Master of Business Administration-MBA Semester 2 MB0030 Marketing Management Assignment Set- 2 (60 Marks) Q.1 a.

. What factors are considered before deciding upon a distribution channel? Ans:Factors considered before deciding upon a distribution channels are o Understanding the customer profile Purchasing habits differ from individual to individual. Individuals who face shortage of time would like to purchase on the net and those who have abundance of time would like to experience the shopping. o Determenine the objectives on which channel is to be developed. 1. Reach 2. Profotability
3.

Differentiation

o Indentify types of channel members o Determining intensity of distribution 1. Intensive distribution 2. Selective distribution 3. Exclusive distribution o Assdining the responsinilities to channel memners o Selecting the criteria to evaluate the channel member 1. Sales 2. Cost 3. Profitability 4. Control 5. Adaptability

Q.1 b. Analyze the product mix pricing strategies with relevant examples (5 marks) Ans:Establishing a single price for all products in a product line, such as having a price of $55 for the highpriced line of dress shirts, $45 for the medium-priced line, and $35 for the lower-priced line. Product line pricing factors in the impact of a product's price on demand for another product offered by that marketer. For example, if McDonald's offered a $12 sandwich, it would be far out of the price/value range established by other sandwiches in McDonald's product line and demand would be minimal. The price of a complementary product such as software can directly impact demand for the hardware. The higher the price of the software, the lower the demand for the hardware. McDonald's could afford to offer a beverage at cost
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if the incremental sandwich sales revenue gained as a result outweighed the lost beverage revenue. The price of a product such as a compact car can impact demand for another compact car model that would serve as a substitute. The higher the price of one car, the greater the demand for the other. Variations in manufacturing costs across products are also a factor in product line pricing. Here is some examples of product mix pricing Product Line Pricing Same product with different features the price is kept on the bases of the cost difference between the products in product line and customer evaluation of features and competitor prices. For example Sony offering differenttelevision with different features at different prices. Optional Product Pricing Its the pricing of the main product with the accessories or optional product for example car with power windowCD changer and car without power window and CD changer. Captive Product Pricing Pricing of the product which must be used with the main product for example films must be use with VCR, CD must be use with CD player etc. Product Bundle Pricing Making the bundle of different product and price the bundle at a reduce price. It is basically for selling the slow moving items

Q.2 a. Critically assess the different types of advertising media (5 marks) Ans:Types of Advertising Media As we noted in Managing the Advertising Campaign tutorial, selection of the media outlet through which an ad will be presented has important implications for the success of a promotion. Each outlet possesses unique characteristics though not all outlet are equally effective for all advertisers. Thus, choosing the right media can be a time consuming process requiring the marketer to balance the pros and cons of each option. While just a few years ago marketers needed to be aware of only a few media outlets, todays marketers must be well-versed in a wide range of media options. The reason for the growing number of media outlets lies with advances in communication technology, in particular, the Internet. In this tutorial we provide an overview of the following advertising media: 1. Television 2. Radio 3. Print Publications 4. Internet 5. Direct Mail 6. Signage 7. Product Placement 8. Mobile Devices 9. Sponsorships 10. Other Media Outlets Thus, several reasons for advertising and similarly there exist various media which can be effectively used for advertising. Based on these criteria there can be several branches of advertising. Mentioned below are
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the Print

various Advertising

categories

or

types Magazines,

of Brochures,

advertising: Fliers

Newspapers,

The print media have always been a popular advertising medium. Advertising products via newspapers or magazines is a common practice. In addition to this, the print media also offers options like promotional brochures and fliers for advertising purposes. Often the newspapers and the magazines sell the advertising space according to the area occupied by the advertisement, the position of the advertisement (front page/middle page), as well as the readership of the publications. For instance an advertisement in a relatively new and less popular newspaper would cost far less than placing an advertisement in a popular newspaper with a high readership. The price of print ads also depend on the supplement in which they appear, for example an advertisement in the glossy supplement costs way higher than that in the newspaper supplement Outdoor which Advertising uses Billboards, a mediocre Kiosks, quality and paper. Events

