MARKETING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID

The International Finance Corporation, IFC, uses the term base of the pyramid to describe people living
in poverty in the broad sense in which the poor themselves understand and experience it. In 20,000
interviews conducted for the seminal World Bank study Voices of the Poor, the poor describe not only a
lack of income, but more fundamentally, a lack of access to goods, services, and economic
opportunities.
There is nowhere to work. (Ecuadorian woman)
We need water as badly as we need air. (Kyrgyz woman)
Whoever goes to the health clinic healthy comes out sick. (Egyptian villager) 1
In a more quantifiable manner, economists define the base of the economic pyramid as people living
under $2 a day. The World Resources Institute (WRI) and IFC used the purchasing power parity
methodology to account for differences in costs of living and inflation between countries. Using a cutoff
of $3,000 per person per year in purchasing power parity, the estimate is that there are 4 billion people at
the base of the global economic pyramid.
For multiple reasons ranging from lack of infrastructure, to illiteracy and corruption, most companies
elected to leave the job of serving the low end consumers to local organizations or government agencies
and instead stay focused on the low hanging fruit - the middle and the upper classes. However, writing
off nearly five billion customers was short sightedness, for even though their individual incomes are tiny;
their collective incomes represent an immense business opportunity.
As the urban markets saturate, a number of enterprising organizations turn toward emerging market
opportunities posed by the bottom of the pyramid customers, seeking expansion among the next billion
customers earning less than $2 a day making up three-quarters of the worlds population. And its about
time, says C.K. Prahalad, a consultant and economist at the University of Michigan, who says these
aspirational poor could contribute an additional $13 trillion in annual sales to the global economy, if
only companies would drill deep enough to reach them (Kay Johnson, 2005). This is essentially where the
future growth and profitability of companies will come from. However, having been ignored until now,
BOP customers are not as conditioned by mainstream global marketing.
Three assumptions have stopped marketers from entering/serving BOPs: low purchasing power, no or
slow appreciation of high tech products and the belief that all innovations come from the west. Hence this
market cannot be engaged in a process of co-creation of value. At this point, it is important to note that
BOPs purchases are driven by their circumstances and are backed by sound logic because they know
their situation the best. In spite of having income and resource constraints, BOP consumers are
sophisticated and creative. They are motivated not just by survival and physiological needs but seek to
fulfill higher order needs either to build social capital, for cultural reasons or as a means to compensate
for deficiencies in other areas of their lives (Subrahmanyan and Arias, 2008)
1 Jenkins, B., E. Ishikawa, A. Geaneotes, and J. Paul (2010). Inclusive Business: Expanding Opportunity and
Access at the Base of the Pyramid. Report of a Conference held October 7-8, 2010 in Washington, DC.
Washington, DC: IFC.

Their product choices and decision-making criteria are based on an entirely different set of values than
those that influence the design of most consumer products today. A combination of factors such as local
culture and history, as well as the daily experience of coping with a life of adversity, lead to a different
mindset when it comes to purchasing patterns.
Uncertainty and chaos are a given in the informal economy that supports the majority at the bottom of the
pyramid. Most do not have a regular job with a predictable salary, but manage to earn money through a
variety of sources like selling crops or vegetables, hawking cigarettes and cold drinks or menial labor on
daily wages. Income is more often than not irregular and unpredictable, and life becomes a balancing act
on the edge between survival and disaster.
The first priority then is to meet the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. If there is change to spare,
an impulse buy could be a soft drink for a treat. Every decision to spend beyond the basics is considered
an investment that requires careful planning and research. Hence, BOP customers behave more like
cautious money managers than typical customers. Word of mouth is the most trusted medium, since it's
someone else's real life experience--not simply a faceless marketing message splashed on a colorful
billboard or blared on a radio.
So a 'wait and see' attitude rather than 'try and buy' becomes the norm. The product or service must be
seen to stand the test of time and performance. The BOP consumer cannot afford to experiment with the
'new and improved' over the 'tried and the true'. Brands that are chosen either have known benefits or are
trusted in order to minimize risk. (Nitin Bahn & Dave Tait, 2008)

