Rural marketing

These areas are sometimes called “the country” and “the country side”.

1. WHAT IS MARKETING? Marketing refers to activities undertaken by a company to promote the buying or selling of a product or service. Marketing includes the advertising, selling and delivering of products to consumers or other businesses. Marketing can be defined as the process of identifying, anticipating and knowing customer needs, and organizing all the resources of the company to satisfy them.

2. RURAL AREA Rural areas are not town or cities. They are often farming or agricultural areas. These areas are sometimes called “the country” and “the country side”.

3. RURAL MARKETING Rural marketing is a process of developing, pricing, promoting, and distributing rural specific goods and services leading to desired exchange with rural customers to satisfy their needs and wants, and also to achieve organizational objectives. Rural marketing implies applying marketing theory and directing marketing efforts to create and satisfy needs and wants of rural market (customers).

4. Rural marketing is a two-way process URBAN- RURAL RURAL- URBAN RURAL- RURAL

5. Urban to Rural : It involves the selling of products and services by urban marketers in rural areas. These include pesticides, FMCG products, consumer durables, etc. Rural to Urban : It is a process in which rural producer sells his product in the urban market. There are middlemen agencies etc, who takes initiatives in successful running of selling process. Rural to rural : It is a process which include selling or exchange of agricultural product tools, cattle, in another village in its proximity.

6. STRUCTURE OF RURAL MARKET

7. IMPORTANCE OF RURAL MARKETING Reduced burden on urban population Rapid economic growth Employment generation Improved living standard Development of agro based industries Optimum utilization of rural untapped resources Easy marketability of agricultural products Improved rural infrastructure Price stability Quality of life and reduced crime Balanced industrial growth

8. ROADBLOCKS IN RURAL MARKETING Transportation Branding Warehousing Village structure in India Communication Availability of appropriate media Rural markets and sales management Inadequate banking and credit facilities Packaging

9. 4A’S OF RURAL MARKETING

10. AVAILABILITY Due to poor access to rural markets, poor infrastructure and irregular or no power supply to rural areas it is a difficult task for firms to make products available all the time in the reach of the rural consumers. ACCEPTABILITY Firms have to understand rural customers’ need. Automotive, salt, FMCG, telecom, insurance, soft drinks, cigarettes, TV, fans, pressure cooker, washing soaps, tea, blades, tooth powder are the goods and services which are excelling in the rural market. Rural consumers prefer utility oriented products. At the same time product should be compatible with the infrastructure available in rural areas.

11. AWARENESS Rural consumer is not much aware about brands. They rely more on local brands. To develop reliability factor in them towards new brands it is necessary to publicize the brand awareness by NGOs working actively in the region. This can be done through mouth publicity by any known resident of the same village also. AFFORDABILITY A product which caters to the need or want of consumers and is within paying capacity of the consumer can be sold in rural market.