Tradeshows

Outdoor advertising is also a very popular form of advertising, which makes use of several tools and techniques to attract the customers outdoors. The most common examples of outdoor advertising are billboards, kiosks, and also several events and tradeshows organized by the company. The billboard advertising is very popular however has to be really terse and catchy in order to grab the attention of the passers by. The kiosks not only provide an easy outlet for the company products but also make for an effective advertising tool to promote the companys products. Organizing several events or sponsoring them makes for an excellent advertising opportunity. The company can organize trade fairs, or even exhibitions for advertising their products. If not this, the company can organize several events that are closely associated with their field. For instance a company that manufactures sports utilities can sponsor a sports tournament Broadcast advertising to advertise Television, Radio its and the products. Internet

Broadcast advertising is a very popular advertising medium that constitutes of several branches like television, radio or the Internet. Television advertisements have been very popular ever since they have been introduced. The cost of television advertising often depends on the duration of the advertisement, the time of broadcast (prime time/peak time), and of course the popularity of the television channel on which the advertisement is going to be broadcasted. The radio might have lost its charm owing to the new age media however the radio remains to be the choice of small-scale advertisers. The radio jingles have been very popular advertising media and have a large impact on the audience, which is evident in the fact that many people still remember and enjoy the popular radio jingles.

Covert Advertising Advertising in Movies Covert advertising is a unique kind of advertising in which a product or a particular brand is incorporated in some entertainment and media channels like movies, television shows or even sports. There is no commercial in the entertainment but the brand or the product is subtly( or sometimes evidently) showcased in the entertainment show. Some of the famous examples for this sort of advertising have to be the appearance of brand Nokia which is displayed on Tom Cruises phone in the movie Minority Report, or the use of Cadillac cars in the movie Matrix Reloaded. Surrogate Advertising Advertising Indirectly Surrogate advertising is prominently seen in cases where advertising a particular product is banned by law. Advertisement for products like cigarettes or alcohol which are injurious to heath are prohibited by law in several countries and hence these companies have to come up with several other products that might have the same brand name and indirectly remind people of the cigarettes or beer bottles of the same brand. Common examples include Fosters and Kingfisher beer brands, which are often seen to promote their brand with the help of surrogate advertising. Public Service Advertising Advertising for Social Causes Public service advertising is a technique that makes use of advertising as an effective communication medium to convey socially relevant messaged about important matters and social welfare causes like AIDS, energy conservation, political integrity, deforestation, illiteracy, poverty and so on. David Oglivy who is considered to be one of the pioneers of advertising and marketing concepts had reportedly encouraged the use of advertising field for a social cause. Oglivy once said, "Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest - it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes.". Today public service advertising has been increasingly used in a non-commercial fashion in several countries across the world in order to promote various social causes. In USA, the radio and television stations are granted on the basis of a fixed amount of Public service advertisements aired by the channel. Celebrity Advertising Although the audience is getting smarter and smarter and the modern day consumer getting immune to the exaggerated claims made in a majority of advertisements, there exist a section of advertisers that still bank upon celebrities and their popularity for advertising their products. Using celebrities for advertising involves signing up celebrities for advertising campaigns, which consist of all sorts of advertising including, television ads or even print advertisements.

Q.2. b. Describe with examples the different international market entry strategies (5 marks) Ans:The decision of how to enter a foreign market can have a significant impact on the results. Expansion into foreign markets can be achieved via the following four mechanisms:
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Exporting Licensing Joint Venture Direct Investment

Exporting Exporting is the marketing and direct sale of domestically-produced goods in another country. Exporting is a traditional and well-established method of reaching foreign markets. Since exporting does not require that the goods be produced in the target country, no investment in foreign production facilities is required. Most of the costs associated with exporting take the form of marketing expenses. Exporting commonly requires coordination among four players:

Exporter Importer Transport provider Government

Licensing Licensing essentially permits a company in the target country to use the property of the licensor. Such property usually is intangible, such as trademarks, patents, and production techniques. The licensee pays a fee in exchange for the rights to use the intangible property and possibly for technical assistance. Because little investment on the part of the licensor is required, licensing has the potential to provide a very large ROI. However, because the licensee produces and markets the product, potential returns from manufacturing and marketing activities may be lost. Joint Venture There are five common objectives in a joint venture: market entry, risk/reward sharing, technology sharing and joint product development, and conforming to government regulations. Other benefits include political connections and distribution channel access that may depend on relationships. Such alliances often are favorable when:

the partners' strategic goals converge while their competitive goals diverge; the partners' size, market power, and resources are small compared to the industry leaders; and partners' are able to learn from one another while limiting access to their own proprietary skills.

The key issues to consider in a joint venture are ownership, control, length of agreement, pricing, technology transfer, local firm capabilities and resources, and government intentions. Potential problems include:

conflict over asymmetric new investments mistrust over proprietary knowledge performance ambiguity - how to split the pie lack of parent firm support
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cultural clashes if, how, and when to terminate the relationship Strategic imperative: the partners want to maximize the advantage gained for the joint venture, but they also want to maximize their own competitive position. The joint venture attempts to develop shared resources, but each firm wants to develop and protect its own proprietary resources. The joint venture is controlled through negotiations and coordination processes, while each firm would like to have hierarchical control.

Joint ventures have conflicting pressures to cooperate and compete:

Foreign Direct Investment Foreign direct investment (FDI) is the direct ownership of facilities in the target country. It involves the transfer of resources including capital, technology, and personnel. Direct foreign investment may be made through the acquisition of an existing entity or the establishment of a new enterprise. Direct ownership provides a high degree of control in the operations and the ability to better know the consumers and competitive environment. However, it requires a high level of resources and a high degree of commitment.

Q.3 a. With the help of a neat diagram, briefly explain the different stages in the Product Life Cycle. (5 marks) Ans:-

Sales

Profits

0
Growth

Time Decline Product Dev. Stage Product Dev. Introduction Maturity

Losses Stage Investments

The product which is introduced into the market will undergo some modifications over the period. Its sales also fluctuate. Therefore marketer is interested in finding out how sales also fluctuate over a period and what strategies are best suited at that point. A product life cycle can be graphed by plotting aggregate sales volume for a product category over time. Generally the curve resembles bell shaped curve but it is not the
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only one type of curve. We can obtain style, fashion or fad style of product life cycles also.

Style Fashion

Fad

Sales

Sales

Time

Time

Sales

Time

Product life Cycle (Bell shaped curve)

According to this type of cycle, a product passes through 5 stages:

i.

Product development stage: In this stage company identifies the viable idea and develops it. Sales in this stage are zero but huge research and development budget is required. Therefore company incurs losses at this stage.

ii.

Introduction Stage: Company introduces the product into the market. As the product is new to the market, awareness is usually very low. Here company adopts heavy sales promotion and product awareness programs. The cost of product is very high and sales are very low. At this junction the company charges high price to the customer.

iii.

Growth Stage: Company gets experience over the period and now tries to get the maximum market share; sales will grow rapidly resulting in lesser cost and better profit. Company reduces the price of the product and offers varieties and values in it. It focuses on building better distribution network and pushes the product through it. Number of competitors will grow and it forces company to keep a tab on them.

iv.

Maturity Stage: a. Peak sales b. Low cost per customer c. High profits d. Competition based pricing e. Communicating the product differentiation to customer f. Improving supply chain efficiency
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g. Defend the market share h. Industry experience the consolidation v. Decline Stage: In this stage, product sales and profit decline. Company should phase out weak items from their product mix. The advertisement budget of the company also comes down.

