with consistent
quality and availability. Once you earn the villagers' loyalty (and they are known for their brand
loyalty), it will be difficult for competitors to take away your customers.

· RETAILERS: -For the rural customer the choices available are limited. So the retailer plays a
very big role in the purchase decision. Data on rural consumer buying behavior indicates that the
rural retailer influences 35% of purchase occasions. The rural customer goes to the same shop
always to buy his things. And there is a very strong bonding in terms of trust between the two.
The buying behavior is also such that the customer doesn't ask for the things by brand but like -
"paanch rupey waali chaye dena".
Now it is on the retailer to push whatever brand he wants to push as they can influence the buyer
very easily and very strongly on the preferences. Therefore, sheer product availability can
determine brand choice, volumes and market share. Thus distribution is the key factor for the
success of rural marketing. This includes, maintaining favorable trade relations, providing
innovative incentives to retailers and organizing demand generation activities among a host of
other things. In rural areas, the place where consumers prefer to shop is very important, because
it has been found that they buy their requirements from the same shop. This high shop loyalty is
Accentuated by the "khata" system, which is widely practiced. Hence, if the product is not
available at the place where the consumer shops, he would buy some other available brand.

· RURAL FOLK MEDIA: -As a general rule, rural marketing involves more intensive personal
selling efforts compared to urban marketing. Marketers need to understand the psyche of the
rural consumers and then act accordingly. To effectively tap the rural market a brand must
associate it with the same things the rural folks do .

Utilizing the various rural folk media to reach them in their own language and in large numbers
so that the brand can be associated with the myriad rituals, celebrations, festivals, melas and
other activities where they assemble, can do this.

In the Indian rural marketing context, perhaps linguistics could provide a new approach to
tackling communication issues and arriving at a better understanding of rural consumers. Also,
the manner in which symbols and icons are used, which provides insights and clues into the
mindsets of rural audiences, can be deployed to grab their attention.

Though television and radio fare better then print, the best way to kick start sales are events.
Where the company meets and interacts with the audience, talks to them in their own idioms and
tells them what this product offers. Marketers should think up games and events, which would
attract the attention of the villagers from all professions uniformly. This would require local level
goods creation and social negotiation skills.

The best choice comes from weekly bazaars. With varying populations, one shop or few shops
cannot really cater to all the needs of the consumers. Thus, it makes sense to have weekly outlets
that caters to the needs of the consumers in these regions. Frugal though the rural consumer is
success from these weekly outlets is that much more pertinent.

What attracts her is the freshness of the produce, buying in the bulk for a week and the
bargaining power. These markets (haats and shandies) have high potential that corporate are now
waking up to. The scope that these markets offer to distribution is something that has to be
seriously considered. Distribution is clearly the key to rural marketing.

· TRADITIONAL MEDIA can be used to reach these people in the marketing of new concept.
The traditional media with its effective reach, powerful input and personalized communication
system will help in realizing the goal. Besides this when the advertisement is couched in
entertainment it goes down easily with the villager.
The traditional media like folk/street plays, wall signs/shop paintings, van campaign/Haat
events (weekly fairs), melas, home-to-home contacts and product demonstrations can be
effectively used for this purpose.

HAATS AND MELA

The countries oldest tradition holds the key to rural penetration. The average daily sale at a Haat
is about Rs.2.25 Lacs while the annual sales at melas amount to Rs.3, 500 crore. In rural India,
annual melas organized with a religious or festive significance are quite popular and provide a
very good platform for distribution. Rural markets come alive at these melas and people visit
them to make several purchases.

According to the Indian Market Research Bureau, around 8000 such meals are held in rural India
every year.

Rural markets have the practice of fixing specific days in a week as Market Days when exchange
of goods and services are carried out. This is another potential low cost distribution channel
available to the marketers. Haats serve a good opportunity for promotion after brand building has
been done at Meal.