Empowering the BOP customers

For a poor consumerto participate in the marketplace requires having cash, which at the end of the day is
all about having a job. So you could say that the drive to sell consumer products to the unemployed and
underpaid may be putting the cart before the horse. More companies should be looking to leverage the
productive capacity of the poor as an input to business. We have several great examples of that.
First of all is the example of Nestl. Since World War II, Nestl's milk has by and large been produced by
thousands of small farmers in developing countries. And their supply chain efforts have gone far beyond
just sourcing. Nestl has provided the technology, training, and supply-chain investments to make it
possible for the small farmer to produce good-quality milk, transport it, and sell it to the company. This
makes sense for the company because it needs fresh, locally produced milk, and for the small farmer, an
assured steady source of income.
In the local scenario, Nestle has joined hands with the PDDC (Pakistan Dairy Development Company) to
empower dairy farmers by educating them with regard to efficient ways of managing production and is
also serving as their largest buyer for its raw materials.In 2006, The White Revolution (Doodh Darya
river of milk) by PDDC (Pakistan Dairy Development Company) in association with Nestle Pakistan is an
attempt to make the most of the dairy market by training the dairy farmers with smallholdings to increase
their dairy production and minimize waste. Pakistan is the 4th largest milk producing country in the world
but much of the milk produce is handled by local dhodis thus it did not go through sophisticated
processing. Moreover, other dairy products (such as cheese and cream) production was highly untapped
because of lack of technology. PDDC chalked down a plan where they prioritized the well being of all

dairy farmers and their livestock as well as to promote a business environment to bring milk in
commercial use. The plan includes training the farmers regarding all stages in the supply chain. The plan
had a timeline ending in 2015, by the end of which the dairy farmers would be equipped to add value to
their milk produce on their own. 2 Thus by effectively streamlining its own supply chain process, Nestle
has led to empowerment of the BOP.
Unilever is another important example. In 2003, the company's Indian subsidiary refocused its efforts on
the country's rural poor in the face of growing competition from new market entrants. The Shakti
programme, more popularly known as Shakti Amma, is recruiting entrepreneurs in rural areas to create a
win-win situation. By training and hiring low-income, community-based Shakti entrepreneurs, the
company successfully expanded the reach of its products to an additional 60,000 rural villages. By relying
exclusively on low-income women as their frontline sales force, it also provided a significant source of
income to a traditionally marginalized group. (Sean Silverthorne, 2007) Unilever has now extended this
programme to include men of the Shakti families to broaden the reach to nearby smaller villages and
settlements. In Pakistan, a similar programme was initiated by Unilever in the late 2011. Guddi Bajis literally meaning doll sisters - are trained in the provision of beauty services, and are also taught seven
key messages that they have to share with the women in their villages. These seven messages focus on
hygiene and health issues such as washing hands, breastfeeding infants, registration of children at birth,
sending girls to schools, family planning, ante-natal care for pregnant women and environmental
consciousness.
Women between 18 and 30 years of age are selected from villages having a minimum population of 5,000
and 10,000 and minimum matriculate education. These women have to work with Unilever Pakistan for
three years, selling Unilever beauty products as well as beauty services to women in their villages. The
programme ties in with another Unilever initiative called Rahbar, which engages rural men as small
distributors. Once trained, the Guddi Bajis are each linked to a Rahbar, who delivers Unilever stocks to
their doors.3

Being successful in the BOP markets

Marketers face a number of challenges posed by the environment in which they operate to serve the BOP
customers. These challenges can be grouped under the following heads:
Availability
The BOP markets constituting urban slums as well as the isolated and far flung rural areas or
villages have fragmented to non-existent distribution channels.
Pakistan consists of
approximately 55,000 villages out of which only 17,000 18,000 remain accessible to companies
2 Imran Adnan. Pakistan Today. March 2012. Web source:
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/03/22/uncategorized/livestock-farmers-scream-bloody-murder
%E2%80%A6and-with-reason/?printType=article
3 Unilever Global Website: Sustainable Living. Retrieved from http://www.unilever.com/sustainableliving/betterlivelihoods/supporting-small-scale-distributors/ in February, 2014.

