IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSRJBM)

ISSN: 2278-487X Volume 3, Issue 2 (July-Aug. 2012), PP 50-67

www.iosrjournals.org

Consumer Buying Behaviour and Brand Loyalty in Rural

Markets: FMCG
B.V.N.G. ChandraSekhar
Academic and Internship Programme Indian Institute of Management Baanagalore Bannerghatta Road,
Bangalore, India

Abstract: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently talked about his vision for rural India: "My vision of rural India
is of a modern agrarian, industrial and services economy co-existing side by side, where people can live in well-
equipped villages and commute easily to work, be it on the farm or in the non-farm economy. There is much that
modern science and technology can do to realize this vision. Rural incomes have to be increased. Rural infrastructure
has to be improved. Rural health and education needs have to be met. Employment opportunities have to be created in
rural areas." 'Go rural' is the slogan of marketing gurus after analyzing the socio-economic changes in villages. The
Rural population is nearly three times the urban, so that Rural consumers have become the prime target market for
consumer durable and non-durable products, food, construction, electrical, electronics, automobiles, banks, insurance
companies and other sectors besides hundred per cent of agri-input products such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and
farm machinery. The Indian rural market today accounts for only about Rs. 8 billion of the total ad pie of Rs 120
billion, thus claiming 6.6 per cent of the total share. So clearly, there seems to be a long way ahead. Although a lot is
spoken about the immense potential of the unexplored rural market, advertisers and companies find it easier to vie for
a share of the already divided urban pie.The success of a brand in the Indian rural market is as unpredictable as rain.
It has always been difficult to gauge the rural market. Many brands, which should have been successful, have failed
miserably. More often than not, people attribute rural market success to luck. Therefore, marketers need to understand
the social dynamics and attitude variations within each village. Though, nationally it follows a consistent pattern
looking at the challenges and the opportunities which rural markets offer to the marketers it can be said that the future
is very promising for those who can understand the dynamics of rural markets and exploit them to their best
advantage. A radical change in attitudes of marketers towards the vibrant and burgeoning rural markets is called for,
so they can successfully impress on the 230 million rural consumers spread over approximately six hundred thousand
villages in rural India.The Indian established Industries have the advantages, which MNC do not enjoy in this regard.
The strong Indian brands have strong brand equity, consumer demand-pull and efficient and dedicated dealer network
which have been created over a period of time. The brand has to be made relevant by understanding local needs. Even
offering the same product in different regions with different brand names could be adopted as a strategy. At times, it is
difficult to pass on an innovation over an existing product to the rural consumer unlike his urban counterpart - like
increased calcium or herbal content or a germ-control formula in toothpaste.The rural market has a grip of strong
country shops, which affect the sale of various products in rural market. The compa nies are trying to trigger growth in
rural areas. They are identifying the fact that rural people are now in the better position with disposable income. The
low rate finance availability has also increased the affordability of purchasing the costly products by the rural people.
Marketer should understand the price sensitivity of a consumer in a rural area. This paper is therefore an attempt to
promote the brand image in the rural market
Keywords: Rural Markets, Consumer Behavior, Brand, Brand Loyalty, Rural Customers, Local Brand

I. Introduction
Indian Marketers on rural marketing have two understanding (i) The urban metro products and
marketing products can be implemented in rural markets with some or no change. (ii) The rural marketing
required the separate skills and techniques from its urban counter part. The Marketers have following facilities
to make them believe in accepting the truth that rural markets are different in so many terms.
(i) The rural market has the opportunity for many brands.
(ii) Low priced products can be more successful in rural markets because the low purchasing, purchasing powers
in rural markets.
(iii) Rural consumers have mostly homogeneous group with similar needs, economic conditions and problems.
(iv) The rural markets can be worked with the different media environment as opposed to press, film, radio and
other urban centric media exposure.
How reality does affect the planning of marketers? Do villagers have same attitude like urban consumers? The
question arises for the management of rural marketing effects in a significant manner so than companies can
enter in the rural market with the definite goals and targets but not for a short term period but for longer