Also, one satellite town where people prefer to go to buy their durable commodities generally
serves every region consisting of several villages. If marketing managers use these feeder towns
they will easily be able to cover a large section of the rural population. Melas are organized after
harvest season, so the villager has enough money, which he will be ready to spend.
Demonstration at Haat is essential to convert customers at haats since their attitude is far more
utilitarian than that of visitors to a fair.
 PROFILE OF RURAL CONSUMAR

This however raises a fundamental problem of fathoming the differences between urban and
rural markets in India. This is of paramount importance in the Indian marketing environment as
rural and urban markets in our country are so very diverse in nature that urban marketing
programmes just cannot be successfully extended to the rural markets.

influence buying behavior and the variations to behavior. These help to generate information
upon which a marketer can create bases to segment the rural market taking the following factors
consideration:

 Environment of the consumer

 Geographical Influences
 Influence of Occupation
 Place of Purchase
 Creative use of Products

Obviously rural consumers do make some purchases from urban areas (twinset) because there
are a few product categories where rural distribution is still comparatively low and therefore the
consumers buys from towns; and in certain cases, the consumer seeks variety. In the case of
biscuits, toilet soaps and washing powders, the consumers may perceive the range in villages as
limited.
 ITS BISCUIT TIME FOLKS

Biscuits are something that doesn’t need an introduction as such. Everyone everyday have them.
Some have it for their taste, some for their health factor, some to fulfill their hunger and so on.

A product that is consumed almost daily. A product that has no boundaries. There are biscuits for
all kinds of teeth. Sweet, Creamy, Salty, Semi Sweet, Sweet and Salty etc are the various kinds
of biscuits that are available in today’s market, fitting all kinds of mood. And if you look at the
history of biscuits, it dates back to second century Rome and it comes from the Latin word "bis
coctum" which mean twice baked.

As people started to explore the globe, biscuits became the ideal traveling food, because they
stayed fresh for long periods. Biscuits really boomed during the seafaring age,when they were
sealed in airtight containers to last for months at a time. In fact, the countries where biscuits are
most popular today, such those in Western Europe, led the seafaring charge. The present biscuits
scenario in India looks like a battle front.

The battle being led by stalwarts like Britannia and Parle with close competition from other
companies like ITC, Nutrine, HLL Kissan, Kwality and even International Brands like
Kellogg’s, Nestle, Sara Lee, United Biscuits etc. Britannia is undoubtedly the leader with Brands
like Tiger, Little Hearts, and Milk Bikis etc.

Britannia's Tiger biscuits are doing a world of good to the company. It is indeed selling like hot
pancakes in the rural areas which actually constitute 56% of the biscuit market.

But in the Glucose segment Parle G is the market leader. Parle G has indeed become a
household name. Not to forget the Market niches coming in the form of Hll and ITC. Hll
bistix(biscuits sticks that can be dipped into flavours like Strawberry and Chocolate) is indeed an
innovation and will surely have and is surely having a lot of takers. The pricing adopted by HLL
is also kind of unique. Its charging only Rs 5 for Bistix.

Whereas, ITC's foray into the world of Biscuits seems to be paying off good. ITC Sunfeast brand
of biscuits with a new and peppy flavour of Marie, Orange will surely generate a kind of
curiosity in the minds of biscuit consumers. The toughest competition for these established
players come from the unorganized market. This market is indeed interesting to study. It consists
of "n" number of companies. They are more or less Counterfeiters or Cloners.
 INTRIDUCTION

A long time ago, when the British ruled India, a small factory was set up in the suburbs of
Mumbai city, to manufacture sweets and toffees. The year was 1929 and the market was
dominated by famous international brands that were imported freely.

Despite the odds and unequal competition, this company called Parle Products survived and
succeeded, by adhering to high quality and improvising from time to time. A decade later, in
1939, Parle Products began manufacturing biscuits, in addition to sweets and toffees. Having
already established a reputation for quality, the Parle brand name grew in strength with this
diversification. Parle Glucose and Parle Monaco were the first brands of biscuits to be
introduced, which later went on to become leading names for great taste and quality.

EVOLUATION OF PARLE PRODUCTION LTD

Parle-G has been a strong household name across India. The great taste, high nutrition, and the
international quality, makes Parle-G a winner. No wonder, it's the undisputed leader in the
biscuit category for decades. Parle-G is consumed by people of all ages, from the rich to the
poor, living in cities & in villages. While some have it for breakfast, for others it is a complete
wholesome meal. For some it's the best accompaniment for chain, while for some it's a way of
getting charged whenever they are low on energy. Because of this, Parle-G is the world's
largest selling brand of biscuits.

