MODULE III

Marketing strategies for rural markets

Marketing strategies for rural markets
• by communicating and changing quality perception.
• by proper communication in Indian language
• by target changing perception.
• by understanding cultural and social values
• by providing what customer
• by promoting products with Indian models and
• by associating themselves with India
• by promoting Indian sports team
• by talking about a normal Indian
• by developing rural-specific products
• by giving Indian words for brands
 2-3

Rural Marketing Research

Learning objectives

• Be aware of research tools for rural market

• Understand role of rural marketing consulting agencies in

rural marketing research

• Comprehend the challenges & limitations for conducting rural

marketing research
Rural Market Research

The systematic design , collection, analysis and

reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific
marketing situation facing the company
Types of Rural Studies
• Quantitative studies
– Since penetration and consumption of most products are
low, the market is under development, hence quantitative
studies cannot be done for most products

• Qualitative studies
– 4As of Rural marketing – Acceptability, Affordability,
Awareness and Availability
– U &A (Usage & Attitudes) or KAP (Knowledge, Attitude
and Practices)
– Feasibility
– Mapping distribution, promotion and communication
channels
Sources & Methods of Data Collection
• Ensuring the support of opinion leader

• Behaving in a manner to be liked by rural people

• Being at right places:

- Village Chou pal
- Retail outlet
- Fairs
- Haats
Data Collection

• Secondary Data –
– Census of India, NCAER, CSO, DRDA, Panchayat office

• Primary data
– In-depth interview, focus group discussion,
– social research (PRA),
– Scaling method, wheel, faces of rating,
– Questionnaire,
– Sampling
 Do’s and Don’ts in rural market research
 Wears simple clothes
 Familiar with local language or accompany a known person
 Spent time with villagers even though it is not needed to his research
 Purpose and its benefits to villagers should be explained in order to
get correct data's.
 Issues sensitive to respondents should be carefully handled
 Male researchers should approach a woman through her husband or
guardian of the woman.
 Avoid one- to-one interact as they gather as crowd.
 Researcher always carry food, water and first aid kit to avoid health
problems
Limitations & Challenges in Rural Marketing Research

• Nature of Rural Market

• Scarcity of Rural Marketing Research Budget
• Lack of Uniformity in Secondary Data
• Accessibility
• Lack of Facilities in Rural Areas
• Comprehension of Research Tools
• Sensitivity of Rural People
Public-Private Partnership
• A public-private partnership is a contractual agreement between a public agency (federal, state
or local) and a private sector entity. Through this agreement, skills and assets of each sector
(public and private) are shared in delivering a service or a facility for the use of the general
public. In addition to the sharing of the resources, each party shares risks and rewards potential
in the delivery of the service and/or the facility. As a science-based activity, agricultural research
is best performed by multidisciplinary and inter-institutional teams of scientists from both
public and private sectors. Agricultural growth is a prerequisite for economic development,
especially in the countries with agri-based economy. Even when all irrigation potential is
developed, one half of the arable land of the country remains rain-dependent. Therefore, the
high growth in agricultural sector would progressively depend more on the development of
rainfed agriculture. Unless production in rainfed regions is increased, inequalities between
irrigated and rainfed areas in the country will remain
• Potentials: One of the great potentials of PPP lies in human resource
development and training. Under HRD / training, success has been
achieved through PPP in seed technology, DNA fingerprinting, quarantine /
plant protection, artificial insemination, feed compounding and
supplementation, eco-friendly technology for hatchery management,
polyculture technology for carps, etc. More and more areas of mutual
interest are to be identified and pursued. Another areas of great potential
include apex trial of varieties, testing of equipment etc. Such activities will
build in much needed confidence, credibility and may lead to business
promotion of both partners. In view of the changing
• Public and Private Partnership Role of public sector: The public and private
partnership based on the symbiotic relationship with mutual confidence and trust is
vital in the national development of floriculture in the country. Both public
institutions and private companies are important stakeholders in the development and
rapid advancement of floriculture in the country. The private sector will always look
for backward linkage with public institutions in respect to scientific and
technological innovative and updated knowledge enhancement and enrichment and
human resource development of highly qualified and skilled scientists and
technicians required in agri-business. Research and extension: The research in public
institutions and agricultural/horticultural universities should be oriented towards
floriculture- industry need-based projects in important growing areas of specific
flower crops for both domestic and export markets. In this context, a few important
aspects requiring research priority are mentioned as follows.
Qualitative Research

• ‘Qualitative Research…involves finding out

what people think, and how they feel - or at any
rate, what they say they think and how they say
they feel. This kind of information is subjective.
It involves feelings and impressions, rather than
numbers’
• Bellenger, Bernhardt and Goldstucker, Qualitative Research in
Marketing, American Marketing Association
Qualitative Research