with significant distribution muscle and that too after consistently trying to reach out to these
villages in the last 5-6 years.
The roads leading to most of these villages are little more than rutted dirt tracks and in the
monsoon season these are sometimes washed away. In the north, roads to isolated villages cut
across snow-covered mountain passes that can be closed for weeks at a time. The time to cover
even small distances under such conditions can be long, stretching supply chains and adding cost.
With such a setting, the task of the marketer is then to come up with innovative ways of making
his product or service available. Jazz Easy Load, is an example of innovative distribution of prepaid cards.
Another example is that of Unilever Pakistan. A number of company brands are taken to the BOP
customers in villages by the company distributors. For areas where the return on investment is not
significant enough for a local distributor to take his van, the company runs a Rural Van Operation.
The cost for running this operation is shared by different brands from the company. This is in
alignment with Prahalads initial observation that multinational companies have the financial
muscle as well as resources to lead a BOP initiative successfully.
Habib Oil Mills, Dalda and many other cooking oil manufacturing companies hire temporary
employees who carry huge drums on cycle backs for distribution to the low end consumers. This
way the customers are able to buy the quantity they desire based on the size of their pocket.
Affordability
An aspiration to a new and different quality of life is the dream of everyone, including those at
the base of the pyramid. Therefore, aspirational brands are critical for BOP consumers. While
indulging in brands may be a luxury for this market, it is interesting to see how these consumers
sometimessatisfy their thirst. Horlicks, a malted milk hot drink, typically consumed with milk, is
largely consumed by SEC D & E residing in Orangi Town of Karachi, with plain water. As
astonishing as it may be, a great portion of the company sales is coming from areas (such as
Orangi) that do not form a part of the core target market.
From the urban slums to the most remote rural areas, according to the Living Standard Measure4,
BOP customers essentially belong to the SEC D & E. BOP consumers have low disposable
incomes and products may also need to match the cash-flows of customers who frequently
receive their income on a daily rather than weekly or monthly basis. While income is low, a great
portion of what is earned is spent on food. Very little is then left for acquiring soaps, shampoos,
telecommunication services etc.
BOP consumers are value buyers. They expect great quality at prices they can afford. The
challenge to large firms is to make products which have an aspirational value affordable to BOP
consumers. In order to serve this segment of the society, marketers design special lower unit
packs (LUPs) of popular brands in low price denominations - sachets. Multiple examples of
4 Living Standard Measurement (LSM), developed by Unilever, segments customers into 18 LSM
segments on the basis of 25 parameters such as income, education, durables ownership, media
consumption, entertainment preferences; et al. Unilever now uses this system across the world.

brands can be given here; Sunsilk, Lifebuoy Shampoo, Lipton, Supreme, Colgate, Tapal, Surf
Excel, Ariel, Fair & Lovely, Rin are all the brands that are available in LUPs with prices ranging
from Rs. 3 Rs. 10. Not just MNCs but local companies are also following suit; for example,
Shans recipe masala mix for making kg of meat is available at a lower price point and only at
selected stores in slums or rural areas.
While attention is paid to keeping the specially designed packs low on the price ladder or the
price piano, merchandising is also duly stressed. The sachets are sold from the local retailers
where display is the name of the game. Strings consisting of 12 sachets (also referred to as lari
in Urdu) are displayed on a rod so that as soon as a customer comes to the POP, his attention is
captured and opportunity is not wasted. Most of these retailers survive on the high turnover low
value transactions.
Another example of designing offers to match the pocket of an acutely price sensitive customer
base is that of Mobilinks Jazz Load. Jazz Load now allows customers to recharge their Jazz
account in variable denominations at major retail outlets nation-wide. All you have to do is pay
the retailer cash equivalent for the credit you wish to transfer to your prepaid account. You will in
turn receive an SMS confirming the credit transfer. This payment solution allows you to recharge
your account in any denomination, ranging from Rs. 2,000 to as low as Rs. 20, without the hassle
of buying scratch cards in fixed denominations.This facility is now being offered by all other
Telecom service providers as well, encouraging increased cell phone (GSM) usage. Much like the
sachet packs from the FMCG sector.
While some marketers hold the view that the sensitivities of the BOP should be accounted for,
there have been examples of serving the aspirations of this market in ways unthinkable for the
regular markets. Broken biscuits and chocolates, not fit to be packaged in regular packs, are sold
by manufacturers in the BOP concentrated areas.
Competition
A third challenge faced by the BOP marketers is to gain acceptability for their products and
services versus competition. Competition in this category ranges from competitive brands in the
organized sector to low quality, low price substitutes to counterfeits and unbranded alternatives.
Some brands may also be competing against tried and tested home-developed solutions used by
the BOP and being followed through generations. For example, before baby diapers became
common, the popular solution was a cloth nappy and is still used in many poor households. Thus
when Pampers needed to penetrate the market, it had to establish a use and purpose of the product
against a widely accepted solution.
Furthermore, competing in the BOP market is a lot about winning the retailers loyalty. Retailers
from the BOP markets are just as price sensitive as the customers. In better terms, they are highly
sensitive to trade offers and promotions. They would go with whoever sets up their shops for
them. In order to win the battle, marketers not only decorate the POPs but also try to lock the
retailers cash with their products. This leaves retailers with very little to no money to buy
competitive products. Such a strategy puts the retailers on the better end of the bargaining table
and they tend to demand higher margins. So for example, while a typical marketer may be