Launched in the year 1939, it was one of the first brands of Parle Products. It was called Parle
Gluco Biscuits mainly to cue that it was a glucose biscuit. It was manufactured at the Mumbai
factory, Vile Parle and sold in units of half and quarter pound packs.

The incredible demand led Parle to introduce the brand in special branded packs and in larger
festive tin packs. By the year 1949, Parle Gluco biscuits were available not just in Mumbai but
also across the state. It was also sold in parts of North India. By the early 50s, over 150 tonnes
of biscuits were produced in the Mumbai factory. Looking at the success of Parle-G, a lot of
other me-too brands were introduced in the market. And these brands had names that were
similar to Parle Gluco Biscuits so that if not by anything else, the consumer would err in picking
the brand. This forced Parle to change the name from Parle Gluco Biscuits to Parle-G.

Originally packed in the wax paper pack, today it is available in a contemporary, premium
BOPP pack with attractive side fins. The new airtight pack helps to keep the biscuits fresh and
tastier for a longer period.

Parle-G was the only biscuit brand that was always in short supply. It was heading towards
becoming an all-time great brand of biscuit. Parle-G started being advertised in the 80's. It was
advertised mainly through press ads. The communication spoke about the basic benefits of
energy and nutrition. In 1989, Parle-G released its Dadaji commercial, which went on to
become one of the mostpopular commercials for Parle-G. The commercial was run for a period
of 6 years.

Parle-G grew bigger by the minute. Be it the packs sold, the areas covered or the number of
consumers. It became a part of the daily lives of many Indians. It wasn't a biscuit any more. It
had become an icon. The next level of communication associated the brand with the positive
values of life like honesty, sharing and caring.

In the year 1997, Parle-G sponsored the tele-serial of the Indian superhero, Shaktimaan that
went on to become a huge success. The personality of the superhero matched the overall superb
benefits of the brand. Parle extended this association with Shaktimaan and gave away a lot of
merchandise of Shaktimaan, which was supported by POS and press communication. The
children just could not get enough of Parle-G and Shaktimaan.

In the year 2002, it was decided to bring the brand closer to the child who is a major consumer.
A national level promo - `Parle-G Mera Sapna Sach Hoga' was run for a period of 6 months.
The promo was all about fulfilling the dreams of children. There were over 5 lakh responses and
of that, over 300 dreams were fulfilled. Dreams that were fulfilled ranged from trips to
Disneyland at Paris & Singapore; meeting their favorite film star Hrithik Roshan; free ride on
a chartered plane; 20 scholarships worth Rs 50,000; a special cricket coaching camp with the
Australian cricketer - Ricky Ponting; etc.

The year 2002 will go down as a special year in Parle-G's advertising history. A year that saw
the birth of G-Man - a new ambassador for Parle-G. Not just a hero but also a super-hero that
saves the entire world, especially children from all the evil forces. A campaign that is not just
new to the audiences but one that involves a completely new way of execution that is loved by
children all over the world - Animation.
A TV commercial that showed G-Man saving the children from the evil force called Terrolene
launched this campaign. It was also supported by print medium through posters and streamers
put up at the retail outlets. G-Man, a new superhero of Parle-G has the potential of making it
big. And will be supported by a campaign that will see many a new creative in the future so as to
keep the children excited and generate pride in being a consumer of Parle-G.

To make the brand much more interesting and exciting with children, it was decided to launch a
premium version of Parle-G called Parle-G Magix in the year 2002. Parle-G Magix is
available in two exciting tastes - ‘Choco’ and ‘Cashew’. The year 2002 also witnessed the
launch of Parle-G Milk Shakti, which has the nourishing combination of milk and honey,
especially launched for the southern market.

Parle-G continues to climb the stairs of success. Take a look at the global market where it is
being exported. First came the Middle East then USA followed by Africa and then Australia.
An Indian brand, that's exported to almost all parts of the world. After all that's what you would
expect from the Parle-G World's Largest Selling Biscuit.

Parle’s efforts to make biscuits affordable to all?

Biscuits were very much a luxury food in India, when Parle began production in 1939. Apart
from Glucose and Monaco biscuits, Parle did offer a wide variety of brands.

