THE 4 As of RURAL MARKETING MIX IN INDIAN CIVILLAZATION
- 1. THE RURAL MARKETING MIX : CHALLENGES The 4 A’s of Marketing
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- 4. AFFORDABILITY Per Capita income of the rural consumer is still half of urban incomes Rural consumers driven by value proposition It should be within their purchasing capacity
- 5. AVAILABILITY Single largest challenge to the marketers 6,38,000 villages in 3.2 million sq.kms. This makes reaching the “ last mile” a herculean task. If the product / service reaches these areas, the retailers will themselves transportthe goods to these villages For larger ticket items like two wheelers, the rural consumers visit the near by towns Companies adopted innovative distribution strategies Colgate’s Project Shakti & Bicycle Entrepreneurs
- 6. PROJECT SHAKTI Project Shakti is an initiative to financially empower rural women and create livelihood opportunities for them. It provides a regular income stream for the Shakti entrepreneurs and their families.
- 7. HOW IT WORKS : Unilever provides training on basic accounting, selling skills, health & hygiene and relevant IT skills to shakti entrepreneurs Equips them with smart phones which have been enabled with A mini enterprise resource package (ERP) which helps them to run their business efficiently and further augment their income. Unilever has trained thousands of shakti ammas across the villages in a bid to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and make them financially independent and more empowered Today, project shakti provides livelihood enhancing opportunities to over 70,000 shakti entrepreneurs who distribute our productions in more than 165,000 villages and reach over four million rural households. PROJECT SHAKTI CONTRIBUTES TO OVER 10% OF THE RURAL TURNOVER
- 8. INTRODUCTION OF SHAKTIMAANS In 2010, the Shakti programme was extended to include ‘Shaktimaans’ who are typically the husbands or brothers of the Shakti Ammas Shaktimaans complement Shakti Ammas. They sell products on bicycles in surrounding villages, covering a larger area than Shakti Ammas can cover on foot. There are 48,000 Shaktimaans across India
- 9. COLGATE’S BICYCLE ENTREPRENEURS Emphasis on the BOP market (The Bottom of the Pyramid ) The Colgate Experience…..
- 10. On Basis Of The PPP MODEL Developed By MART Identify educated, unemployed youth in villages as potential channel partners for Colgate products. Selected youth would act as entrepreneurs, paying cash for stock and earning from sale of products To keep costs low, youth will travel by bicycle with a stock box Makeshift stall, using branded umbrella Branding through company logos on Tshirts, bicycle and box will increase visibility and ensure authencity.
- 11. THE ENTITY OF ENTREPRENEUR To reach the BOP market in below 5000 population villages : youthfrom different sources was hired PROCESS Uncoveredterritory of Colgate mapped Identify, select, train youth Allocate territories, developpermanent bicycle journey plan 2 village retailers and 1 HAAT to be coveredin one day. On No-HAAT days 4 village retailers to be covered. AT VILLAGE RETALIER , THE ACTIVITIES ARE: SELF INTRODUCTION SHARING JOURNEY PLAN PROMOTION COLGATE PRODUCTS PLACING POSTERS AT THE SHOP AT THE HAAT, THE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE: ENSURE OPTIMAL POINT FOR LOCATION OF STAND SET UP BRANDED UMBRELLAON CYCLE AND DISPLAY OF STOCK COMMUNICATIONON ORAL HYGIENE PRACTICES,DIFFERENTIATINGBETWEEN FAKLE & GENUINE COLGATE PRODUCTS OFFER SAMPLE AND PRODUCTTRIALS SALE OF Colgate products
- 12. …CONTD The youth is linked to the nearest company stockist and buys stock on cash, usually weekly. The entrepreneur margins are approximately 3% selling to village retailers and approx. 8% selling directly to consumers at HAAT To sustain entrepreneur interest in the business an initial stipend of Rs. 1500/- per month was fixed. This is reduced , on a sliding scale, over time as the business grows, but is not completely eliminated to retain some degree of control over the entrepreneur.
- 13. IMPACT OF THE MODEL Implemented across 28 districts with 240 entrepreneurs working full time for Colgate DISTRIBUTION: The model created a viable distribution structure for Colgate in the below 5000 population villages to access BOP segment as desired The new distribution setup could be integrated into regular channels without any alteration of margin structures RURAL ORIENTATION: The model recruited manpower from local areas providing livelihood opportunity to villagers through a sustained corporate partnership. Increased entrepreneurship possibilities were creating by setting an example, without displacing the rural youth
- 14. …CONTD PROMOTION OF GENUINE PRODUCTS : The promotion of the genuine brand by an authorized partner to village consumerscreates an advantage for Colgate over fakes. Communication at HAATs to the target audienceon how to identify the genuine brand impacted sales positively OTHER BENEFITS This is a self sustaining, entrepreneurial model based on sales earnings rather than a typical salary outflow employee mode. It is a low cost model targeted at high sales volumes through access to large concentrated crowds at Haats and by serving the larger requirements of village retailers rather than addressing individual consumers.
- 15. AWARENESS Low levels of literacy remains a block in communicating a message. The rising literacy rates indicate that the comprehension levels will rise too. Access to Television is now high in Rural India Hence, same advertisements for the urban and rural consumers. Other sources like Wall Paintings, Vans, Road Shows and Street Plays in the local language also play an important role in creating interest.
- 16. ACCEPTABILITY Very Critical Acceptable and affordable Eg,. Chinese mobile a great hit with them without any promotion or advertising because of low costs, durability, easy to handle, built-in torch, and loudspeakers playing music. What may sell in cities may not attract the rural consumer Rural Environment to be borne in mind
- 17. THE EVOLVING RURAL CONSUMER * From Poor, Illiterate and Reluctant Value Driven & More Literate * Youth is rapidly getting exposedto urban products and services. * Kids are also the educators of their mothers in case of healthdrinks & sanitation messages. * Women now have 50% reservation in Panchayati Raj
- 18. THE EVOLVING RURAL CONSUMER *Cultural & social norms are now changing with nuclear families creating new roles for women *Women now participate in decision making for items they use, as a result of greater exposure. *7 million Self Help Groups ( SHGs) i.e. 70 million SHG members. *They travel to near by towns for federation meetings and in the process gain exposure to advertising and the products available. * FOCUS: Companies should focus on creating awareness amongst the women, children and youth
- 19. THE EVOLVING RURAL CONSUMER
- 20. References 1. KashyapPradeep (2012). Rural Marketing, Dorling Kindersley ( India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. 2. Chetan Priti ( 2016). Rural Marketing ( Focus on FMCGs) Jnanada Prakashan 3. https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/marketing/rural-marketing/rural-marketing-introduction-concept- and-definitions/48725