looking to give out a retailer margin of Rs. 1 on a string of 12 sachets, he may be forced to raise it
to Rs. 3-4, only in order to block out competition.
While merchandising helps decorate the POPs, they also help in creating awareness amongst the
customers. Although the brands are picked by customers more when they get positive feedback
from those who have used it, the retailers also play a substantial role in the selling process.
Counterfeits
With no established rules of the game, mushroom players become very active in the BOP
markets. It is very easy for small scale producers to tamper with the names of established
products and cannibalize sales. All they have to do is change a few letters around in the principal
brands name and retain the color, design and packaging as original. Since consumers are largely
illiterate, they are hardly able to tell the difference between the original and the counterfeit. Being
least loyal to brands and highly price sensitive further add fuel to the fire. As a result counterfeit
products tend to perform well and the image of the principal brand suffers erosion. The
confectionary industry is most prone to a problem of counterfeits. It is one of the least regulated
industries, and owing to the impulse purchase behavior of its customers, switching between
brands is already high. In addition, a problem is created when five different types of the products
are available, i.e. its counterfeits. Since the packaging is almost identical, the original brands face
a hard time competing in a market which barely distinguishes or cares to distinguish whether the
biscuit or candy they are purchasing is from the original company. This creates a bad name for the
brand when the counterfeit fails to deliver on the brands promise. Large brands such as Prince
and Rio are suffering from the same issue in rural markets.
In order to cater to the BOP, marketers have tried to identify and streamline few strategies. One such
popular approach is the 5D approach designed by Niti Bhan.
1. Development: For a company to successfully tap into the BOP market, its products must address
unmet needs or wants, or provide a way for them to live better lives. The focus should be to
ascertain whether there is an opportunity for social or economic development. While BOP
markets may at best be a focus of either fast moving consumer goods or consumer durables such
as household electronics items, there are companies like Bulls and Bulls Insurance who have
specially designed insurance plans for pan Shops or kiosks in Karachi. Muhammad Yunus of
Bangladesh started a revolution with his microfinance service via the Grameen Bank and now
microfinance banks have sprung up all across the globe, some of which are seen in Pakistan as
well. These banks provide microcredit to poor people and rural customers.
2. Design: Next, the solution must be well designed - contextually relevant, appropriate and
affordable. Some marketers have already sensed the importance of designing the right solution for
their BOP customers and are entailing support of the locals for the same purpose. Local
companies have also taken initiatives of involving consumers from the BOP segment in cocreation of value. PSO, in Arifwala and Sahiwal, involves the local tractor associations to help
them design packaging for lubricants.
3. Distribution: Even the best designed product or service in the world will not sell if your customer
is unable to find it. Since logistics and transportation is as much of an infrastructural challenge in

the developing world, distribution becomes critical in ensuring the availability of the product. The
entire supply chain might have to be built from scratch. Moreover, distribution becomes
extremely crucial for reaching the BOP markets since they do not have access to proper markets.
Unilevers distribution methodologies in its projects such as Shakti Amma and the Rural Van
Operation are a good example of involving the locals in improving distribution outreach.
4. Demand: This D is related to the challenge of creating awareness as described previously.
Demand for a product in the BOP is dependent on whether the target market knows it exists.
Hence relevant ad campaigns, targeting the appropriate individual, need to be designed.
Moreover, BTL campaigns have proven successful in creating awareness amongst the BOP and
intensified demand for products. For example, after the launch of Maggi Umda Maza, a taste
enhancing powder available in sachets, a BTL Mohalla (English: neighborhood) activation was
conducted where women from the neighborhood made dishes on the spot and tasted the effect of
the product hands-on. Such a campaign not only helps intensify the impact of a message, but also
leaves a feel-good factor with the participants and thus promoting the brand through positive
word-of-mouth. One thing to keep in mind when trying to establish demand is that when the
value proposition of the seller has little or no resonance with the value system of the target
market, it will most likely be ignored.
5. Dignity: According to Niti Bahn, the whole offering must cohesively hinge upon preserving and
ensuring the dignity of the BOP customers. The poor are painfully conscious of their conditions
and do not appreciate being looked down upon.