• Qualitative research is multimethod in focus,

involving an interpretative, naturalistic approach to
its subject matter.
• Qualitative Researchers study “things” (people and
their thoughts) in their natural settings, attempting
to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms
of the meanings people bring to them.
 Qualitative Research in Rural
• Qualitative research involves the studied use and
collection of a variety of empirical materials - case
study, personal experience, introspective, life story,
interview, observational, historical, interactional, and
visual texts-that describe routine and problematic
moments and meanings in individuals lives.
• Deploy a wide range of interconnected methods, hoping
always to get a better fix on the subject matter at hand.
 NSSO rural
consumption studies
The National Sample Survey Office
• The report is based on information collected during 2009-10 from 100794 households in 7428
villages and 5263 urban blocks spread over the entire country. CEREALS, PULSES AND
EDIBLE OIL Since 1999-2000, per capita quantity of consumption has declined not only for
cereals as a whole but for individual cereal items for which data were collected: rice, wheat,
jowar and its products, etc. In 2009-10, the share of PDS (Public Distribution System) rice in
rice consumption was about 23.5% in the rural sector and about 18% in the urban. In 1999-2000
and 2004-05, the PDS share in rice consumption ranged between 11% and 13% in both sectors.
The share of PDS in rural wheat consumption in 2009-10 was about 14.6%, which is almost
double what it was in 2004-05 (7.4%), and the share of PDS in urban wheat consumption was
about 9%, while the share in 2004-05 was only about 4%. Consumption of pulses and pulse
products dropped since 2004-05 from 0.71 kg to 0.65 kg per capita in the rural sector and from
0.82 kg to 0.79 kg per capita in the urban sector. There was a decline both in per capita
consumption and in percentage of households reporting consumption in case of moong and
masur dal and an increase in case of split gram, showing a tendency of the population to
substitute less expensive pulse varieties for more expensive ones. Monthly per capita edible oil
consumption was estimated as 636 g in rural India and 818 g in urban India.
• OTHER FOOD Consumption of eggs during a 7-day period was reported by 27% of rural and
32% of urban households. Per capita consumption of eggs was 1.73 per month (0.40 per week)
in rural India and 2.67 (0.62 per week) in urban India. Fish consumption during a 7-day period
was reported by a markedly higher percentage of households in rural India (28%) than in urban
India (21%). For both mutton (including goat meat) and chicken, however, the urban percentage
exceeded the rural by about 5 percentage points. Carrots, lemons, cauliflowers, cabbages,
tomatoes, cucumbers, lady’s fingers and bitter gourd were consumed by a greater proportion of
urban households than of rural ii Highlights NSS Report No.541: Household Consumption of
Various Goods and Services in India households, while pumpkins, potatoes, onions, brinjal,
jhinga, leafy vegetables and green chillies were consumed by a greater percentage of rural
households than of urban households. In case of each fruit and nut, per capita urban
consumption outstripped rural consumption not only in value but also in quantity terms. Rural-
urban disparities in fruit and nut consumption were relatively low in case of groundnuts,
coconuts, bananas and mangoes, and high for apples, grapes and papayas. Expenditure on tea
was about Rs.23 per person per month in rural India and a little under Rs.40 in urban India.
Purchased ready-to-drink tea accounted for more than half of this expenditure in the urban
sector and about 43% in the rural sector. Urban households incurred an average expenditure of
nearly Rs.36 per person on purchased cooked meals.
• FUEL, CLOTHING AND BEDDING, EDUCATION, MEDICAL CARE Electricity was
consumed by 94% urban households and 67% rural households. Per capita value of electricity
consumed in 30 days was about Rs.70 in urban India (or over 50% of a total of Rs.138 spent on
household fuel). LPG was used in 66% of urban households and 15.5% of rural households. The
percentage of households reporting use of firewood and chips was 87% in rural areas and 25%
in urban areas. Monthly per capita value of rural consumption of this item was about Rs.39.50
(47% of all household fuel). Among the items listed in the schedule, readymade garments made
the largest contribution to clothing and bedding expenditure – 25% in rural and 32% in urban
India. Saris accounted for about 17-18% in both sectors, and cloth for shirts, etc. for 14-16%.
Educational expenditure per person (including the entire population in the denominator and not
only students) was about Rs.38 – 3.6% of Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (MPCE) – in rural
India and about Rs.161 – 8.1% of MPCE – in urban India. The largest component of educational
expenses was tuition fees, which had a share of 57% in the rural sector and about 67% in the
urban sector. Medicine accounted for nearly 82% of medical expenses of the non-institutional
kind (not incurred as in-patient of a hospital) in rural India, and 77% in urban India. Institutional
medical expenditure was reported by 13% of rural and 14% of urban households. Here, too,
medicine was the largest component, but its share was smaller – 48% in the rural sector and 38%
in the urban.
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