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
duration. The Research paper will discuss the role of regard. The strategy, which will be presented in the paper,
can be either specific or universally applicable.
Realities before the Marketers:
70% of India's population lives in 627000 villages in rural areas. 90% of the rural population we
concentrated in villages with a population of less than 2000, with agriculture being the main business. This
simply shows the great potentiality rural India has to bring the much - needed volume- driven growth. This
brings a boon in disguise for the FMCG Company who has already reached the plateau of their business urban
India. As per the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) study, there are as many 'middle
income and above' households in the rural areas as there are in the urban areas. There are almost twice as many'
lower middle income' households in rural areas as in the urban areas. At the highest income level, there are 2.3
million urban households as against 1.6 million households in rural areas. According to the NCAER projections,
the number of middle and high-income households in rural India is expected to grow from 80 million to 111
million by 2007. In urban India, the same is expected to grow from 46 million to 59 million. Thus, the absolute
size India is expected to be doubles that of urban India.
HLL chairman MS Banga Says, "This exercise may not pay in the immediate future, but will definitely
give long-term dividends. Incidentally, over 50 percent of the sales of HLL's fabric wash, personal wash and
beverages are in rural areas. And we see a future in going rural in a major way".
The improved agricultural growth is expected to boost rural demand, through not at too sizzling a rate.
Moreover, the price drop in personal products, after the recent excise duty reductions, in also expected to drive
consumption. "Better agricultural yields will give farmers more spending power, making the rural markets
bullish," says an analyst.
As a result, HLL has planned a rural marketing program that is expected to result in a marked growth in
the consumption of the company's products in the rural market. HLL will adopt three-pronged marketing
strategy- new price points, sizes and awareness campaigns for its detergents and soaps segment to augment rural
growth. The Indian established Industries have the advantages, which MNC do not enjoy in this regard. The
strong Indian brands have strong brand equity, consumer demand-pull and efficient and dedicated dealer
network which have been created over a period of time. The rural market has a grip of strong country shops,
which affect the sale of various products in rural market.
The companies are trying to trigger growth in rural areas. They are identifying the fact that rural people
are now in the better position with disposable income. The low rate finance availability has also increased the
affordability of purchasing the costly products by the rural people. Marketer should understand the price
sensitivity of a consumer in a rural area. The small sachet packs are the examples of price sensitivity. Colgate
has done this experiment with launching of sachet packs for rural markets.
Within the broad framework of marketing, consumer behavior is the most interesting area and one
concerned with understanding why an individual consumer acts in certain consumption related ways. The
complexity of behavior, however, varies with the nature of the product and need. While buying a product to
satisfy an individual need do the Brand plays an important role or not, In this regard a study has conducted in
rural areas to know the importance of Brand in consumer buying behavior of FMCG goods.

Objectives of the study

1.1.1 To study on brand loyalty of various brands in rural markets
1.1.2 To study does the brand play a role in the purchase behavior of rural customers
1.1.3 To study on which categories/products does brand play a role
1.1.4 To identify the presence and the importance of local brands

Scope of the study

A lot of work has been done on various aspects of rural marketing. Hence, it was felt necessary to make
a humble attempt to study the importance of Brand in consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in rural
markets.

Description Methodology
To study the importance of Brand consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in rural areas, the
primary data was collected with the help of a structured questionnaire. First, with an adhoc questionnaire, a
study was conducted on a sample of 60 respondents in the village’s satanapalli, tadipattri and mallapur, while,
redrafting the questionnaire some questions were added, modifications were made, and the final questionnaire
was prepared. The survey was conducted in the village’s chintulla; Akulamylaram, Badangpeta and nadergul,
selection of these villages were made based on first study. While doing the survey with the adhoc questionnaire
we found that there is huge difference in the consumer buying behavior this may of different reasons like non-
availability of brands, brand awareness, influence, etc. Keeping these things in mind the survey was conducted
in three different areas.

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
1.3.1 To study the urban influence on consumer buying behavior, the village that is closer to urban.
1.3.2 A village where there will be an availability of different brands.
1.3.3 Remote Area where awareness and availability of brands are less

1.4 Research Design

The research design used was exploratory and descriptive research design, because was made on
convenient random sample.

1.5 Questionnaire
The questionnaire was prepared keeping in view the objectives of study. Different questions were so
arranged that field information is collected from the consumer awareness on brand of different FMCG products,
Brand Loyalty, preferences of brand/brands, local brands, and frequency of usage.
Questionnaire contains two types of questions
1.5.1 Open Ended
1.5.2 Closed Ended
Open Ended Questions are used for exploratory study.
Closed ended questions used for descriptive study.

1.6 Sample Design

Telangana is one of the three regions of Andhra Pradesh consisting of 10 districts, except Hyderabad;
capital city of the state, the entire Telangana region is a backward and more rural in character. This region
represents the average Indian rural characteristics in terms of sizes of rural population, agricultural economy,
small size village, low density population, low literacy rate, low per capita income and consequent lower
standard of living of the people. The ten districts of the region, Ranga Reddy district has selected for the study
as the district has much covered with the capital city and it is surround the capital city we thought this is the best
area to do survey to meet the objectives of the project.

1.7 Field Study

1.7.1 The Source of Data: The study is based on Primary as well as secondary data. The primary data was
collected with the help of structured questionnaire. The survey was conducted in the rural areas of Telangana-
Badangpet, Nadergul, and Chintulla.

1.7.2 Determination of sample: The size of sample was 30 from each of the village that constitute 90
respondents in total from all 3 villages.

Soap Category Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla

Lux 20 10 5
NO.1 17 0 0
Santoor 30 10 25
Margo 15 0 0
Medimix 22 0 10
Cinthol 25 0 0
Rexona 30 7 3
Margo 10 0 0
Mysore 10 0 0
Palmolive 1 0 0
Life bouy 0 25 30
Liril 0 3 0
Hamam 0 15 0
Life bouy Plus 0 5 0
Breeze 0 0 0
1.7.3 Collection of Data: The primary data was collected through a questionnaire.