Whether to market to the BOP segment or not?

A number of arguments have been put forward against marketing brands to the Bottom of the Pyramid
customers:

Selling to the poor & serving the poor are two different things. Can the private sector, while
pursuing its core business objectives deliver developmental benefits?

BOP marketing encourages overspending by those who can least afford it.

Companies have the power to create needs rather than respond to needs.

An example to substantiate the above arguments is from the telecommunication industry. Consumers at
the BOP have mobile phones but incomplete knowledge of the terms of the service providers, hence they
fall victim to the power of media..they end up paying more for ringtones and caller tunes.and have
no clue how the payment works..
Prahalad, the visionary behind the idea, has some counter-arguments to offer:

Poor are very value conscious (Kay Johnson 2005)

If people have no sewerage or drinking water, should we also deny them TVs and cell phones?
(Kay Johnson 2005)

Apart from the ethical concerns, marketing to the BOP can also address the growth concern for companies
specially large MNCs. Big brands have largely saturated markets with an ever decreasing potential for
growth, eventually the next option to ensure high growth for brand sales and penetration is going to be
catering to the untapped Next-Billion i.e. BOP markets around the world. There is high latent demand
for affordable goods and services, since the BOP segments are also witnessing globalization and aspire to
live better lives. Thus when Citibank opened up an ATM based banking service in Bangalore, with a
minimum deposit of $25, it was able to attract 150,000 customers in one year only.
An important advantage which co-creation of value with the BOP offers is, of course, a cost reduction.
Companies all over the world are looking for ways to reduce labor related costs, which is why
outsourcing manufacturing to China has proven so advantageous to companies and households alike.
Ironically, these labor-abundant markets are the BOP segments of our society. Many a businesses in India
have sprung up capitalizing on the labor-abundant structure of their society and are thus providing
services to other customers at one-tenth of the rate of those in developed countries. This inadvertently
increases the purchasing power of the local consumers by providing them with jobs.
Consequently, it turns out that there are four things that are required from the BOP marketers:

Forming alliances with the local NGOs and government institutions.Collaborating effectively
with the agents close to the BOP marketsis vital. If the goal is to alleviate poverty with market
solutions then these strategic alliances have to be proactive and forward looking. Needs known to
the government agencies and NGOs must be communicated to the manufacturers so that
appropriate solutions may be designed well in time. (Dennis A. Pitta, Rodrigo Guesalaga and
Pablo Marshall, 2008). An example of government help in catering the BOP is highlighted with
the Jaipur Foot. Designed in and named after Jaipur, India, the prosthetic leg was designed to be
inexpensive, water-resistant, and quick to fit and manufacture. The Jaipur Foot is made of
polyurethane, which increases the durability and the convenience of use. The government of India
supports Bhagwan Mahavir Viklang Sahyata Samiti with financial aid to carry out the work done
by the organization. The Jaipur Foot has helped many people to overcome their leg disability.

A revision of the conventional business model. The recipe for success with the TOP cannot be
replicated for the BOP. BOP market is very unique in its characteristics and the marketers would
have to reinvent their formula for success. The segment requires persistent and long term
involvement, because given the economies of BOP; the return on investment takes longer to
come. The Marketing Mix may have to be redefined and all the conventional practices
questioned.
P&G's PUR water sachet, an innovative product that provides safe drinking water by simply
mixing it with a bucket of contaminated water, was a commercial failure during pilot tests in
Guatemala, Pakistan and Morocco. Although it met a clearly-observed need, the poor just weren't
buying it. Margaret Hansen, Associate Professor at European business school, INSEAD, writes:
"Simple in theory, but finding the right formula is often more difficult. Local barriers to entry are
often tricky to overcome in 'bottom of the pyramid' markets. Certainly, P&G discovered that
traditional marketing methods did not work; consumers were suspicious of new products that
required them to change the way they managed their lives." (Niti Bahn & Dave Tait, 2008)

Strengthening bottom-up market intelligencefinding novel ways to integrate the preferences,

constraints, and habits of the poor into business development is very important. Simply changing
the packaging size to make brands more economically viable may not always work or may not
work for long. It is important to understand the ground realities of the BOP segments - the need
and demand patterns of the BOP customers from the urban slums are very different from those in
the remote villages. There is a need to intimately know each sub-segment within the BOP market
in order to appropriately design market solutions for them.Motorola went through four redesigns
to develop a low cost cell phone with battery life as long as 500 hours (for villagers without
regular electricity) and an extra loud volume for use in noisy markets. Lakson Tobacco Company
in Pakistan hires local residents from areas like Landhi to report through SMS, daily sales made
of various brands of cigarettes.