However, during the Second World War, all domestic biscuit production was diverted to assist
the Indian soldiers in India and the Far East. Apart from this, the shortage of wheat in those days,
made Parle decide to concentrate on the more popular brands, so that people could enjoy the
price benefits.

Thankfully today, there's no dearth of ingredients and the demand for more premium brands is
on the rise. That's why; we now have a wide range of biscuits and mouthwatering confectionaries
to offer.

STRENGTH OF THE PARLE BRAND

Over the years, Parle has grown to become a multi-million US Dollar company. Many of the
Parle products - biscuits or confectionaries, are market leaders in their category and have won
acclaim at the Monde Selection, since 1971.

Today, Parle enjoys a 40% share of the total biscuit market and a 15% share of the total
confectionary market, in India. The Parle Biscuit brands, such as, Parle-G, Monaco and
Krackjack and confectionery brands, such as, Melody, Poppins, Mangobite and Kismi, enjoy a
strong imagery and appeal amongst consumers.

Be it a big city or a remote village of India, the Parle name symbolizes quality, health and
great taste!

And yet, this reputation has been built, by constantly innovating and catering to new tastes. This
can be seen by the success of new brands, such as, Hide & Seek, or the single twist wrapping of
Mango bite.

In this way, by concentrating on consumer tastes and preferences and emphasizing Research &
Development, the Parle brand grows from strength to strength.

QUALITY COMMITMENT
Parle Products has one factory at Mumbai that manufactures biscuits & confectioneries while
another factory at Bahadurgarh, in Haryana manufactures biscuits. A part from this, Parle has
manufacturing facilities at Neemrana, in Rajasthan and at Bangalore in Karnataka.

The factories at Bahadurgarh and Neemrana are the largest such manufacturing facilites in India.
Parle Products also has 14 manufacturing units for biscuits & 5 manufacturing units for
confectioneries, on contract. All these factories are located at strategic locations, so as to ensure a
constant output & easy distribution. Each factory has state-of-the-art machinery with automatic
printing & packaging facilities.

All Parle products are manufactured under the most hygienic conditions. Great care is exercised
in the selection & quality control of raw materials, packaging materials & rigid quality standards
are ensured at every stage of the manufacturing process. Every batch of biscuits &
confectioneries are thoroughly checked by expert staff, using the most modern equipment.

"Parle Products Limited will strive to provide consistently nutritious & quality food products
to meet consumers' satisfaction by using quality materials and by adopting appropriate
processes. To facilitate the above we will strive to continuously train ou employees and to
provide them an open and participative environment."

PARLE’S RURAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Marketing management refers to distribution of the firm’s product or service to the customers in
order to satisfy their needs and to accomplish the firm’s objectives.

Marketing includes developing the product, pricing, distribution, advertisement, and

merchandising, doing personal selling, promoting and directing sales and service to customers.

Marketing is an essential function because unless the firm has a market, or can develop a market,
for its product or service, other functions of staffing, producing and financing are futile

Developing rural marketing Strategies for Parle: -

Determine what the customer’s needs are and how those needs can be satisfied.
Select the market that would be served.
Decide what advantage that will give a competitive edge over other firms.
Meeting customer’s needs
Learning customer’s needs
Conscious about the firm’s image
Looking for danger signals
These are the questions which arise while introducing a new product, such as HIDE n SEEK.

Market Segmentation:

A market should be defined in terms of various characteristics such as economic status, age,
education, occupation and location. The best opportunity is to identify a market segment that is
not well served by other firms. To determine the firm’s market segment, the fundamental aspects
are summarized:

What is the place of the firm in the industry and how it can compete with others?

Whether the firm is known for its quality or price.

Image of the firm among the customers.

“As Parle is a well established brand, its

Products are not new to the people. So,
When they launch a new product, it
Becomes easy for them as the Company is
known for its branded products all ove the country.

STRATEGIC MARKETING POLICIES OF PARLE

Formulation of strategic marketing policies for certain areas of the Parle Are:
Morality and public service
Product
Market
Profit
Customer relations
Promotion
Credit Policies

· Morality and Public Service:

Policies on morality and public service consist of general statements expressing Parle’s desire to
be honest in its dealings with public and its customers. They fulfill the demands of the
consumers by supplying adequate quantities to them. And they follow morality by providing
products at good and acceptable quality.