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
II. Research Data:
Brand Awareness in Rural Areas
Table 1: Brand awareness of soaps in villages and number of Respondents are 30.

Graph 1:
Badangpet Lux
Nadergul Lux
NO.1
NO.1
Santoor
Santoor
6% 1%
0% 11% Margo
7% 0% 13% Margo 6%
Medimix
0% Medimix 9% Cinthol
20% Cinthol Rexona
13% 17%
Rexona Margo

Margo Mysore
0%
4% 16% Palmolive
9% Mysore
Life bouy
Palmolive 14%
0% Liril
Life bouy
8% Hamam
34% 12%
Liril Life bouy Plus
Hamam Breeze

Chintulla Lux
NO.1
Santoor
0% 7% Margo
0%
Medimix
Cinthol
Rexona
41%
Margo
34%
Mysore
Palmolive
Life bouy
Liril
0%
4% 0% Hamam
0% 14%
Life bouy Plus
Breeze

It is very clear, from the above table and Pie Chart that the brand awareness in Badangpet is more when
compared to Nadergul and Chintula.

Table 2: Brand awareness of Hair Oil in villages and number of Respondents are 30.

Hair Oil Category Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla

Navratan 17 0 0
Aswini 15 3 3
Clinic Plus 5 0 0
Vatika 10 5 0
Parachute 30 10 2
Coco Care 5 0 0
KeoKarpin 6 0 0
Almon drops 5 0 0
Brylcream 1 0 0
Amul(Local Brand) 0 1 0
Gograda 0 1 1
Dabur 0 0 0

Graph 2:
Badangpet Navratan
Nadergul
Aswini Navratan
Clinic Plus Aswini
5% 1%
0%
0% Clinic Plus
6% 18% Vatika 5% 5% 15%
0%
Parachute Vatika
5% 0%
Coco Care Parachute
KeoKarpin Coco Care
16% KeoKarpin
Almon drops 25%
Almon drops
Brylcream
33% 50% Brylcream
5% Amul(Local Brand)
Amul(Local Brand)
11% Gograda
Gograda
Dabur
Dabur

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Chintulla
Navratan
Aswini
0% Clinic Plus
17%
Vatika
0% Parachute
Coco Care
50% KeoKarpin
Almon drops
33% Brylcream
Amul(Local Brand)
0%
Gograda
Dabur

It is very clear, from the above table and Pie Chart that the brand awareness in Badangpet is more when
compared to Nadergul and Chintula.

Table 3: Brand awareness of Biscuits in village and number of Respondents are 30.
Biscuits Category Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla
Krack Jack 10 10 0
Parle-g 20 10 5
Tiger 15 10 0
Marie 10 0 0
Britannia 2 0 0
Cadbury’s 1 0 0
Good Day 1 0 0
Glucose 0 5 0
50-50 10 5 0
Ampro 0 1 0
Rose Salt 0 1 0

Graph 3:
Badangpet Nadergul

Krack Jack Krack Jack

0% Parle-g 2%2% Parle-g
14% 14%
Tiger 12% 24% Tiger
0%
1%
1% Marie Marie
3%
Britannia Britannia
12%
Cadbury’s Cadbury’s
14% 30% 0%
Good Day Good Day
Glucose Glucose
24%
50-50 50-50
24%
23% Ampro Ampro
Rose Salt Rose Salt

Chintulla

Krack Jack
0% Parle-g
Tiger
Marie
Britannia
Cadbury’s
Good Day
Glucose
50-50
100% Ampro
Rose Salt

It is very clear, from the above table and Pie Chart that the brand awareness in Badangpet is more when
compared to Nadergul and Chintula.

Table 4: Brand awareness of Tea in village and number of Respondents are 30.
Tea Category Badengpet Nadergul Chintulla
Three Roses 25 10 10
Red label 22 0 0
Chakra Gold 12 5 0
AVT Assam 2 0 0
Tata 4 0 0
Gemini 20 2 2

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Tajmahal 15 10 0
Lamsa 0 1 0
Royal Tea 0 0 15

Graph 4:
Badengpet Nadergul

0% Three Roses 4%0% Three Roses

15%
25% Red label Red label
Chakra Gold 35% Chakra Gold
AVT Assam 36% AVT Assam
20% Tata Tata
Gemini Gemini
Tajmahal Tajmahal
4% 22% 0%
2% Lamsa Lamsa
12% 7% 0% 18%
Royal Tea Royal Tea

Chintulla

Three Roses
Red label
Chakra Gold
37%
AVT Assam
Tata
56%
Gemini
Tajmahal
0% Lamsa
7%
0% Royal Tea

It is very clear, from the above table and Pie Chart that the brand awareness in Badangpet is more when
compared to Nadergul and Chintula.

