Marketers do not understand rural consumers...is it??

ROHAN KACHALIA

ROHAN KACHALIA

Par 100 posts (V.I.P)
The rural market has always been attractive to marketers because of its sheer size and potential. This has become even more so now that the disposable income in rural areas has grown and the media has created a strong consumer aspiration to consume and emulate the lifestyle of the urban consumer.

Media has been successful in unifying the aspirations of urban and rural consumers and in creating benchmarks and goal posts that are similar. Images, values, and lifestyles beamed via TV programming, that would appear to be apparently urban, hold equal attraction for rural consumers as they see this as a process of Sanskritisation and upward mobility.

The dream is to be like the urban consumer and consumption of products and brands is the fastest way to equalise the differences.

The Indian marketer tends to view the rural consumer as less evolved in terms of their lifestyle, mindset and worldview and hence is in an overly basic and subsistence consumption mode. The basket of product offerings tends to be simple, obsolete, cheap and substandard. Is this attitude any different from that of the developed world exporting obsolete and harmful products to developing countries under the guise of affordable value? Some facts and figures on the Rural Indian

41% have access to electricity as compared to 77% of their urban counterparts
600,000 villages with 700 million people
50% of total GDP from rural India
50% of Very rich + Well off households in rural India

I think the rural consumer does not need dumbed-down products that are of either low quality or archaic in their formulation, packaging or sensorials/experience, instead they seek customised products that are in synch with their living reality. Marketers need to customise and innovate to create products that are relevant, workable and yet engaging for the rural consumer.

Thus the rural consumer does not need a discount brand of soap that offers no sensorial pleasure rather they may need an antiseptic formulation which also has skin protecting qualities given that much of the bathing happens around village ponds, rivers and other such water bodies. They do not need cheap and basic detergents but ones that have low suds that use less water to rinse off.

The rural consumer similarly aspires to use mobiles but would benefit if the battery could be solar charged, wishes to own a washing machine that can run on diesel and with stored or limited water. The time has come to end the marketing caste system and for marketers to understand this burgeoning consumer audience better and through a lens that is not patronising.

So do marketers take rural folks merely as poor cousins of big city and metro consumers? Or do marketers understand rural consumers’ psyche, but tend to prioritise markets based on business scalability and profitability?

Please post your views....
 
nice work bt i think HLL or HUL(now) has done lot many things to be in the rural market....... even ITC has done wonderful job yaar.............
 
ROHAN KACHALIA said:
The rural market has always been attractive to marketers because of its sheer size and potential. This has become even more so now that the disposable income in rural areas has grown and the media has created a strong consumer aspiration to consume and emulate the lifestyle of the urban consumer.

Media has been successful in unifying the aspirations of urban and rural consumers and in creating benchmarks and goal posts that are similar. Images, values, and lifestyles beamed via TV programming, that would appear to be apparently urban, hold equal attraction for rural consumers as they see this as a process of Sanskritisation and upward mobility.

The dream is to be like the urban consumer and consumption of products and brands is the fastest way to equalise the differences.

The Indian marketer tends to view the rural consumer as less evolved in terms of their lifestyle, mindset and worldview and hence is in an overly basic and subsistence consumption mode. The basket of product offerings tends to be simple, obsolete, cheap and substandard. Is this attitude any different from that of the developed world exporting obsolete and harmful products to developing countries under the guise of affordable value? Some facts and figures on the Rural Indian

41% have access to electricity as compared to 77% of their urban counterparts
600,000 villages with 700 million people
50% of total GDP from rural India
50% of Very rich + Well off households in rural India

I think the rural consumer does not need dumbed-down products that are of either low quality or archaic in their formulation, packaging or sensorials/experience, instead they seek customised products that are in synch with their living reality. Marketers need to customise and innovate to create products that are relevant, workable and yet engaging for the rural consumer.

Thus the rural consumer does not need a discount brand of soap that offers no sensorial pleasure rather they may need an antiseptic formulation which also has skin protecting qualities given that much of the bathing happens around village ponds, rivers and other such water bodies. They do not need cheap and basic detergents but ones that have low suds that use less water to rinse off.

The rural consumer similarly aspires to use mobiles but would benefit if the battery could be solar charged, wishes to own a washing machine that can run on diesel and with stored or limited water. The time has come to end the marketing caste system and for marketers to understand this burgeoning consumer audience better and through a lens that is not patronising.

So do marketers take rural folks merely as poor cousins of big city and metro consumers? Or do marketers understand rural consumers’ psyche, but tend to prioritise markets based on business scalability and profitability?

Please post your views....
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If the company is a agri-oriented company then they will target only rural areas.

But in the other case,I would say that at intial phases it will target the urban sectors where the disposable income is high and the spending knowledge is better when compared wit the rural areas.Once they have established their market in the urban areas,they will start targetting the agrarians.

The other reason could be the cost for the company.Mostly ,companies find it cheaper to operate in urban areas than in rural sectors.

-Deepak.
 
