UNIT 5

Marketing Mix
Marketing mix (programme) comprises of various controllable forces (often referred as elements) like
product, price, promotion and place. Success of any business enterprise depends on marketing mix.
These four elements are like powerful weapons in the hand of manager to defend his market and/or
attack on rivals. A manager needs to understand his rural market carefully, considering all important
characteristics of rural customers.
Since behavior of rural consumers is different and less predictable, the marketing manager has a
challenging task to design marketing mix strategies for the rural segments. Due to considerable level of
heterogeneity, a manager needs to design tailor-made programme to cater needs and wants of specific
groups.
Dynamics of rural markets differ from urban market types, and similarly rural marketing strategies are
also significantly different from the marketing strategies aimed at urban or industrial buyers. This, along
with several other related issues, has been subject matter of intense discussion and debate in countries
like India and China, and even the focus of international symposia organized in these countries.

Marketing Mix Elements for Rural Segments:

1. Product Mix: Product is a powerful determinant of firms success. The products must be suitable to
rural customers in all significant aspects. The company must produce product according to the present
and the expected state of rural buyers. Product features (size, shape, colour, weight, etc.), qualities,
brand name, packaging, labeling, services, and other relevant aspect must be fit with needs, wants and
capacity of buyers. Product must undergo necessary changes and improvements to sustain its suitability
over time. Note that effectiveness of other decisions like pricing, promotion and place also depends on
the product.

2. Price Mix: Price is the unique element of marketing mix, particularly, for rural markets. Rural
customers are most price-sensitive and, hence, price plays more decisive role in buying decisions.
Pricing policies and strategies must be formulated with care and caution. Price level, discounts and
rebates, credit and installment faculties, and so on are important considerations while setting and
altering prices. Normally, the low-priced products attract rural buyers. However, some rural customers
are quality and status conscious.

3. Promotion Mix: Rural markets are delicately powerful. Certain adaptations are required to cater to
the rural masses. The promotion strategies and distribution strategies are of paramount importance. Ad
makers have learned to leverage the benefits of improved infrastructure and media reach. The television
airs advertisements to lure rural masses, and they are sure it reaches the target audience, because
majority of rural India possesses and is glued to TV sets!
Marketing manager has to decide on promotional tools such as advertisement (objectives, message,
media, budget, scheduling, etc.), sales promotion (sales promotion tools, levels, costs, timing, etc.),
personal selling (including objectives, sales force size, recruitment and selection, training and
development, remuneration, training, controlling, etc.), and publicity and public relations.
The method of promotion needs to be tailored to suit the expectations of the market. Van/ vehicle
campaigns, edutainment films, generating word of mouth publicity through opinion leaders, colourful
wall paintings, etc., techniques have been proved effective. The wide reach of television has exposed
the conservative audience to westernization.
Similarly, puppet-shows, dance, dramas and mythological songs, specially n for product-promotion
purpose, are now being used in rural markets. These traditional art forms readily render for
communication with the rural society.
Village fairs and festivals are ideal venues for projecting these programmes. In certain cases, public
meetings, too, are used for rural promotion. Music cassettes (CDs) are another effective medium for
rural communication. It is an appealing medium and a comparatively less expensive medium.
Different language groups can be reached with a low budget. They can be played in cinema houses or
in other places where rural people assemble. It is also essential that in all rural communication, the rural
genius must be kept in view. The theme, the message, the copy, the language, and the delivery must
match the rural context.
Evidently, rural communication needs creativity and innovation. In rural marketing, usually a greater
time lag is involved between the introduction of a product and its economic size sale.This is because
the rural buyers adoption process is relatively more time consuming.
Opinion leaders play a key role in popularizing products and influence in rural market. Nowadays
educated youth of rural also influences the rural consumers. Rural consumers are influenced by the life
style they watch on the television set. Their less exposure to outside world makes them innocent and
fascinated to novelties. The reach of mass media, especially, television has influenced the buying
behaviour greatly.