Table 5: Brand awareness of Coffee in village and number of Respondents are 30.
Coffee Category Badengpet Nadergul Chintulla
Bru 10 10 0
Green Label 12 0 0
Nescafe 5 0 0

Graph 5:
Badengpet Nadergul

0%
19%

37%
Bru Bru
Green Label Green Label
Nescafe Nescafe

44%
100%

Chintulla

Bru
Green Label
Nescafe

It is very clear, from the above table and Pie Chart that the brand awareness in Badangpet is more when
compared to Nadergul and Chintula. Consumption of coffee is very low or no consumption in Chintulla.

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Table 6: Brand awareness of Washing Powder in Badangpet village and number of Respondents are 30.
Washing Powder Badengpet Nadergul Chintulla
Ariel 25 3 0
SurfExcel 30 2 0
Tide 20 10 0
Rin 15 15 0
Wheel 30 15 0
Nirma 30 25 20
Rin Shakti 0 10 0

Graph 6:
Badengpet Nadergul

0% 13% 4% 3%
20% 17%
Ariel 13% Ariel
SurfExcel SurfExcel
Tide Tide
Rin Rin
20% 30% 18%
20% Wheel Wheel
Nirma Nirma
Rin Shakti Rin Shakti
10% 13% 19%

Chintulla

0%
Ariel
SurfExcel
Tide
Rin
Wheel
Nirma
Rin Shakti
100%

It is very clear, from the above table and Pie Chart that the brand awareness in Badangpet is more when
compared to Nadergul and Chintula.

Table 7: Brand awareness of Washing Soap in village and number of Respondents are 30.
Washing Soap Badengpet Nadergul Chintulla
Rin 30 30 5
Wheel 20 0 0
Soap 501 25 30 20
Rin Supreme 30 0 0
Extra 0 25 0
Nirma 0 30 30
XXX 0 20 25
ETA 0 20 20

Graph 7:
Badengpet Nadergul

0% 13%
Rin 20% Rin
29% 28% Wheel Wheel
Soap 501 13% 0% Soap 501
Rin Supreme Rin Supreme
Extra Extra
19%
Nirma Nirma
XXX 19% XXX
19% 0%
24% ETA ETA
16%

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Chintulla

5%0%
20% Rin
20% Wheel
Soap 501
Rin Supreme
0%
Extra
Nirma
25%
XXX
30% ETA

It is very clear, from the above table and Pie Chart that the brand awareness in Badangpet is more when
compared to Nadergul and Chintula.

Table 8: Brand awareness of Face Powder in village and number of Respondents are 30.
Face Powder Badengpet Nadergul Chintulla
Ponds 20 25 20
Fa 1 0 0
Axe 1 0 0
Park avenue 1 0 0
Sprint 2 0 0
Shower to Shower 1 0 0
Boro plus 5 0 0
Emami 5 0 0
Ashoka 10 10 0
Chintol 20 0 10
Santoor 15 20 15
Spinz 0 1 0

Graph 8:
Badengpet Nadergul
Ponds Ponds
Fa Fa
0% Axe 2% Axe
19%
26% Park avenue Park avenue
Sprint Sprint
36%
Shower to Shower 44% Shower to Shower
1%
1% Boro plus Boro plus
1%
2% Emami Emami
25% 1%
6% Ashoka Ashoka
0%
6% Chintol Chintol
12% 18% 0%
Santoor Santoor
Spinz Spinz

Chintulla
Ponds
Fa
0% Axe
Park avenue
33% Sprint
45% Shower to Shower
Boro plus
Emami
Ashoka
Chintol
22% 0%
Santoor
Spinz

It is very clear, from the above table and Pie Chart that the brand awareness in Badangpet is more when
compared to Nadergul and Chintula.

Table 9: Brand awareness of Cold Cream in villages and number of Respondents are 30.
Cold Cream Badengpet Nadergul Chintulla
Ponds 25 5 0
Kashmir Snow 2 2 0
Vaseline 10 0 0

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Graph 9:

Badengpet Nadergul

0%

27% 29%

Ponds Ponds
Kashmir Snow Kashmir Snow
5% Vaseline Vaseline
68%
71%

Chintulla

Ponds
Kashmir Snow
Vaseline

It is very clear, from the above table and Pie Chart that the brand awareness in Badangpet is more when
compared to Nadergul and Chintula
Table 10: Brand awareness of Fairness Cream in village and number of Respondents are 30.

Fairness Cream Badengpet Nadergul Chintulla

Fair & Lovely 25 25 0
Fair ever 10 5 0

Graph 10
Badengpet Nadergul

17%
29%

Fair & Lovely Fair & Lovely

Fair ever Fair ever

71%
83%

Chintulla

Fair & Lovely

Fair ever

It is very clear, from the above table and Pie Chart that the brand awareness in Badangpet is more when
compared to Nadergul and Chintula.