Q.3.b:- Write a short note on product line and product mix. Ans:Product line Product line is the marketing strategy of offering for sale several related products. Unlike product bundling, where several products are combined into one, lining involves offering several related products individually. A line can comprise related products of various sizes, types, colors, qualities, or prices. Line depth refers to the number of product variants in a line. Line consistency refers to how closely related the products that make up the line are. Line vulnerability refers to the percentage of sales or profits that are derived from only a few products in the line. The number of different product lines sold by a company is referred to as width of product mix. The total number of products sold in all lines is referred to as length of product mix. If a line of products is sold with the same brand name, this is referred to as family branding. When you add a new product to a line, it is referred to as a line extension. When you add a line extension that is of better quality than the other products in the line, this is referred to as trading up or brand leveraging. When you add a line extension that is of lower quality than the other products of the line, this is referred to as trading down. When you trade down, you will likely reduce your brand equity. You are gaining short-term sales at the expense of long term sales. Image anchors are highly promoted products within a line that define the image of the whole line. Image anchors are usually from the higher end of the line's range. When you add a new product within the current range of an incomplete line, this is referred to as line filling. Price lining is the use of a limited number of prices for all your product offerings. This is a tradition started in the old five and dime stores in which everything cost either 5 or 10 cents. Its underlying rationale is that these amounts are seen as suitable price points for a whole range of products by prospective customers. It has the advantage of ease of administering, but the disadvantage of inflexibility, particularly in times of inflation or unstable prices. There are many important decisions about product and service development and marketing. In the process of product development and marketing we should focus on strategic decisions about product attributes, product branding, product packaging, product labeling and product support services. But product strategy also calls for building a product line. Product Mix Product mix is a combination of products manufactured or traded by the same business house to reinforce
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their presence in the market, increase market share and increase the turnover for more profitability. Normally the product mix is within the synergy of other products for a medium size organization. However large groups of Industries may have diversified products within core competency. Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Godrej, Reliance in India are some of the examples. One of the realities of business is that most firms deal with multi-products .This helps a firm diffuse its risk across different product groups/Also it enables the firm to appeal to a much larger group of customers or to different needs of the same customer group .So when Videocon chose to diversify into other consumer durables like music systems ,washing machines and refrigerators ,it sought to satisfy the needs of the middle and upper middle income group of consumers. Likewise , Bajaj Electricals.a household name in India, has almost ninety products in i8ts portfolio ranging from low value items like bulbs to high priced consumer durables like mixers and luminaires and lighting projects .The number of products carried by a firm at a given point of time is called its product mix. This product mix contains product lines and product items .In other words its a composite of products offered for sale by a firm.