4. Place Mix: Rural markets face the critical issues of distribution. The marketer has to strengthen the
distribution strategies. Distributing small and medium sized packets through poor roads, over long
distances, into deep pockets of rural India and getting the stockiest to trust the mobility is a herculean
task.
Both physical distribution and channel of distribution should be decided carefully to ensure easy
accessibility of products for rural buyers. Choosing suitable mode of transportation, locating
warehouses at strategic points, sufficient insurance, maintaining adequate inventory, maintaining a
sufficient number of retail outlets at different regions, and deploying specially trained sales force are
some of the critical decisions in rural distribution.
Normally, indirect channels (particularly one or two level) are more suitable to serve scattered rural
customers. In two level channels wholesalers are located at urban and semi-urban to serve urban and
rural retailers. However, not only in backward states, but also in progressive states, local producers
(farmers and others) distribute directly to customers.
For service marketing, employees of rural branches and agents can do better jobs. Banking, insurance,
investment, satellite and cable connection, cell phone, auto sales and services, etc., the market is
booming in villages of some states. Service industries are trying to penetrate the rural segments by
deploying the specially trained employees and local agents.
Surprisingly, online or cyber marketing is making its place gradually in rural areas of the progressive
states. Marketer must design and modify time to time its distribution strategies according to nature of
rural segments, may be quite differently than that of urban markets.

Advertisement in Rural Market

Communication experts need to keep following factors in mind when creating advertisements for rural
audience

Understand the mindset of the potential customers, including their hopes, fears, aspirations and
apprehensions. Conducting a qualitative study among the target audience would help in better
understanding of the consumer mindset.
Pick up gems in the form of idioms, expressions, word etc. in relation to the product category
for later use in the creative.
Tricky, clever, gimmicky, or even suggestive advertising does not work with rural audiences.
Flicks using very expensive computer graphics without any human presence , go over the head
of rural audiences.
Combining education with entertainment is a good route to take when targeting rural audiences.
Using locally popular film stars of even featuring religious events (melas) popular in the region,
helps strike a chord with rural audiences. According to a study, it is Govinda and not sharukh
khan who is most popular among rural folks in the north India. In the south, it is the superstar
of tamil and telugu film industry who are immensely popular among the masses, but they are
not easily available for endorsing products. Hence, in a state like Tamil Nadu, popular
comedians are used to promote products and services.
 Quickies (short TV commercials) dont register well with rural audiences. Advertising agencies
need to provide for ample time and space to communicate a message properly and effectively
to the intended audiences. This is seen for instance , in the popularity of the two minute theatre
commercial screened rural cinemas

Rural Media

Rural media can be classified broadly into conventional mass media, non conventional media and
personalized media.

1. Conventional Mass media: a medium is called a mass medium when it reaches millions of
people. The different mass media are:-
i. Radio- it reaches people easily irrespective of literacy levels, topography,
geographical location or area of residence. Radio continues to be the cheapest
mass medium with the widest reach, but the share of radio in the total
advertising pie is only 2% because of restrictive policies of AIR. The fact that
there is a high ownership of radios in rural India makes radio a popular and
very cost-effective medium to reach rural people.
ii. Television- it is the fastest growing, most powerful and most popular medium
in both rural and urban India. With increasing ownership of TV and influx of
cable and satellite, this medium is gaining new ground in rural areas.
Community viewership of TV in rural or watching at a neighbors house
increases viewership in rural per set as compared to urban.
iii. Cinema- it is one of the most important communication media in many parts
of the country, its universal appeal cutting across the barriers of geography and
language. Films attract large rural and urban audiences and provide an
opportunity to disseminate product information by way of short advertisement
films and cinema slides.
iv. Print- newspapers, magazines and other publications enjoy high levels of
readership in urban areas. However, in rural areas the print medium faces
problems of both reach and access coupled with low literacy levels.