Brands Purchased in Rural Area

Table 11: Brand Purchased In soap category in villages and number of Respondents are 30.
Products Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla
Lux 25 10 0
NO.1 10 0 1
Santoor 20 10 10

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Margo 0 0 0
Medimix 0 2 5
Cinthol 15 5 0
Rexona 0 15 2
Margo 0 0 0
Mysore 7 0 0
Palmolive 1 0 0
Life bouy 0 20 25
Liril 0 1 0
Hamam 0 1 0
Life bouy
Plus 0 1 0
Breeze 0 1 0

Graph 11:
Brands Purchased in Rural Markets in Bath
Soaps Category

30 25 25
25 20 20
20 Badangpet
15 15
15 10 10 10
10 Nadergul
10 7 Chintulla
5 5
5 2 2
0 01 000 0 0 0 000 00 100 0 010 010 010 010
0
Palmolive
Life bouy

Life bouy
NO.1
Santoor
Margo

Margo
Rexona

Mysore

Breeze
Liril
Cinthol

Hamam
Lux

Medimix

It is very clear, from the above table, graph that the brand purchased in Badangpet is dominated by Lux,
Santoor, and Chintol, in Nadergul Lifebouy, Rexona, Santoor and Lux and in Chintula Lifebouy dominates the
market.

Table 12: Brand Purchased in Hair Oil category in villages and number of Respondents are 30.
Hair Oil Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla
Navratan 10 0 5
Aswini 3 5 0
Clinic Plus 1 0 0
Vatika 15 4 0
Parachute 0 15 2
Coco Care 0 0 0
KeoKarpin 1 0 0
Almon drops 0 0 0
Brylcream 1 0 0
Amul(Local) 0 0 0
Gograda 0 0 3
Dabur 0 0 1
Ghar 0 0 0

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Graph 12:
Brands Purchased in Rural Markets in Hair Oil
Category

15 15
16
14
12 10 Badangpet
10
8 5 5 Nadergul
6 4
3 2 3 Chintulla
4
2 0 0 00 0 0 000 100 000 100 000 00 001 000
1
0
As n

o n rp in

r
Al oKa e

r
Da a
G cal)
s
ic n i

co te
ra a

ul a m
Va s

bu
ha
a

d
Br rop
u
Pa tik
i

Ke Ca
at

Co chu

ra
w
Pl

G
Am lcre

o
vr

og
d

(L
Na

y
in
Cl

m
It is very clear, from the above table and graph that the brand purchased in Badangpet Navrathan hair oil
dominates the market, Parachute dominates Nadergul markets and Chintula very less consumption of branded
hair oils

Table 13: Brand Purchased In Biscuits category in villages and number of Respondents are 30.
Biscuits Category Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla
Krack Jack 0 5 0
Parle-g 20 10 1
Tiger 10 5 0
Marie 2 0 0
Britannia 0 0 0
Cadbury’s 0 0 0
Good Day 1 0 0
Glucose 0 1 0
50-50 7 2 0
Ampro 0 1 0
Rose Salt 0 1 0

Graph 13:
Brands Purchased in Rural Markets in Biscuits
Category

25
20
20
Badangpet
15
10 10 Nadergul
10 7
5 5 Chintulla
5 1 2 2
0 0 0 00 000 000 100 010 0 010 010
0
-g

Am 0
G ay
oo y’s
Ca nnia

se

ro

lt
Br rie
Pa k

ge

-5

Sa
c
rle

p
D
co
a
Ja

ur
Ti

50
M
it a

se
db

lu
k
ac

Ro
G
Kr

It is very clear, from the above table and graph that the brand purchased in Badangpet is dominated by Parle-g
and Tiger Biscuits. In Nadergul and Chintula very less or no consumption of biscuits and market is dominated
by local salt or Osmania Biscuits than branded.

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Table 14: Brand Purchased in Tea category in villages and number of Respondents are 30.
Tea Category Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla
Three Roses 5 2 2
Red label 10 10 5
Chakra Gold 3 0 0
AVT Assam 1 0 0
Tata 7 0 0
Gemini 15 5 0
Tajmahal 3 5 0
Lamsa 0 1 0
Royal Tea(Local) 0 0 10

Graph 14:
Brands Purchased in Rural Markets in Tea
Category

15
16
14
12 1010 10 Badangpet
10 7
8 5 5 5 5 Nadergul
6 3 3
4 22 Chintulla
2 00 100 00 0 0 010 00
0
al

)
l

d
s

ta

sa
be

in

al
se

ol

ah
Ta
sa

em

oc
m
G
la
Ro

jm

La
As

(L
d

ra

Ta
Re

ea
e

ak

T
re

lT
AV
Ch
Th

ya
Ro

It is very clear, from the above table and graph, the brand purchased in Badangpet is dominated by Gemini and
Red label. Red label also dominated the Nadergul market and Chintula market is dominated by local brand
Royal Tea.

Table 15: Brand Purchased in Coffee category in villages and number of Respondents are 30.
Coffee Category Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla
Bru 10 0 0
Green Label 0 0 0
Nescafe 0 0 0

Graph 15:
Brands Purchased in Rural Markets in Coffee
Category

12
10
10
8 Bru
6 Green Label
4 Nescafe

2
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0
Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla

It is very clear, from the above table and graph, the Badangpet market is dominated by Bru Coffee. In Nadergul
and Chintula coffee consumption is very low or no consumption.

