The market is a place where buyers and Sellers Exchange Things.

In lay man terms "It is a place where buyers and sellers exchange goods/Service for some value in return such as Money. So the Market is same everywhere. But, the difference is in the consumer behavior. There will be different buyers in each market. This is because of different factors which Influence them. So the same way there is a difference between Rural and Urban Market. The factors are so many to define. There is a difference in all the marketing Variables. That is where most of the companies approach with different Marketing Mix and Strategies to Rural Market. The strategy differs from the urban to rural market. The companies which have understood the phenomena of rural market have succeeded in the market, For Ex: HUL, ITC, Colgate, and Rajdoot Motorcycle. These companies have done a perfect homework and Implemented in terms of effort and Operations. These companies approach shows that there is a difference between Rural and Urban Market. In my opinion we should not use the same strategy as for Rural Market as done in case of urban market. It also depends on the entry of the firm whether it is new to the market or wants to expand to the Rural Market. Before entering into the Rural Market the company has to make some research on why other companies failed as well as the reasons. The reasons for which the companies failed are as follows: Low literacy levels, particularly among women & older persons. Requiring innovations in the questionnaire design. Existence of large number of small markets in the Rural market create unnoticed 7 inevitable competition. Poor connectivity also creates a lot of problem. Large no. of intermediaries lead to higher costs. The effect of culture & traditions is too high bringing changes in the behavior & life style of the customers. Multi ethnic & dispersed population is a big issue. Rural market is a highly credit driven market & low investment capacity of retailers creates major hurdles. Poor storage system leads to inadequate stocking of products. Marketers have to address the brand messages at different levels. Here are some of the important characteristics of rural markets that need to be addressed:

Intra community influences are relatively more important than inter-community ones.
Being geographically scattered, rural communities are relatively detached from the mainstream population. But they are significantly more close-knit, with relationships largely within the community rather than without. This makes intra community communications rather critical.

Generating positive Word of Mouth, particularly from local sources of authority, is as critical as mass media advertising. It is therefore important for marketers to understand rural hierarchies and tap into local opinion leaders to help brand adoption and diffusion within a rural community. Winning over key opinion leaders is key to penetration in rural communities. For example, young people are early adopters of technology and tend to be the key opinion leaders within rural communities for mobile phones. Similarly, doctors for healthcare products, or progressive farmers for farm inputs could be tapped as opinion leaders. Colgate taps into school teachers to reach kids (early adopters of more expensive toothpaste) through its "Bright Smile. Bright Future" program. Rural microfinance organizations tap into the close intra-community links by leveraging peer pressure to ensure low default rates (through 'collective responsibility' self-help groups).

Scarcity of media bandwidth, but abundance of attention.

The key challenge for marketers in rural markets is reach rather than attention. Unlike urban consumers who are exposed to a proliferation of media channels but suffer from an attention deficit, the key issue in communicating to rural audiences is media access. Though penetration of TV is increasing (and urban targeted communication spills over to rural consumers) there are few exclusive rural channels of any significance in most markets. Pioneering marketers have used innovative means of creating their own channels. Hindustan Unilever's micro marketing program in India tapped into women's Self Help Groups to reach consumers in inaccessible rural markets. Besides selling products these women help transmit brand communication within rural communities. Many marketers use publicity vans, which travel to remote and scattered communities with portable communication devices (audio visual shows, live demos etc.). Colgate has created a powerful touch point with its Oral Health Program, which draws rural consumers who are lured by the promise of a 'free oral checkup'. The program provides Colgate with a captive audience for communication, trial and brand building.

Slow to adopt brands. Slow to give them up.

Being relatively closed societies, rural consumers are slower to adopt new brands and categories than their urban counterparts. Generating trial becomes more difficult than gaining loyalty - whereas in the more mature urban markets retention is a bigger issue.

Marketers therefore have to front-load their investment, and probably plan for longer lead times before their investment yields returns. However, the higher level of loyalty that can be expected (as rural consumers are slower in giving up brands once they have adopted them) helps justify the initial brand investment. Many MNC brands that have long since vanished from shop shelves across the world can still be found in rural India, indicating the longevity of brands once they are adopted.