2. Non Conventional Media: it includes-

i. Outdoor Media: Wall painting- this medium is the most widespread form of
advertising and is the favourite of Indian rural masses, as they can view it at their
leisure. Wall paintings are important because they constantly remind rural people
about the brand name and logos in addition to highlighting the key brand promise.
They also reflect the vibrant economic and social life of the area.
ii. Folk Media: are a form of face-to-face and personal form of communication.
They are interactive, repetitive and narrative. The different kinds of folk media
are:-
Folk theatre: it is a simple and entertaining form of communication
with folk song and dance. It can also be informative and educational.
Folk songs: are simple and direct compositions that are usually
transmitted orally from one generation to the next and not thru the
written word. It is characterized by simplicity and uniformity in
rhythm.
Folk dances: are simple and rhythmic and mostly religious in nature.
Communication takes place thru dramatic gestures and the
accompanying music. These are visually arresting, attracting
audiences with their elaborate costumes and gestures.
Magic show: Is an entertaining form of folk entertainment and draw
large crowds, particularly because of high curiosity factor and the
use of hypnotic effects.
 Puppet shows: the different forms of traditional puppetry are glove,
rod, string, string-rod and shadow puppets.
Interactive games: though these do not constitute a folk form, they
are a very popular device used by advertisers to draw large crowds.
Games have also been used to induce trails and spot sales of
products.
iii. Video Van/Video Rath: this medium was popularized and extended into a
national network by Dr. J K Jain during the last 15 years.
iv. Haats: it is better known as mobile supermarket of rural India and the oldest
marketing channel in the country. It plays a vital role in the lives of villagers as
it provides a first-contact point with the market. It is a place for exchanging rural
surplus, for buying daily necessities as well as farm supplies and equipments.
v. Melas: are an important feature of Indian rural life, held periodically to
commemorate important events, or to honor a deity. In addition to the religious,
social and cultural significance of melas, they also have a strong commercial
aspect.

3. Personalized Media: it includes-

i. Point of purchase displays and demonstrations: it takes place at the point of
purchase or sale. Retailers in rural areas find it difficult to handle the hundreds of
displays, signs and posters that they receive from companies as the physical size of
their shops is small and the wide variety of product categories that they stock causes
congestion.
ii. Direct mail: it involves selling out single pieces of mail- letters, flyers and foldouts
to a specific and targeted audience. In general, direct-mail marketers hope to sell a
product or service, communicate interesting news or reward loyal customers with
a gift.
iii. Word of mouth:
iv. Interpersonal communication:
v. Animator:

Rural Market Research

Research is an indispensable part of any successful rural marketing intervention. Unfortunately, there
are not many appropriate market research tools to map rural consumer behavior. Rural India is highly
scattered, remote and inaccessible, making data collection difficult. Therefore, rural research needs to
be seen in a different perspective.
There is need to adapt conventional mapping tools and techniques and innovate in areas of design and
methodology and implementation. There is also need to re-look planning and strategy from the rural
perspective.

Planning the Rural Research

Research is the guidepost to laying the foundations of a successful marketing programme as such it
must be planned, keeping in mind what is the objective of conducting research. It must also be designed
in order to get maximum inputs, on an accurate and authentic framework, in order to yield the right
results. The major sources of rural data are:
1. Secondary Data: it refers to data that was collected by someone other than the user. The different
sources of secondary data are:
Census of India
National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER)
National Sample Survey Org. (NSSO)
Central Statistical Org. (CSO)
District Rural Development Authority (DRDA)
2. Primary Data: is original research that is obtained thru first-hand investigation. There is a
scarcity of data on rural consumers and markets. Mostly secondary data are available and that
too from the developmental sector perspective which cannot fit into the framework of a
marketing information system. Hence companies need to conduct market research to generate
primary data for developing their marketing plans. The different sources of primary data are:-

Data Collection Methods: Normally in-depth interviews and focus group

discussions are used to collect data in rural areas. The challenge is to make rural
people participate in the research process actively. Participatory Rural Appraisal
(PRA) technique is a participatory tool that gets the participation of the research
process to be actively involved in the research.
Measurement and Scaling Methods: these include
Faces for rating- its a pictorial scale. Faces representing various moods
are drawn. The faces are arranged in a sequence, with the happiest face
on extreme left and the saddest face on the extreme right, with others
falling in between. Faces emerged as the most effective rating tool. It
not only fascinated the rural crowds but also generated high
involvement.
Wheel with different colors- the colors chosen are dark green, orange,
yellow, red and black. The colors are selected on the basis of their
association with certain values among rural people. E.g. dark green
represents a good crop and at the other hand black represents death,
which is considered to be the worst. Rural people could understand the
tool and easily associate with it.
Ladder- a small bamboo ladder with a number of rungs corresponding
to the number of rungs to be compared is constructed. The respondents
could associate with it easily, as a higher rung obviously implies a
higher rank.
Questionnaire design: the GIGO (garbage in garbage out) applies equally to
rural research questionnaire design. If the question is ambiguous, the answer
will be vague and if it is framed clearly, the response will also be clear. Certain
points need to be kept in mind while designing questionnaires for a rural survey,
like,
Questions should be simple and direct.
Questions should be self explanatory
Sampling: it is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from
within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population. The
factors affecting sampling are:
Population spread: villages can be categorized into four classes as-
Large villages--- >5000
Medium villages--- 2000-5000
Small villages--- 1000-2000
Tiny villages--- <1000
Scattered and remote location: tiny villages having a population of less
than 1000 are widely scattered across a wide geography, located in
remote corners and are only connected by a kuccha road making travel
logistics difficult.
Heterogeneity: rural markets are heterogeneous having different
income classes, occupations, religions and castes.
Sampling process: is more complicated in the rural context, because of a large
number of villages covering a wide spectrum of the population. There are
different sampling methods employed at village and at the respondent level:
Village sampling: villages can be selected on the basis of-
Population
Proximity to highway or remote location
Occupation profile
Religion, whether Hindu or Muslim dominated villages
 Tribal population
Respondents sampling: it is done on the basis of SEC categories.
Sample size determination: most studies in the rural context are qualitative in
nature, i.e. they are exploratory, investigative and Q&A types. Therefore, the
sample size is small. The rural mass is more homogenous than urban mass
because 75% of rural population is engaged in agriculture whereas the urban
population is engaged in many more occupations. Therefore, the number of
strata in a target population is more in urban than rural, leading to a greater
sample size in urban than rural