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Table 16: Brand Purchased in Washing Powder category in villages and number of Respondents are 30.
Washing Powder Badengpet Nadergul Chintulla
Ariel 5 1 0
SurfExcel 7 2 0
Tide 3 1 0
Rin 15 3 0
Wheel 30 5 0
Nirma 30 20 20
Rin Shakti 0 3 0

Graph 16:
Brands Purchased in Rural Markets in Washing
Powder Category

35 30 30
30
25 2020 Badengpet
20 15 Nadergul
15
10 7 Chintulla
5 3 3 5 3
5 10 2 10
0 0 0 0 0
0
de

n
l

a
el

ti
el
ie

rm
Ri

ak
he
xc
Ar

Ti

Sh
Ni
rfE

n
Su

Ri

It is very clear, from the above table and graph that Nirma dominates all the three sample villages i.e.
Badangpet, Nadergul and Chintula.

Table 17: Brand Purchased in Washing Soap category in villages and number of Respondents are 30.
Washing Soap Badengpet Nadergul Chintulla
Rin 30 0 0
Wheel 10 0 0
Soap 501 12 10 15
Rin Supreme 5 0 0
Extra 0 5 10
Nirma 0 20 5
XXX 0 10 10
ETA 0 5 5

Graph 17:
Brands Purchased in Rural Markets in Washing
Soap Category

35 30
30
25 20 Badengpet
20 15
1210 Nadergul
15 10 10 1010
10 5 5 5 55 Chintulla
5 00 00 00 0 0 0 0
0
X
e
1
n

A
el

tra

XX
rm
em
Ri

50

ET
he

Ex

Ni
W

pr
ap

Su
So

n
Ri

It is very clear, from the above table and graphs that Rin, 501 and Nirma dominates the selected sample rural
market.

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Table 18: Brand Purchased in Face Powder category in villages and number of Respondents are 30.
Face Powder Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla
Ponds 25 20 20
Fa 1 0 0
Axe 1 0 0
Park avenue 1 0 0
Sprint 2 0 0
Shower to Shower 1 0 0
Boro plus 5 0 0
Emami 5 0 0
Ashoka 3 3 0
Chintol 10 15 10
Santoor 5 10 10
Spinz 0 10 0

Graph 18:
Brands Purchased in Rural Markets in Face
Powder Category

30 25
25 2020
Badangpet
20 15
15 1010 1010 10 Nadergul
10 5 5 5
5 100 100 100 200 100 00 00 330 0 0 Chintulla
0
ue

ro r

Sa to l
Em s

z
As i
s
Fa

av e

Sh t

ka
Bo w e

am
rin

oo

in
nd

u
Ax

in
en

pl

ho

Sp
er Sp

nt
o
Po

Ch
rk

to
Pa

ow
Sh

It is very clear, from the above table and graph, that Ponds dominates the Face Powder category in all the three
selected rural markets.

Table 19: Brand Purchased in Cold Cream category in villages and number of Respondents are 30.
Cold Cream Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla
Ponds 25 5 0
Kashmir Snow 2 0 0
Vaseline 10 0 0

Graph 19:
Brands Purchased in Rural Markets in Cold
Cream Category

30
25
25
20 Ponds
15 Kashmir Snow
10
10 Vaseline
5
5 2
0 0 0 0 0
0
Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla

It is very clear, from the above table and graph that Ponds dominates Cold Cream Category in Badangpet. As
the consumption pattern is very low or no consumption Ponds also dominates Nadergul and as per survey no
brand has tapped the Chintula market

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Table 20: Brand Purchased in Fairness Cream category in villages and number of Respondents are 30.
Fairness Cream Badangpet Nadergul Chintulla
Fair & Lovely 25 25 0
Fair ever 10 5 0

Graph 20
Brands Purchased in Rural Markets in Fairness
Cream Category

30
25 25
25
20 Badangpet
15 Nadergul
10
10 Chintulla
5
5
0 0
0
Fair & Lovely Fair ever

It is very clear, from the above table and graph that the Fair & Lovely brand dominates the Badangpet and
Nadergul in Fairness Cream Category and Chintula market left untapped as the consumption pattern is very low
or no consumption.
Reasons for Purchase of Brands in Badangpet Village

Table 21: Attributes which made consumer to buy the brands of different products.
Products Quality Price Availability Fragrance others
Soap 15 2 0 20 3
Hair Oil 2 25 0 10 5
Biscuits 25 5 0 0 0
Tea 15 0 0 0 30
Coffee 0 0 0 0 0
Washing Powder 20 5 0 15 0
Washing Soap 25 10 0 20 0
Face Podwer 0 10 0 30 0
Cold Cream 0 0 0 10 30
Fairness Cream 0 0 0 5 30

