Case study: The call of Rural India

(Day 1)

In India 70 % of the Indian population -800 million- living in approximately 600, 000 villages are considered rural. Rural people mostly live in inherited house which is not the case with their urban counterparts. Rural India lacks basic infrastructure such as electricity and roads. The rural population continues to be largely illiterate with low exposure to product and services. However, rural India is gaining importance as it accounts for 56% of the total income and 64% of total spending in India. Today more than 50 % FMCG and durables, 100% of agriculture inputs and 40 % of two wheeler sales come from rural markets. The accompany video talks about unity in diversity present in the country in term of religious, ethnic groups, languages and dialects. At same time it talks about the huge potential vested in the rural as a result of which marketers are going rural.
Discussion questions 1 Despite the diverse heterogeneous nature of rural markets, why are marketers focusing on rural markets? 2 How should marketers tackle the huge diversity seen in rural markets? 3 What steps should a company take to tap the huge potential in rural markets? Discuss this with regard to tap the huge potential in rural markets? Discuss this with regards to the 4 Ps of marketing with 4 As.

Application of concepts 1 Which of the 4As is most difficult to address and replicate in a competitive scenario in rural area? Explore and discuss with practical examples.

Case study -2
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) guarantees one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work related unskilled manual work at statutory minimum wage. This act was introduced to improve the purchasing power of rural people, primarily through providing semi or unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage. This act was introduced to improve the purchasing power of rural people, primarily through providing semi or unskilled work to rural people, whether or not they are below the poverty line. The accompanying video shows how MNREGA is transforming the lives of the unskilled rural workforce by providing large scale employment opportunities in and around their villages and increasing their income by 30 % in last two years. The flagship program me is creating buying power among the Bop consumers- the new entrants in the mainstream consumption market.

Discussion Question 1 What the key success factor of MNREGA? How MNREGA different from other income generation programmes and initiatives of the past? 2 If the MNREGA programme is discontinued in couple of years, what will happen to the growth story of rural India? Describe the scenario with appropriate reasons. Applications of Concepts 1 The economic environment is fast changing in rural India. How will these changes affect consumption pattern among customers? 2 A durable company wants to sell its products in rural markets. What critical factors in the socio-economic environment should it examine to design its market entry strategy?