abhishreshthaa
Abhijeet S
Importance of customs
This however raises a fundamental problem of fathoming the differences between urban and rural markets in India. This is of paramount importance in the Indian marketing environment as rural and urban markets in our country are so very diverse in nature that urban marketing programmes just cannot be successfully extended to the rural markets.
The buying behaviour demonstrated by the rural Indian differs tremendously when compared to the typical urban Indian. Further, the values, aspirations and needs of the rural people vastly differ from that of the urban population. Basic cultural values have not yet faded in rural India.
Buying decisions are still made by the eldest male member in the rural family whereas even children influence buying decisions in urban areas. Further, buying decisions are highly influenced by social customs, traditions and beliefs in the rural markets. Many rural purchases require collective social sanction, unheard off in urban areas.
Another contrasting feature is the precision in the assessment of purchasing power of the consumers. In urban markets, income levels are generally used to measure purchasing power and markets are segmented accordingly.
However, this measure is not adequate for defining the purchasing power in rural areas because of the single fact that rural incomes are grossly underestimated. Farmers and rural artisans are paid in cash as well as in kind. However, while reporting their incomes, they report only cash earnings, which then affect the calculation of their purchasing power.
This is the reason why marketers are often surprised to find that their products are sometimes consumed by people who, according to their surveys and estimates do not have the purchasing power to do so. Every marketing manager must therefore make an attempt to understand the rural consumer better so that he can plan his strategies in such a manner that they produce the desired results.
This however raises a fundamental problem of fathoming the differences between urban and rural markets in India. This is of paramount importance in the Indian marketing environment as rural and urban markets in our country are so very diverse in nature that urban marketing programmes just cannot be successfully extended to the rural markets.
The buying behaviour demonstrated by the rural Indian differs tremendously when compared to the typical urban Indian. Further, the values, aspirations and needs of the rural people vastly differ from that of the urban population. Basic cultural values have not yet faded in rural India.
Buying decisions are still made by the eldest male member in the rural family whereas even children influence buying decisions in urban areas. Further, buying decisions are highly influenced by social customs, traditions and beliefs in the rural markets. Many rural purchases require collective social sanction, unheard off in urban areas.
Another contrasting feature is the precision in the assessment of purchasing power of the consumers. In urban markets, income levels are generally used to measure purchasing power and markets are segmented accordingly.
However, this measure is not adequate for defining the purchasing power in rural areas because of the single fact that rural incomes are grossly underestimated. Farmers and rural artisans are paid in cash as well as in kind. However, while reporting their incomes, they report only cash earnings, which then affect the calculation of their purchasing power.
This is the reason why marketers are often surprised to find that their products are sometimes consumed by people who, according to their surveys and estimates do not have the purchasing power to do so. Every marketing manager must therefore make an attempt to understand the rural consumer better so that he can plan his strategies in such a manner that they produce the desired results.