Graph 21:
Reasons for Purchase of Brands in Bandangpet

60
0 others
50
20 Fragrance
40 3 5 0 0
10 15 0
30 20 0 0
5 30 10 Availability
0
5 30 30
20 0 30 Price
2 25 25 0 25
10 15 15 20 0 Quality
10 10 5
0 2 0 0 0 0
e

am
a

m
ap

er
il

r
ap
ts

fe

we
rO

Te

ea
ui
So

So

re
w
Co

d
sc
i

Cr
Ha

Po

Po

Fa ld C
Bi

ng

s
ce
ng

es
hi

Co
as

Fa
hi

irn
as

W
W

It is very clear, from the above table and graph that the consumers prefer the Quality or Price or fragrance based
the product and its usag
Reasons for Purchase of Brands in Nadergul Village

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Table 22: Attributes which made consumer to buy the brands of different products.
Products Quality Price Availability Fragrance Others
Soap 0 5 0 20 0
Hair Oil 0 20 10 0 0
Biscuits 0 1 5 0 20
Tea 0 10 10 30 10
Coffee 0 0 0 0 0
Washing Powder 0 5 0 15 0
Washing Soap 0 30 5 10 4
Face Powder 0 10 0 30 10
Cold Cream 0 0 0 0 0
Fairness Cream 0 5 0 0 15

Graph 22:
Reasons for Purchase of Brands in Nadergul

70
60 Others
10
50 4 Fragrance
10
40 10
30 5 Avaliabilty
30 0
0 10 30 Price
20 20 0
20 10 15 30 15
10 20 0 Quality
0
5 0
5 10 0
5 10 0
5
0 0 0 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
e

am
a

m
ap

er
il

r
ap
ts

ffe

de
O

Te

ea
ui
So

So

re
ir

w
w
Co
sc

Cr
Ha

Po

Po

Fa ld C
Bi

ng

s
ce
ng

es
hi

Co
as

Fa
hi

irn
as

W
W

It is very clear, from the above table and graph that the nadergul market is price sensitive market and also few
prefer fragrance of the brand.
Reasons for Purchase of Brands in Chintulla Village

Table 23: Attributes which made consumer to buy the brands of different products.
Products Quality Price Availability Fragrance Other
Soap 0 10 0 30 0
Hair Oil 0 0 0 0 0
Biscuits 0 0 0 0 0
Tea 0 0 0 10 20
Coffee 0 0 20 0 0
Washing Powder 0 30 0 0 0
Washing Soap 0 0 0 10 10
Face Powder 0 0 10 0 20
Cold Cream 0 0 0 0 0
Fairness Cream 0 0 0 0 0

Graph 23:
Reasons for Purchase of Brands in Chintulla

45
40 0 Other
35
30 0 Fragrance
25 30 Availability
20 20 0 20
15 30 10 Price
10 0 20 0
5 10 10 10 10 Quality
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
e

am
a

am
p

er
il

r
p
its

fe

de
rO

Te
oa

oa
d
cu

of

re

re
w
W Pow
S

S
ai

C
is

Po

Fa l d C

C
H

ng
B

s
ce
ng

es
hi

o
as

C
Fa
hi

irn
as
W

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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
It is very clear, from the above table and graph that the Chintulla village is a Price sensitive market and
availability of a product in the market also place major role.
Brand Loyalty of consumers in Rural Markets:

Table 24:
Brand Loyalty Badangpet Nadergul Chintula
Always 5 15 0
Mostly 20 8 5
Sometimes 5 3 5
Rarely 0 4 20

Graph 24:

Brand Loyalty Brand Loyalty

0% Always
17% 17% 13%
Always
Mostly
Sometimes
Mostly
10%
Rarely

50% Sometimes

Rarely
27%
66%

Brand Loyalty

0% Always
17%

Mostly

17% Sometimes

Rarely
66%

It is very clear, from the above table and Pie Chart that in all the three-selected sample rural markets brand
loyalty is l

2.1 Data Analysis:

Based on the colleted date in three sample villages, product wise brand awareness, purchase and loyalty
are given in the table.
Soaps: In Soap category, awareness will match with purchasing behaviour and brand loyalty is more in
Badangpet and Nadergul region and less in Chintulla.
Hair Oil: In Hair Oil category, branded products usage is more in Badangpet and Nadergul. Consumers prefer
to buy local brands in Chintulla. Vatika and Navratan dominate in Badangpet, Parachute in Nadergul and
Gograda local brand and Dabur in chintulla.
Biscuits: Biscuits consumption is less. In Biscuits category consumers mostly buy in loose those are available in
near by shops like salt biscuits, Osmania biscuits etc. Parle-g and Tiger are mostly used brands in Badangpet.
Tea: Tea is purchased in loose, which is available in the local shops. The Popular brands Red Label, Three
Roses and Gemini are used in Badangpet.
Coffee: Coffee Consumption is very less or no consumption in Nadergul and Chintulla. In Badangpet we could
able to found few consumers and they consume BRU instant Coffee and also café or hotel we could able to find
Instant powder and not filter coffee.
Washing Powder: In washing powder category, Nirma dominate all the three selected sample rural markets
regions. In Remote area like Chintulla Nirma sell Rs.1 Sachets.
Washing Soap: In washing soap category Rin, 501, Nirma, XXX and Extra Local Brand dominates all the three
selected rural markets.
Face Powder: In Face Powder category Pond’s, Chintol, and Santoor dominates the market and it also need to
see in other angle that consumption level is least.
Cold Cream: In Cold Cream Category Pond’s has dominated the market in consumption in Badangpet. Less
consumption in Nadergul and very less or no consumption in chintulla village.
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 The Importance of Brand in Consumer Buying Behavior of FMCG goods in Rural Markets
Fairness Cream: Fairness Cream consumption is high in Nadergul and Badangpet. Fair and Lovely dominates
the market and very less or no consumption in chintulla village.