Q.4. a. Choose any brand of ball-point pen and evaluate its positioning strengths or weakness in terms of attributes, benefits, values, brand name and brand equity. (6 marks) Ans:Brand Positioning Strategies A product can be positioned based on 2 main platforms: The Consumer and The Competitor. When the positioning is on the basis of CONSUMER, the campaigns and messages are always targeted to the consumer himself (the user of the product) Peter England always campaigns their product concentrating on the consumer, the user of its product. Louis Philip also concentrates on this kind of campaigns. The other kind of positioning is on basis of COMPETITION. These campaigns are targeted towards competing with other players in the market. Dettol television commercials always concentrate on advertisements, which show that this product would give you more protection, then the others. A number of positioning strategies might be employed in developing a promotional program. The 7 such strategies are discussed below: POSITIONING BY PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES AND BENEFITS Associating a product with an attribute, a product feature or a consumer feature. Sometimes a product can be positioned in terms of two or more attributes simultaneously. The price/ quality attribute dimension is commonly used for positioning the products. A common approach is setting the brand apart from competitors on the basis of the specific characteristics or benefits offered. Sometimes a product may be positioned on more than one product benefit. Marketers
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attempt to identify salient attributes (those that are important to consumers and are the basis for making a purchase decision) Consider the example of Ariel that offers a specific benefit of cleaning even the dirtiest of clothes because of the micro cleaning system in the product. Colgate offers benefits of preventing cavity and fresh breath. Promise, Balsaras toothpaste, could break Colgates stronghold by being the first to claim that it contained clove, which differentiated it from the leader. Nirma offered the benefit of low price over Hindustan Levers Surf to become a success. Maruti Suzuki offers benefits of maximum fuel efficiency and safety over its competitors. This strategy helped it to get 60% of the Indian automobile market. POSITIONING BY PRICE/ QUALITY Marketers often use price/ quality characteristics to position their brands. One way they do it is with ads that reflect the image of a high-quality brand where cost, while not irrelevant, is considered secondary to the quality benefits derived from using the brand. Premium brands positioned at the high end of the market use this approach to positioning. Another way to use price/ quality characteristics for positioning is to focus on the quality or value offered by the brand at a very competitive price. Although price is an important consideration, the product quality must be comparable to, or even better than, competing brands for the positioning strategy to be effective. Parle Bisleri Bada Bisleri, same price ad campaign. POSITIONING BY USE OR APPLICATION Another way is to communicate a specific image or position for a brand is to associate it with a specific use or application. Surf Excel is positioned as stain remover Surf Excel hena! Also, Clinic All Clear Dare to wear Black. POSITIONING BY PRODUCT CLASS Often the competition for a particular product comes from outside the product class. For example, airlines know that while they compete with other airlines, trains and buses are also viable alternatives. Manufacturers of music CDs must compete with the cassettes industry. The product is positioned against others that, while not exactly the same, provide the same class of benefits. POSITIONING BY PRODUCT USER Positioning a product by associating it with a particular user or group of users is yet another approach. Motography Motorola Mobile Ad.n this ad the persona of the user of the product is been positioned. POSITIONING BY COMPETITOR Competitors may be as important to positioning strategy as a firms own product or services. In todays market, an effective positioning strategy for a product or brand may focus on specific competitors. This approach is similar to positioning by product class, although in this case the competition is within the same product category. Onida was positioned against the giants in the television industry through this strategy, ONIDA colour TV
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was launched with the message that all others were clones and only Onida was the leader. neighbours Envy, Owners Pride. POSITIONING BY CULTURAL SYMBOLS An additional positioning strategy where in the cultural symbols are used to differentiate the brands. Examples would be Humara Bajaj, Tata Tea, Ronald McDonald. Each of these symbols has successfully differentiated the product it represents from competitors.

Q.4.b. If you as a marketing advisor were to introduce a new variety/flavor of chocolate in an already established chocolate category of a firm, what kind of brand development strategy would you undertake and why? (4 marks) Ans:Individual branding
Each brand has a separate name (such as Cadbory, Nestley), which may even compete against other brands from the same company Attitude branding and Iconic brands Attitude branding is the choice to represent a larger feeling, which is not necessarily connected with the product or consumption of the product at all. Marketing labeled as attitude branding include that of Nike, Starbucks, The Body Shop, Safeway, and Apple Inc.. In the 2000 book No Logo,[10] Naomi Klein describes attitude branding as a "fetish strategy". "A great brand raises the bar -- it adds a greater sense of purpose to the experience, whether it's the challenge to do your best in sports and fitness, or the affirmation that the cup of coffee you're drinking really matters." - Howard Schultz (president, CEO, and chairman of Starbucks) The color, letter font and style of the Coca-Cola and Diet Coca-Cola logos in English were copied into matching Hebrew logos to maintain brand identity in Israel. Iconic brands are defined as having aspects that contribute to consumer's self-expression and personal identity. Brands whose value to consumers comes primarily from having identity value comes are said to be "identity brands". Some of these brands have such a strong identity that they become more or less "cultural icons" which makes them iconic brands. Examples of iconic brands are: Apple Inc., Nike and Harley Davidson. Many iconic brands include almost ritual-like behaviour when buying and consuming the products. There are four key elements to creating iconic brands (Holt 2004): "Necessary conditions" - The performance of the product must at least be ok preferably with a reputation of having good quality. "Myth-making" - A meaningful story-telling fabricated by cultural "insiders". These must be seen as legitimate and respected by consumers for stories to be accepted. "Cultural contradictions" - Some kind of mismatch between prevailing ideology and emergent undercurrents
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in society. In other words a difference with the way consumers are and how they some times wish they were. "The cultural brand management process" - Actively engaging in the myth-making process making sure the brand maintains its position as an icon. No-brand" branding Recently a number of companies have successfully pursued "No-Brand" strategies by creating packaging that imitates generic brand simplicity. Derived brands In this case the supplier of a key component, used by a number of suppliers of the end-product, may wish to guarantee its own position by promoting that component as a brand in its own right. The most frequently quoted example is Intel, which secures its position in the PC market with the slogan "Intel Inside".

