Title: Rural Marketing in India: Marketer's Perspective
Abstract: Economic reforms have brought several changes in the Indian market environment, especially in rural market. The rural population is large and the growth rate is also towering. India’s rural population comprising 12 per cent of the world’s population represented a huge, untapped market. On account of cut-throat competition in urban India, the rural markets are becoming green pastures for any marketer. However, the Indian rural consumer is economically, socially and psycho-graphically different from his urban counterpart. Around 60 per cent of the rural income comes from agriculture; hence, rural prosperity is tied with agricultural prosperity. The consumers in the village area do have a low standard of living for the reason that low literacy, low per capita income, social backwardness, low savings, etc. A number of companies have taken acceptability, affordability, availability and awareness as challenges for rural marketing, and they are developing their marketing strategies accordingly. A paradigm shift in the market has put rural India on every company’s marketing roadmap. Penetration in rural would be attainable only if the organizations keep in mind the psyche of rural consumers, the cultural and social dynamics and above all cater to the diverse yet unique requirements of this segment. An effective rural marketing requires a lot of introspection. Therefore, the marketers who understand the rural consumers and fine tune their strategy are sure to reap benefits in the coming years. In this context, an attempt was made to study the perception of the marketers on marketing products in rural areas. Thus, the aim of this paper is to discuss why companies go rural. This study is empirical in nature based on survey method. By adopting convenience sampling, 300 marketers i.e., 150 retailers, 50 wholesalers, and 100 company salesmen were selected in Salem district of Tamil nadu, India. This paper is novel in suggesting measures such as aadequate infrastructure facilities, change of attitude of rural consumers, mass media advertisement, low priced packages, more consumer credit, distribution through Self-Help Groups, establishment of satellite town and consumer education are the suggestions of the marketers for the effective rural marketing process.
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-03-22
Language: en
Type: article
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