2.2 Problems in Rural Marketing:

1. People in villages are subject to traditions, habits, preferences and socio-cultural pressures.
2. Rural markets are price sensitive. Rural consumers are price conscious and they purchase simple and low
priced goods.
3. Brand loyalty is very low in rural areas.
4. Communication problems with regard to the marketing information to the rural consumer because of low
literacy.
5. Rural consumers are not exposed to organized advertising.
6. It is difficult to manage and organizing an effective distribution channel is another hurdle in rural
marketing.
7. IMC in rural markets is difficult and makes incur high promotional costs.
8. Business concerns hesitate to enter to rural markets based the all the above problems and focus the business
towards Urban and Semi-Urban markets.

III. Suggestions and Conclusion:

As per the analysis and information carried out the following suggestions and conclusions are arrived at:-
1) In the study majority of the respondents are male categories.
2) Male members of the family are alone going to buy consumer products.
3) Women are not interested in shopping and do not come out from their houses frequently.
4) Most of the families come under the agriculture category.
5) Family income is very low.
6) Product planning is very important to marketer to enter into rural market.
7) Non-Availability of brands is another reason which affects purchasing decision.
8) Packaging should be strong enough to stand rough handling because of poor infrastructure facilities and
pack should be small.
9) Brand names should be simple, small and easy to remember and pronounce
10) Effective IMC is required to reach remote villages.

References
Journals:
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Consumption Pattern- A Researcher’s View, Indian Journal of Marketing, Volume XXXV • Number 2 • February 2005
[2.] Dr.A.Selvaraj Rural Consumers' Behaviour Regarding Non Durable Goods: A Study In Erode District of Tamil Nadu, Indian
Journal of Marketing, Volume XXXVII • Number 12 • December 2007
[3.] Bamzai, Sandeep, ‘Markets now target Bharat’, Business India, September 6-17, 1999
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[5.] Deepti Srivastava, MARKETING TO RURAL INDIA: A CHANGING PARADIGM, APJRBM Volume 1, Issue 3 (December,
2010)
[6.] Gosh, Aparisim, ‘The New Rules of Rural Marketing’, Business World, April, 1994
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Linkage, Indian Journal of Marketing, Volume XXXV • Number 3 • March 2005
[8.] Kala Vijayraghavan and Anamika Rath, ‘FMCGs find rural treasure hunt tough’, The Economic Times, December 15, 2000
[9.] Keshav Sharma, Deepak R. Gupta, Parikshat Singh Manhas, RURAL MARKETING CHALLENGES IN THE NEW
MILLENNIUM A CASE STUDY, Delhi Business Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, January - June 2003
[10.] Dr.K.Maruthamuthu,K.Krishnakumar, M.Vasan, Consumer Behaviour and Brand Preference of Britannia Biscuits - An empirical
study with reference to Salem, Tamil Nadu, Indian Journal of Marketing, Volume XXXVI • Number 8 • August 2006
[11.] Dr. K. Ramasamy, Dr. G. Kalaivanan, S. Sukumar, Consumer Behaviour Towards Instant Food Products, Indian Journal of
Marketing, Volume XXXV • Number 6 • June 2005
[12.] Nithila Vincent, A Study on Brand Consciousness Among Children and its Effect on Family Buying Behaviour in Bangalore City,
Indian Journal of Marketing, Volume XXXVI • Number 1 • January 2006
[13.] Dr.Pawan Garga, Dr.Kaminder Ghuman, Dr.Balram Dogra Rural Marketing of Select Fast Moving Consumer Goods in Punjab,
Indian Journal of Marketing, Volume XXXIX • Number 5 • May 2009
[14.] Mr.Rajesh Shinde, Recent Facets of Consumer Behaviour: A Case of Rural Market, Indian Journal of Marketing, Volume XXXVII
• Number 4 • April 2007
[15.] Dr. R. K. Srivastava, Ankur Singhal, Pasupula Raghavi, Mudit Khandelwal, Srikrishnan Balasubramanian, Swapnil Shirodkar,
Brands Equity of Toothpaste Brands in India, Indian Journal of Marketing, Volume XXXV • Number 7 • July 2005
[16.] S.Arul Kumar, Dr.C.Madhavi, Rural Marketing for –FMCG, Indian Journal of Marketing, Volume XXXVI • Number 4 •April 2006
Website:
[17.] http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/oct/25spec2.htm
[18.] http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/brandline/article2224287.ece
[19.] http://hindu.com/2006/04/02/stories/2006040201911300.htm

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