abhishreshthaa
Abhijeet S
PRODUCT STRATEGIES:
The following are the product strategies for the rural market and rural consumers:
1. Small Unit Packing: This method stands a good chance of acceptance in rural markets. The advantage is that the price is low and is easily affordable by the rural consumer. Products like shampoos, pickles, biscuits, etc have tested this method.
2. New Product Designs: The manufacturer and the marketing men can think in terms of new product designs, keeping in view the rural life style. E.g. P.V.C. shoes and chappals can be considered suited ideally for rural consumers due to adverse working conditions. The price of P.V.C. items is also low and affordable.
3. Sturdy Products: Sturdiness of the product either in terms of weight or appearance is an important criterion for rural consumers. For the rural consumers, heavier weight means that the product is more durable, e.g. the experience of torch light dry battery cell manufacturers supports this because rural consumers preferred dry battery cells which are heavier than the lighter ones.
4. Utility Oriented Products: Rural consumers are more concerned with the utility of the product and its appearance. Phillips India Ltd. developed and introduced BAHADUR (a low cost medium wave receiver) during the early seventies. Initially the sales were good but declined subsequently, on investigation it was found that the rural consumers chose to purchase radios for entertainment purposes, not only for news & information.
5. Brand Name: The rural consumers do give their own brand name on the name of an item. A brand name or logo is very important for a rural consumer for identification purposes.
The following are the product strategies for the rural market and rural consumers:
1. Small Unit Packing: This method stands a good chance of acceptance in rural markets. The advantage is that the price is low and is easily affordable by the rural consumer. Products like shampoos, pickles, biscuits, etc have tested this method.
2. New Product Designs: The manufacturer and the marketing men can think in terms of new product designs, keeping in view the rural life style. E.g. P.V.C. shoes and chappals can be considered suited ideally for rural consumers due to adverse working conditions. The price of P.V.C. items is also low and affordable.
3. Sturdy Products: Sturdiness of the product either in terms of weight or appearance is an important criterion for rural consumers. For the rural consumers, heavier weight means that the product is more durable, e.g. the experience of torch light dry battery cell manufacturers supports this because rural consumers preferred dry battery cells which are heavier than the lighter ones.
4. Utility Oriented Products: Rural consumers are more concerned with the utility of the product and its appearance. Phillips India Ltd. developed and introduced BAHADUR (a low cost medium wave receiver) during the early seventies. Initially the sales were good but declined subsequently, on investigation it was found that the rural consumers chose to purchase radios for entertainment purposes, not only for news & information.
5. Brand Name: The rural consumers do give their own brand name on the name of an item. A brand name or logo is very important for a rural consumer for identification purposes.