· Product
Parle often finds its most effective competitive weapon in the field of product strategy. It may
concentrate on narrow product line, develop a highly specialized product service or provide a
product containing an unusual amount of advantage and satisfaction.

Competitor’s products, prices and services are constantly examined to determine whether the
Company can build a better product.

Parle has always followed this principle of making the product as the most important thing rather
than spending more on advertising and promotions. They feel that if the product has quality, than
it will be promoted on its own. It will itself act as publicity.

· Market
Market policies are designed to clarify with geographic areas Parle wishes to serve and other
marketing characteristics appropriate for it. The market policies are framed as per the market
segmentation. As the Parle Biscuits don’t have the targeted market as such, because it is a
product consumed by all. So, there are market strategies as per the potentiality to cover the
markets And the biggest achievement for Parle is that, it is available in “Every Nook and
Corner” of the country. It has even reached the interior most part of the rural areas. This has
been possible only by the foolproof distribution system

· Profit
Profit policies may require that sales goals be specified that will provide Parle a sufficiently large
sales volume or profit as percentage of sales may be specified which calls for low marketing
costs.

As the biscuits of Parle are well known, they don’t have to spend much on advertisements. So,
the profit margins are increasing substantially. Initially, they followed penetration policy of
pricing. And it worked. Still, the price is too low to be affordable by the common man.
But, now they are planning to increase the prices of the biscuits, to increase their profits even
more. This pricing policy refers to as Skimming the Cream.

· Customer Relations
Parle’s relationship with its customers may be indicated with a question

Should the firm have a policy that customer is always right?

Parle, also like other company’s feel that consumers are the most important aspect. The
consumers are always right because they are the sources through which a company comes to
know about its performance. Same is the case with Parle.

They follow the feedback by the consumers and do as they want. They consider the consumers
views as of prime importance. Because, if the consumers are satisfied no one can stop the growth
of Parle.

· Promotion
The pattern of Parle’s advertisement may reveal the promotion policies. It always follows a
policy of tasteful advertising at all times. Sales promotion may be restricted to trade shows or to
industrial publications or to some other advertising media.

There are different promotion techniques like free samples, scholarships, etc.

· Credit Policies

In order to stimulate sales, customer should be provided with credit. However, an appropriate
credit policy is essential to be successful in granting credit. This is a useful policy as it attracts
the consumers and the retailers. And also increases their confidence in the brand.

The credit can be given by the company to the whole sellers or retailers. And in turn they will
give credit to consumer.
 SURVEY IN RURAL AREA – VADGAON

To enhance the project, a survey to gain primary data was being performed by me. I did the
survey of retailers in Vadgaon, near by Pune. After retaining the information from the Parle
Company itself, it made me curious to find out the demand of Parle biscuits in the near by
village. I had collected the information from the various retail shops present in that area. About
15 retailers, I have approached. The questionnaire format was produced as below: -

OBJECTIVES OF SURVEY: -

· The basic objective of the survey was to understand the concept of rural marketing clearly by
means of Parle biscuits demand analysis.
· To find out the consumer behaviour in relation to the biscuits of Parle.
· To find out the competitor’s, local brands and imitation brands.
· To find out its effect on sales of Parle.

Methodology

The survey worked got started by preparation of the Survey form (Questionnaire).
The questions are related to the demand analysis of the Parle products.
The survey was being conducted by the method of interviewing the sample size of 15
retailers at random. These retailers included the General stores and the Kiryana
Stores available there. The Questionnaire is given in the Annexure.

Findings: -

· Surprisingly, all the 15 retailers have Parle biscuits available with them. Not all the brands but
most of them. All the retailers have in common PARLE G, MONACO, MARIE and
KRACKJACK.
· About 9 retailers have with them the other brands of PARLE as well along with the above four,
such as HIND n SEEK, FUNCENTRE, MILK SHAKTI, and CHEESELINGS.

· All the retailers were satisfied with the demand of Parle. They said that Parle is the most selling
biscuits amongst all. And the brands of Parle are known very well to the people (consumers).
They don’t ask for biscuits, but just ask for“PARLE”.

· But, 4 retailers which are the smaller ones got some less demand as compared to others.