Id say there are many marketers who are doin a good job wid da rural consumer as 2 the quality n other aspects of da products go they also hv 2 keep in mind the spendin capabilities of their target customers n there are many companies like HLL who r doin a fairly good job!With more n more study of rural marketing there r many new players ocmin into this picture n there is scope 4 betterment in dis market!
 
marketers should increase their interest in these rural areas .....
there is lot of potential there wich needs to be tapped.....:SugarwareZ-064:
 
i dont agree at all on this
marketers do understand the rural consumers that the only way they can survie in a rural market
why do u think products like lifeboy,parivar chai, chick sampoo n all have succed in rural markets coz they understand the rural consumer behavour n they know wat the consumers watz ,

i agree with jayita
dont u guyz know ITC or HUL dont know but one of them have even opened a mall in the rural areas
Coke is also doing quite well
n the techniques that they use to venture rural markets is realy interstin
n not only this after havin so many problems faced durin the distribution they r still makin their products available
 
I think HLL and ITC has done a lot and their is huge focus from all for rural market and this is going to fuel future growth for India
 
I agree that HUL & ITC have done many thgs for villages...but the fact of the matter is tht the people in the rural areas are still living in their 90's .

They are willing to change, adopt the 21st century but it seems tht these big companies just want to set up their industries in these rural areas n earn tax benefits.

Instead besides opening up the factory n making them do the manual work...why not educate them in the usage of computers and other things


And the other important thg is tht only the low/cheap brand of a product works in rural areas.....hav ne 1 heard of pantene,,,or,,adidas or ne big brands famous in rural areas??
 
why do u think that these companies r only in the rural market to fill their pocket
let talk about SHakti the program started by HUL it is basicaly to enpower the women of the rural market ... to educated them ... train them not only this but it is also tryin to improve the rural standards of livin through health and hygiene awareness.

u know about i-Shakti that is - an IT-based rural information service has been developed to provide information and services to meet rural needs in agriculture, education, vocational training, health and hygiene.

u know how hard is it to convence thses rural consumerz i say these companies r doing a gr8 job
 
pooja.teku said:
why do u think that these companies r only in the rural market to fill their pocket
let talk about SHakti the program started by HUL it is basicaly to enpower the women of the rural market ... to educated them ... train them not only this but it is also tryin to improve the rural standards of livin through health and hygiene awareness.

u know about i-Shakti that is - an IT-based rural information service has been developed to provide information and services to meet rural needs in agriculture, education, vocational training, health and hygiene.

u know how hard is it to convence thses rural consumerz i say these companies r doing a gr8 job
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So if thts the case then why there is a lot of farmer suicides.......its increasing day by day,,,year by year.......n if these cos are helping them then why there is an increse in their debts.....as they shld hav come out wid alternative means of earning.....

And other thg is that why have majority of the cos want to set up their outlets only in city.......even rural people hav the drreamz of owning a washing machine ........
 
c farmer suside r there but u cant blame these companies alone for it there migt be many othere reason too addin on to it
n in cities the ppl have money n all n rural ppl still dont feel comfortable using all thses machines watever is required is sold i cant coment on why othere companies r not enterin n all
 
pooja.teku said:
c farmer suside r there but u cant blame these companies alone for it there migt be many othere reason too addin on to it
n in cities the ppl have money n all n rural ppl still dont feel comfortable using all thses machines watever is required is sold i cant coment on why othere companies r not enterin n all
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hw can u say tht the rural people cannot feel comfortable in using these machines.......even they want an easy life like tht of the city ppls......and even if they r nt comfortable den these cos can come out wid products, offerings as per their needs n likings.......

n other thg i hav only a few cos like HUL& ITC......but no othr cos r comin forward as there is al ot of opportunity in tapping rural consumers..
 
before saying anything i would just like to say one thing the rural market is growing at a far greater speed than its urban counterpart...

Every one wants an easy life agreed rohan but u know a rural consumer is economically, socially, and smiple different from his urban counterpart.
so the comapnies r doing their best to undersatnd these consumers n then place their product

n to name a few other corporates that are slowly making headway in this area are Coca Cola India, Colgate, Eveready Batteries, LG Electronics, Philips, BSNL, Life Insurance Corporation, Cavin Kare, Britannia and Hero Honda to name a few n their products r doing very well in the rural market n if it is said that these companies cant understand these rural consumer then how r they doing so well in the rural areas
let me put in front an example
let me talk about Coca-Cola in India it tapped the rural market in a big way when it introduced bottles priced at Rs 5 and backed it with the Aamir Khan ads
Cavin Cares Chick sampoo by givin the rural consumers small 50 piase sachets

we just cant draw a conculsion that these comapnies dont understand the rural consumer that well they do they have n they r tryin their level best to
 
hey ppl how about comin up with an organisation that caters to the need of these people in rural areas?????
instead of jus putin the responsibilty on the companies and ngo and self help gruops etc...
 
yaa totally true pooja!!! way 2 go!! hands down 4 dat one! n as 4 da suicides committed by farmers its not bcoz of not adequate rural marketing companies its bcoz the farmers in many viallges dont hv financial security n fall pray 2 exploitation.. however 4 dat v shud question da govt 2 bcoz there is supposidly alot funds & schemes bein made available in des areas how far tat is effective is questionable!!!
 
i think the discussion has been revolving a lot on the rural consumers and their purchasing capabilities. agreed, there is a huge potential in the rural markets, agreed that the rural people would want brands that bring them closer to the aspirational urban crowd. but we need to understand that the companies entering the rural market now are doing this on the basis of 2 things
1. Muscle to get their distribution right in such markets (HUL has been innovative enough to create one through a whole new channel)
2. the right products to hit these markets. Soft Drinks, soaps, Shampoos are comparatively low cost SKU's which can attract these markets.
Yes, markets can be CREATED rather than built on here, we can eventually expect an LG going deep into the rural areas selling off their AC's. but it wud be eventually. and then - i guess u wont even call these markets rural then.
 
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