Brand extension
The existing strong brand name can be used as a vehicle for new or modified products; for example, many fashion and designer companies extended brands into fragrances, shoes and accessories, home textile, home decor, luggage, (sun-) glasses, furniture, hotels, etc. Mars extended its brand to ice cream, Caterpillar to shoes and watches, Michelin to a restaurant guide, Adidas and Puma to personal hygiene. Dunlop extended its brand from tires to other rubber products such as shoes, golf balls, tennis racquets and adhesives. There is a difference between brand extension and line extension. A line extension is when a current brand name is used to enter a new market segment in the existing product class, with new varieties or flavors or sizes. When Coca-Cola launched "Diet Coke" and "Cherry Coke" they stayed within the originating product category: non-alcoholic carbonated beverages. Procter & Gamble (P&G) did likewise extending its strong lines (such as Fairy Soap) into neighboring products (Fairy Liquid and Fairy Automatic) within the same category, dish washing detergents.

Multi-brands
Alternatively, in a market that is fragmented amongst a number of brands a supplier can choose deliberately to launch totally new brands in apparent competition with its own existing strong brand (and often with identical product characteristics); simply to soak up some of the share of the market which will in any case go to minor brands. The rationale is that having 3 out of 12 brands in such a market will give a greater overall share than having 1 out of 10 (even if much of the share of these new brands is taken from the existing one). In its most extreme manifestation, a supplier pioneering a new market which it believes will be particularly attractive may choose immediately to launch a second brand in competition with its first, in order to pre-empt others entering the market. Individual brand names naturally allow greater flexibility by permitting a variety of different products, of differing quality, to be sold without confusing the consumer's perception of what business the company is in
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or diluting higher quality products. Once again, Procter & Gamble is a leading exponent of this philosophy, running as many as ten detergent brands in the US market. This also increases the total number of "facings" it receives on supermarket shelves. Sara Lee, on the other hand, uses it to keep the very different parts of the business separate from Sara Lee cakes through Kiwi polishes to L'Eggs pantyhose. In the hotel business, Marriott uses the name Fairfield Inns for its budget chain (and Ramada uses Rodeway for its own cheaper hotels). Cannibalization is a particular problem of a "multibrand" approach, in which the new brand takes business away from an established one which the organization also owns. This may be acceptable (indeed to be expected) if there is a net gain overall. Alternatively, it may be the price the organization is willing to pay for shifting its position in the market; the new product being one stage in this process.

Private labels
With the emergence of strong retailers, private label brands, also called own brands, or store brands, also emerged as a major factor in the marketplace. Where the retailer has a particularly strong identity (such as Marks & Spencer in the UK clothing sector) this "own brand" may be able to compete against even the strongest brand leaders, and may outperform those products that are not otherwise strongly branded.

Individual and Organizational Brands

There are kinds of branding that treat individuals and organizations as the "products" to be branded. Personal branding treats persons and their careers as brands. The term is thought to have been first used in a 1997 article by Tom Peters.[14] Faith branding treats religious figures and organizations as brands. Religious media expert Phil Cooke has written that faith branding handles the question of how to express faith in a media-dominated culture.[15] Nation branding works with the perception and reputation of countries as brands Q. 5 a. As a salesperson in a dealership firm that engages in consumer durables like washing machines, refrigerators, air-conditioners etc. what kind of knowledge and training do you think is required for you so as to make you sell more products? (5 marks) b. Make a note of any 2 organizations which had to suffer losses on account of bad publicity in India. Also find out how the organizations overcame the effects of bad publicity (5 marks)