· Due to Britannia’s TIGER, the sale of PARLE G is being affected. But still people retain to the
Parle brands.

· Due to competition, the Parle’s demand is being decreased to 15-20%.This was said by 6
retailers.

· But the rest 9 retailers said that the sales have been decreased only by 7-10%.
· Only 3 retailers said that the imitation brands take away the Parle’s sales. The imitation brands
are PAYAL G, PAREL G, PRIYA G, PARAL G, etc. That too to a limited extent.

· And the rest 12 retailers were very sure about the Parle’s brand as they had no imitation brands
with them. So there is no chance of fake sale.

· All the retailers have no complaint about the Parle among the consumers.

· 2 retailers have the complaint that the brands like HIDE n SEEK and FUNCENTRE don’t have
much demand because people are not known to these brands as much.

Suggestions:

· Some of the retailers, that are 3 of them, should not buy the imitation brands as this is a wrong
thing done to the consumers as well as to the Company.

· So, 2 retailers who have less demand of some products should make the brand known to the
people by giving them informed about the new brands which come up.

· The retailers who have the imitation brands available with them should make the consumers
aware about the fakeness of it.

· And also, the retailers who buy the imitations should stop buying.

· All the retailers should have all the products of Parle.

View Of Consumers On Parle Biscuits!

Here are some views of the consumers for Parle G biscuits which are collected on the basis of
questioning them in the rural area of Vagabond
.
Rajeshri says,

I do not think this product is targeted for any age group. Parle Products Pvt. Ltd. (Mfg. by Bunty
Food Product – not a known to name) markets Parle G. Parle is reputed old business house and
incidentally the only Indian big player in this field. I trust them not because of Swadeshi feeling
but due to their endeavor to give their best to consumer. Priceand consistency in quality of Parle
G reflects tells about their attitude.

So, some of the essentials are there in this biscuit like many other varieties. However, we need
many other things for survival and good health. But we cannot expect all essential from one pack
of biscuit.
H. patel says,

Parle G Biscuits which are manufactured by Parle’s in India. They are more than 50 years old
and have been rated as the largest selling Glucose biscuit in the whole world in terms of volume.

This biscuit is one of the cheapest and tastiest. I always buy a packet or two when I am traveling
by train as they are not only tasty but also nutritious. As the famous advertisement goes’’ swaad
bhare, swaasthya bhara’’ aptly describes this biscuit.

This biscuit is recommended by doctors for convalescing children but you need not worry any
age will enjoy this biscuit.

I will end by saying that you should try out this biscuit and once you have bitten it you will
always eat it.

Sushma says,

Hey
This is one brand of Parle I vouch for.

1 .The taste is excellent and small children love it, they should reduce the sweetness a bit as it is
good for diabetics who have to eat a little at a time to get their energy.

2. The lingering taste and flavour I like, there’s no doubt I eat it because I like it, alternate
flavours out here you get plenty the only one that beats it is the Danish cookies. Which is my
second best.

3. You see out here we get so many types of biscuits that if you’re new out here you won’t know
what to buy. I like the short bread biscuits as they are less sweet. If I do not get Parle’s then only.

4. I should say people of all ages can eat it as an energizer instead of glucose. Believe me I
cannot resist it; I am very much always an Indian at heart and try never to forget that. So Parle’s
here’s a brand I vouch for, I know as said by me my opinions will be downright honest. Another
thing if possible always carry a packet it saves you from hunger till you reach wherever you want
to, I used do it in India and still do.

5. Give it to your kids they will cry less, as it will always keep them full and it softens very fast
for babies.My advice to Parle would be keep up the product, only sugar a bit less then it’s a must
for all, young or old Parle biscuit’s are gold.

J martin says,

Parle g is best for health and hunger- we can offer it to any body- no age barrier, it is best to any
other outside food what we always doubt and fall sick. It is best for students and patients. But
also preferred in party and for day to day use. In market many other glucose biscuits have come,
but Parle the name stands for quality and guarantee- a trusted company is always rely- and i and
my family always like to buy glucose d of only Parle Company. Yes, cream biscuits we buy of
other company but, to my children i prefer to put Parle glucose, and they also love it.

The game has just begun….

And its
Time for players to understand the rules,
Play the game…and Win!