Expenses are yearlong; income is seasonal.

A unique feature of the rural market is the seasonality of demand. Being predominantly agrarian, rural incomes tend to be skewed towards a couple of months in the year (post-harvest). Thus demand (particularly for high value items) is highly seasonal and concentrated on one or two points during the year. It is therefore important that marketers focus their marketing activities during times in which incomes peak rather than distribute them over the year, as they would do in urban markets.

Information hungry; but entertainment starved.

Rural communities have limited an entertainment option, which makes it easier for marketing communications to generate higher levels of involvement by making their communications more entertaining. Packaging brand information in a very entertaining manner not only makes the communication more involving, but can also improve understanding and absorption of key brand information. Edutainment is a proven model for rural markets. Nokia has successfully used a highly engaging radio drama to communicate its 'one year warranty' in South Africa, and has deployed a series of 'slice of life' films to sell the category benefits of mobility to first time buyers in India.

Higher receptivity to advertising with lower persuasion.

Rural consumers are more readily persuaded by marketing that touches them directly, such as personal experience, seeing others using it, or live demonstrations of the brand in action. Unilever's Lifebuoy soap used a 'germ glow box' as part of a demo kit to highlight the importance of washing hands in an anti-bacterial soap (the brand's central proposition). Retailer education also plays an important role as the retailer in rural markets is not just a distribution node, but also a communication channel. With the right training and incentives retailers can help endorse the brand, educated or even demonstrate to consumers on its benefits.

Commercially profitable; and socially acceptable.

Commercial enterprises (particularly MNC's) should be varying of being seen to be too aggressive or mercantilist when dealing with rural consumers, or they could potentially face a backlash. Rural consumers are seen by the non-commercial world as being more gullible and therefore in need of protection. So building the rural marketing thrust around a social platform helps make it more acceptable to governments, NGOs and other stakeholders. Hindustan Unilever's micro marketing program in India clearly links corporate interests (getting rural women to sell products to their communities) to a larger social agenda (giving rural women an income generating opportunity). A similar model is being used by Nokia which works together with microfinance organizations to sell mobile phones as a means of income enhancement in rural communities. Colgate's rural programs have a strong Community Oral Health thrust but also help build Colgate as an 'oral care expert' and help drive adoption and usage of the category and brand. Similarly, Hindustan Unilever created a public health platform through its program to promote Lifebuoy anti-bacterial soap. The key element of this program involved 'hand wash with Lifebuoy' as a means of preventing infections and illnesses like diarrhea.

In INDIA various companies are following various strategies to market in the rural zone in the following ways:
By communicating & changing quality perception. Properly communicating in various regional languages. By understanding Cultural & Social values. By giving Indian words for Brands. By developing Rural specific products. By Conducting Fairs, Paintings, Road Shows n so on. By adopting localized way of Distribution. By promoting Brands/products with Indian models n actors. By associating themselves with India.

The Biggest example of Rural Marketing is E-Chaupal. ITCs trail-blazing answer to these problems is the E-Choupal initiative; the single-largest information technology-based intervention by a corporate entity in rural India. Transforming the Indian farmers into a progressive knowledge- seeking netizen. Enriching the farmer with knowledge; elevating him to a new order of empowerment.

E-Choupal delivers real-time information and customised knowledge to improve the farmer's decision-making ability, thereby better aligning farm output to market demands; securing better quality, productivity and improved price discovery. The model helps aggregate demand in the nature of a virtual producers' co-operative, in the process facilitating access to higher quality farm inputs at lower costs for the farmer. The EChoupal initiative also creates a direct marketing channel, eliminating wasteful intermediation and multiple handling, thus reducing transaction costs and making logistics efficient. The E-Choupal project is already benefiting over 3.5 million farmers. By 2012, the E-Choupal network will cover over 100,000 villages, representing 1/6th of rural India, and create more than 10 million e-farmers.