Attributes of Rural Researcher

1. Mindset: since most researchers have an urban mindset, it is important for the rural market
researcher to be able to think from the rural perspective, to constantly evaluate responses
and to mould his communication accordingly.
2. Effective communication: for more effective communication and to draw out accurate
responses in rural research, a working knowledge of and familiarity with local dialects is
desirable.
3. Discerning ability: since the process of information collection in rural research has
necessarily to be in the form a general conversation, the researcher must know when to ask
a specific question and when to put an end to the general discussion. He must also be able
to recognize the difference between sensitive and non-sensitive issues/ topics / questions
and tackle them accordingly.
4. Good memory: since the researcher is advised not to carry any writing material, he is
expected to memorize all the relevant information before he puts it in the form of a written
record.
5. Patience: the researcher needs to have a lot of patience to get specific responses from
villagers because they tend to get involved in their own rhetoric and repeat things, which
the researcher may have to listen to patiently. However, he should have the ability to bring
them back on track.

Location for Conducting Research

The place for conducting research should be:
Caste-neutral place in the village
Easy to locate
Where it is easy to find people
Where its easy initiate a conversation
Some of the suitable places are:
1. Retail Shop: the retailer is well informed about the market and he can understand the
objectives of the research. Purchasing a cold drink will often do the trick and enable the
researcher to gain the time to initiate a conversation with him.
2. Tea stall: is a place where people can be found at any time of the day. Ordering a glass of
tea will give the researcher an opportunity to spend enough time with villagers gathered
there and strike up a conversation.
3. Playground: it is the best place to locate the youth during morning and evening hours. The
crowd usually gathered there as observers can be easily targeted for the interview/ survey.
4. Chaupal: it is a very good place to find middle-aged and old people in the evenings. Its
an important place where most of the influential people meet and a favorite spot for
villagers to pass their time. Its a convenient place to conduct interviews.
5. Haat: it is a weekly market in rural India to which people from surrounding villages come
in large numbers on a fixed day to buy and sell goods. The haat is a useful place to conduct
research, especially for FMCG products.

Limitations of Rural Research

1. Low literacy level: literacy levels in rural India are low, due to which villagers often find it
difficult to understand the questions, or respond to Western ratings and ranking tools.
2. Poor media, exposure: media penetration whether electronic or non-electronic, is very low
in rural areas. Therefore, awareness regarding products and brands is very low, making
brand studies virtually impossible.
3. Local language communication: there are 15 official languages, making communication
extremely difficult for the researcher.
4. Scattered and remote villages: tiny villages are remotely located, scattered and have almost
inaccessible roads. Sampling such villages is a really painful task for researchers.
5. Social taboos: women in some parts of the country like Rajasthan remain behind purdah.
If the respondents include women, then this makes the job difficult for the researchers.
6. Interview timing: normally, younger men go to fields in the morning and come back only
in the evening. Women are busy in the morning and evening with cooking and other
household chores. As such, researchers need to plan the day according to availability of the
respondents.
7. Rule out revalidation of data: the possibility of validating data over the telephone in rural
areas is eliminated as telephone penetration per household is extremely low and physical
validation is not feasible because villages are remote and scattered.