Advanced Marketing Practicum Assignment

8/7/2019 Advanced Marketing Practicum Assignment

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Advanced Marketing Practicum Assignment

Segmentation of Rural Marketing

SIDDARTH VARSHAN.S

10 AB 35


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RURAL MARKETING IN INDIA

The concept ofRural Marketing in India Economy has always played an

influential role in the lives of people. In India, leaving out a few metropolitan

cities, all the districts and industrial townships are connected with rural markets.

The rural market in India is not a separate entity in itself and it is highly

influenced by the sociological and behavioral factors operating in the country. The

rural population in India accounts for around 627 million, which is exactly 74.3

percent of the total population.

The Registrars of Companies in different states chiefly manage: The rural

market in India brings in bigger revenues in the country, as the rural regions

comprise of the maximum consumers in this country. The rural market in Indian

economy generates almost more than half of the country's income. Rural marketing

in Indian economy can be classified under two broad categories. These are:

y The market for consumer goods that comprise of both durable and non-durable goods

y The market for agricultural inputs that include fertilizers, pesticides, seeds,and so on

The concept of rural marketing in India is often been found to form ambiguity in

the minds of people who think rural marketing is all about agricultural marketing.

However, rural marketing determines the carrying out of business activities

bringing in the flow of goods from urban sectors to the rural regions of the country

as well as the marketing of various products manufactured by the non-agricultural

workers from rural to urban areas.


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To be precise, Rural Marketing in India Economy covers two broad sections,

namely:

y Selling of agricultural items in the urban areasy Selling of manufactured products in the rural regionsSome of the important features or characteristics of Rural Marketing in India

Economy are being listed below:

y With the initiation of various rural development programmes there have beenan upsurge of employment opportunities for the rural poor. One of the biggest

cause behind the steady growth of rural market is that it is not exploited and

also yet to be explored.

y The rural market in India is vast and scattered and offers a plethora ofopportunities in comparison to the urban sector. It covers the maximum

population and regions and thereby, the maximum number of consumers.

y The social status of the rural regions is precarious as the income level andliteracy is extremely low along with the range of traditional values and

superstitious beliefs that have always been a major impediment in the

progression of this sector.

y The steps taken by the Government of India to initiate proper irrigation,infrastructural developments, prevention of flood, grants for fertilizers, and

various schemes to cut down the poverty line have improved the condition of

the rural masses.


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The Future of Segmentation in Rural Areas

The various bases for segmenting markets underscored the need to understand

consumers. Each segmentation approach has merit and although not all haveexhibited the ability to predict consumers purchasing habits, they do enable

marketers to understand better their target markets. When combinations of

approaches are used in aiming at the total marketing problem segmentation

research and be very meaningful. With enhanced understanding comes the ability

to develop more tailored marketing programs. The need to segment markets and

position products effectively is increasingly being recognized by marketing

managers.

y The great deal of attention and interest generated by the concept of marketsegmentation is sure to become even more significant in the future. Three

environmental factors are expected to lead to this growth. First, the advance

of the consumerism movement will foster market segmentation.

y A second factor encouraging market segmentation is intensified competition.With increasingly competitive markets (domestic and worldwide) in the

future, business people will seek untapped segments to gain an advantage

over rivals.y The third factor stimulating market segmentation is the growing awareness

of non business applications of the technique. It will increasingly be utilized

for marketing in nontraditional areas such as politics religion and public

issues.

y Many consumer characteristics were presented. All of these consumerattributes were discussed within the framework of market segmentation

that is an approach to selecting groups of homogeneous consumers as targets

for marketing activity.y Whereas market segmentation seeks to carve a large, heterogeneous market

into smaller, more uniform subdivisions at the other end of the strategy

spectrum market aggregation no subdivision of the market is applied.

Most firms today follow a market segmentation approach. Furthermore, it

was shown that in order for market segmentation to be effective, the target


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group must be identifiable and measurable; accessible; substantial and

responsive.

Positioning in rural market:

With these criteria in mind, four alternative bases for segmentation areconsidered here: demographic, lifestyle, usage, and benefit. In addition, a

number of marketing implications are suggested based upon these variables

influence on consumers behavior.

Although the use of demographic variables is intuitively and widelyavailable to marketers their record as predictors of consumer behavior is not

very strong. However, the problems in their use seem to be the result of a

state of the art limitation in analysis rather than a fundamental defect in thetechnique.

Marketers must have demographic geographic and socioeconomicinformation about any segments chosen if they are to market effectively to

them.

Techniques may provide a richer portrait of potential customers throughlifestyle usage or benefit segmentation. All of the techniques suggested as

well as others overlap and are complementary. Therefore choices have to be

made regarding the best combination of methods to employ for each product

or service.

The close interrelationship between market segmentation and productpositioning was also discussed. Several approaches to product and company

positioning were described along with analytical methods for making such

decisions.

Finally, from this discussion of market segmentation a clearer understandingshould be gained about the who of consumer behavior that consumers are

people of widely varying characteristics appreciation of this fact and an

understanding of the ways in which clusters of consumers with more

homogeneous characteristics may be carved out of the heterogeneous

marketplace should establish a firm foundation for further exploration into

the factors that influence consumer behavior.


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Potential of Rural Market in India

With the far-reaching changes in rural India by means of the agriculturalrevolution, spread of education, improved infrastructure, better banking

facilities etc., significant changes have been noticed in the buying and

consumption patterns of the rural consumers.

All these factors initiated a consumption drive among the rural population.As a result, a dominant theme emerging over the last few years in Indian

marketing is rural marketing.

The increasing penetration of electronic media and advertising into ruralareas has also facilitated this. In addition to this, the rural population is also

aspiring for better lifestyles, especially with the increasing disposable

incomes accruing to a significant section of them. The Indian and multinational consumer durable and Fast Moving Consumer

Goods (FMCG) companies identified the vast potential of the rural markets

and attempted to target these markets.

Although the practical constraints in terms of lack of transportation andcommunication facilities along with limited rural understanding acted as

constraints in comprehending the rural scenario, some companies did make

inroads into the rural market.


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REFERENCES:

1. Rural markets & development by HM SAXENA2. Rural marketing by T P Gopalaswamy3.

http://www.citeman.com/7868-the-future-of-segmentation-and-positioning/4. http://www.citefin.com/2801-market-segmentation.html

5. http://www.citehr.com/research.php?q=market-segmentation-in-rural-markets

6. http://business.mapsofindia.com/rural-economy/state-development/marketing.html

7. http://www.iupindia.in/206/IJMM_Rural_Markets_and_Exploring_the_Scope_for_Consumer_Market_7.html

Advanced Marketing Practicum Assignment

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