Commitment to educate customers. A number of MNCs have taken up the task of helping
customers understand how the use of various products would be beneficial for them. Pampers is a
case in point here. Launched in Pakistan in Aug 2000 by P&G at a time when 81% of the market
was using cloth nappies and diaper as a product was non-existent. With 3m births every year, a
significant 85% is outside hospitals in the country. This means that the health standards are
significantly low and the early education of new mothers on child care is rarely given.
Given the P&G ambition of improving lives of consumers wherever they operate, Pampers brand
team decided to take up the challenge of educating mothers. The biggest challenge was to explain
that there is a need to bring about a habit change moving away from using cloth nappies to
disposable diapers. And the habit change required an outlay of cash for a financially struggling
class.
Pampers team launched their Mobile ClinicService and covered 60% of the slums of Pakistan.
With the objective of creating awareness amongst mothers with newly born babies, customers
were approached at their homes and serviced free of cost.The mothers along with their babies
were escorted from their doorstep to a closely parked mobile clinic under an umbrella. Once
inside, a qualified child specialist attended to the baby giving him a complete physical check-up.
In this interaction, the mother was educated about the benefits of using a diaper versus a cloth
nappy. A diaper essentially keeps the baby dry and enables him to sleep longer. Research proves
that babies grow best while sleeping, hence for complete mental and physical development, it is
imperative that a baby sleeps undisturbed for longer hours. On completion of this meeting
between the doctor and the mother, she was given a Pampers vaccination card and a free two pack
sample.

Sell only what is of value. Not all products fit the context of BOP consumption. Marketers need
to hash out the right products that are truly needed and market those in the right price
denominations. No matter how aspirational they may be, selling an Armani bag or a look alike to
the BOP customers does not make sense. Similarly, creative revisions to product offerings are
also needed in order to better serve this market. Taking laundry detergents as a case in point here,
the Pakistani market is dominated by Surf Excel. Realizing that the efficiency of any detergent in
giving a quality wash heavily depends on the water quality, Surf aired a creative commercial

claiming that the brand works just as well in kharapani as it does in normal water. This
commercial was especially targeted at housewives in the lower income groups.
A great majority of consumers in the BOP segment conjunctively use premium brands. Surf
Excel, for example, a premium detergent powder may be used only for certain specific clothes or
occasions. Hence, there is a need to study the brand consumption pattern of the BOP market to
better understand the need and motivation for choosing brands.
Conclusion
The debate regarding how to serve the BOP is endless; marketers argue that the approach should not be a
top-down approach, but a special business model specifically for the BOP. Erik Simanis, an author on
HBR has recommended three strategies for gaining the most out of sales transactions with the BOP. I)
Localizing and bundling the base product, which is done close to the target market helps accessing the
low-wage labor in the rural market and helps cut down cost. For example, using refillable containers for
re-purchasing a product can help cut down packaging cost for a company. II) To maximize the
functionality of a product, companies need to offer services that engage a customer beyond the basic use
of a product. Simanis here gives the example of a Mexico based company which provides its customers
complete advice on self-building their homes by using the companys products for a small fee. III)
Cultivation of customer-peer groups is a strategy most used by companies catering to the BOP. Grameen
Bank provides microfinance to customers in self-formed groups, where individuals share responsibility
for the loans. These are tight-knit circles, preferably of the same locality, which reduces the chances of
people defaulting on loans only for the sake of saving face in their community. HUL employs the
technique in its Shakti Amma programme whereby opinion leader women encourage purchase of HUL
brands in their peer groups after being satisfied with the products themselves.

Additional Readings (Recommended):

Serving the Worlds Poor, Profitably by C.K. Prahalad and Allen Hammond. Published in the Harvard
Business Review, June 2012.

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NitiBhan and Dave Tait (2008), Design for the Next Billion Customers, available at
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SarojaSubrahmanyan and J. Tomas Gomez-Arias (2008), Integrated approach to
understandingconsumer behavior at bottom of pyramid, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 25
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Selling
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Marketers Must Seek Their Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid
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