Q. 6 a. What is CRM? What are its objectives? (2 marks) Ans:CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, is a company-wide business strategy designed to reduce costs and increase profitability by solidifying customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. True CRM brings together information from all data sources within an organization (and where appropriate, from outside the organization) to give one, holistic view of each customer in real time. This allows customer
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facing employees in such areas as sales, customer support, and marketing to make quick yet informed decisions on everything from cross-selling and upselling opportunities to target marketing strategies to competitive positioning tactics. CRM helps businesses use technology and human resources to gain insight into the behavior of customers and the value of those customers.

Q.6.b. Write a short note on Rural Marketing and Online Marketing. (8 marks) Ans:
Introduction From the strict marketing point of view, the market structure in India is dichotomous having rural and urban markets. But many do not concur with this view as they contend that consumer everywhere is a consumer and hence their needs, aspirations, beliefs and attitudes will also be the same. The fact, however, remains that there are certain unique characteristic features which call for separate marketing strategies to be distinctively developed to suit the rural and urban market behaviour. Conditions existing in urban markets at present can also be analyzed in this context. First, the urban markets have almost reached a saturation level that further tapping them with a high profit margin has become difficult. Secondly, competition is becoming tough in urban markets compelling many firms to incur heavy costs in promotional expenditure. Thirdly, the awareness level of urban consumers is high and hence product features have to be changed often. Needless to say this process needs a huge investment which will have a negative impact on profitability. Thus, except perhaps for easy reach the urban markets have become as oasis. Significance of Rural Markets The rural markets are estimated to be growing fastly compared to the urban markets. The potentiality of rural markets is said to be like a 'woken up sleeping giant'. These facts are substantiated in a study of market growth conducted by various researches. In recent years, rural markets have acquired significance in countries like China and India, as the overall growth of the economy has resulted into substantial increase in the purchasing power of the rural communities. On account of the green revolution in India, the rural areas are consuming a large quantity of industrial and urban manufactured products. In this context, a special marketing strategy, namely, rural marketing has taken shape. Sometimes, rural marketing is confused with agricultural marketing the later denotes marketing of produce of the rural areas to the urban consumers or industrial consumers, whereas rural marketing involves delivering manufactured or processed inputs or services to rural producers or consumers. ONLINE RURAL MARKET (INTERNET, NICNET): Rural people can use the two-way communication through on line service for crop information, purchases of Agri-inputs, consumer durable and sale of rural produce online at reasonable price. Farm information

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online marketing easily accessible in rural areas because of spread of telecommunication facilities all over India. Agricultural information can get through the Internet if each village has small information office. Online Marketing In its simplest form, the term online marketing refers to using the power of Internet advertising to generate a response from your audience. Also known as Internet marketing or web marketing, online marketing is used by companies selling goods and services directly to consumers as well as those who operate on a businessto-business model. Common areas of interest within the field of online marketing include:

Affiliate Marketing: In affiliate marketing, a business recruits associates to promote the company's products or services. The associates receive a commission or other similar rewards for every sale, visitor, subscriber, or customer they bring to the company. Amazon.com Associates Central is an example of an affiliate marketing program that Amazon.com uses to encourage private website owners to bring traffic to its site.

Display Advertising: Display advertising involves the use of web banners or banner ads placed on a third-party website to drive traffic to a company's own website and increase product awareness. Email Marketing: Companies that use email marketing send promotional emails directly to customers. However, it can often be hard to distinguish between spam and legitimate email marketing messages.

Interactive Advertising: Interactive advertising involves the use of animations and other graphic techniques to create ads that engage the viewer and invite participation. Search Engine Marketing: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), paid placement, and paid inclusion are search engine marketing techniques that companies can use to increase their visibility in the search engine page results from Google and its competitors.

Viral Marketing: Viral marketing is a technique is which companies encourage customers to pass along information about their products or services. Company websites that let visitors email interactive games or funny video clips to their friends are an example of a viral marketing effort

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