India:InnovationinRuralMarketing

Prof.PankajArora

"RuralMarket:Currently,it'sablackhole,there'snotenoughdata;wewilltrytocreateaknowledge base,"MrPradeepKashyap

Abstract:
Rural marketing is equated with marketing by MNC in rural India. The extent literature on rural marketinghasuncriticallyusedthesametheories,models,conceptsandframeworkashavebeenused inthemarketingdiscipline.AswellasthisresearchalsofocusesonInformationtechnology(IT)andits contributeinruraldevelopment.InthisPaperresearcheralsofocusoninnovativeapproachesinRural Marketforpromotionanddistributionofproducts

KeyWords:
Innovation,IT,Ruralmarket

Introduction:
Ananalysisofthecontentofanumberoftextbookswrittenonthesubject(forexample,Dograand Ghuman2008;Gopalswamy1997;KashyapandRaut2006;KrishnamacharyuluandRamakrishnan2002; Rajagopal1998;Velayudhan2002)revealsthatthemeaningofruralmarkethaschangedoverthepast sixdecades.KashyapandRaut(2006)havelistedthreedistinctphaseintheevolutionofruralmarketing duringwhichthetermchangeitmeaningandconnotation. Duringthefirstphase,pre1960s,ruralmarketingwassynonymouswithagriculturalmarketing. During1960s1990sthemarketingofagricultureinputandmarketingofnonfarmruralproductwas consideredasruralmarketing. Post1990sWithrisingincomeandmushroomingmiddleclassacrossthecountry,variouscompanies focusedontappingruralmarketpotential.RuralmarketingnowrefertoFMCGandConsumerdurable goodsinruralarea. Agreatnumberofstudieshaveshownthatyettodayapproximately60%ofIndianPopulationlivesin RuralAreas.Today,ImprovementinlivingconditionandenlargementofRuralareaisessentialforthe developmentoftheIndianEconomy.Manyprojectswereundertakeninruralareaandotherswhich are in pipeline; are likely to be introduced with in short span of time. Rural Literacy is ranked at the mainconcern.Trendsshowsthatruralmarketsarecomingupinbigwayandgrowingmultiplefoldtime as faster as urban markets. According to a study by NCAER (National Council for Applied Economic Research),thenumberofmiddleandhighincomehouseholdsinrural Indiaisexpectedtogrowfrom 130Millionto172Millionbytheendofyear2012ascomparedtoUrbanIndiathatisnearby71Million. {Prof.PankajArora,Lecturer,DIMAT,Raipur(Chhattisgarh)}

LiteratureReview:
The focus of literature, mainly written in the post liberalization period, is on highlighting potential of vastruralmarketandprovidingdescriptionofafewcasesofcommercialorganizationofruralareas.The literature has uncritically borrowed theories, framework and concept from the mainstream marketing discipline,whichhasshiftedthegrowthofthesubjectasanindependentfieldofacademicinvestigation. There is an urgent need to build a distinctive perspective and a sound theoretical base for rural marketing, which would create its own concepts, frameworks, theories and body of knowledge. The issueneedsimmediateattentionoftheresearcherinruralmarketing.

CreativeApproachTowardruralMarket:
Creativepeopledonotalwayshaveasspecificideainmindwhentheybegintosearchforaninnovation; whattheydohaveismethodorwayofgoingaboutthatsearch.Thecommercializationprocessisitself a creative process. From discovery of business idea to product development, feasibility analysis, and businessplanning,theapplicationofcreativitytoalloftheseareaiswhatsetsuccessfulentrepreneur ventureapartfromtheircompetitors.

DomesticConsumer:
ItiswidelyacclaimedthatIndiaisoneofthelargestconsumermarketintheworld.Buttheconsumerin Indiashowswidevariationinsizeandpotentialofvariousconsumermarketsegment.Thesedifference can be seen in terms of geographical difference , urban rural consumer ( there style of living consumptionpatternetc.),ageandfamilylifecycle,incomelevel,educationlevel,linguisticandreligion diversity,foodhabit;festivaletc.revolutionincommunicationtechnologyareforcingmarketertolook beyond time tested concept such as brand loyalty and mass marketing . Marketer are trying to determine the underlying need and motive of consumer as well as various factor which influence the formationoftheseneedandsatisfactionofthese.MarketerarealsotryingtounderstandtheLearning Processadoptedbybuyerandconsumer. TheLearningprocesscanalsobelinkedtoothercognitivestructuresuchas(values)attitudeandbeliefs. Buying behavior is also influenced by other psychological concept such as personality, motivation and perception. knowing the impact of these concept on buying behavior will help marketer in the generationofnewproductideasandadoptedcustomizationforcoreproduct;someadditionalfeature andbyofferingofadditionalservices,alldonewiththeintentiontoaddthecustomerdelight.

Indenffy CustomerNeed

Through Adverfsmentand Communicafon

CustomerWant

Proper Distribufonand Sales

InduceCustomer Trial

Oer Individualised Product

Customer ExperienceWith theProdcut

Resultin

Marketerinordertoadapttonewmarketingparadigmshiftinconsumertasteandpreferencearegoing for fundamental shift in the marketing research technique product development, advertising and promotionalstrategies.(19) Consumerpurchasedecisionaredeterminedbythelevelofinvolvementthatconsumerfeelabout productinquestionandastowhethertheproductpurchaseisdeterminedpredominantlythroughthe thinkingorfeelingabouttheprocess.Highinvolvementproductsareproductwheretheconsumersees ahighperceivedriskmonetarilyorotherwise.Lowinvolvementpurchasesarepossiblylowpricedand nonriskyproductpurchase.Thinkingprocesscallforrationalfunctionalanalysisofmethodicalthinking process.Whereasfallingproductareboughtbasedonthebasisofpersonalityfactorandforsensoryand emotionalreason.TakingtheIndianconsumermarketscenario,productlikeTVandautomobile,given thenatureoftheirpurchasewouldbehighinvolvement,whereascookingoilandbabyfoodwouldbe highoninvolvementbutmayntcallforafunctionalrationalanalysisofdata.Ontheotherhand, soaps,detergent,painbalm,softdrinkandconfectionaryarepurelyboughtonemotionalreason.(26)

BringingtechnologytoRuralMarket:
The entire technology commercialization process, from idea to market. Today as technology drives innovation and companies seek more effective way to exploit the intellectual property they create. Technology is different from any other type of new product. For one thing, the market respond differently to technology; customer are slow to accept a new technology with which they are not familiar.Newtechnologiesarecommercializedinavarietyofways,buttheunderlyingcommonalitiesis anentrepreneurialapproachthatseektocreatenewvalue. IT involves the e processing, storage and exchange of information, where anything that can be represented in digital form is included in the term information. Thus reports, amusement, personal communications, learning material, blank and filledout forms, announcements, schedules, and so on are all information. Software programs that process data (searching, tabulating, and calculating, for example)arealsoinformationinthissense,representingaparticularkindofintermediategood. Theentrepreneurwhointroduceanewtechnologymust,thereforedeviseastrategythatcaptureearly adopter in a variety of niches in order to develop sufficient momentum to push the technology into mainstreammarket.

Bringingtechnologytomarketembodiesthreemajorthemes.
1. Thefirstisvaluecreation.Forcompaniestobesuccessfulinsustainabletechnologyinnovation, it is critical that they punctuate their incremental or value added innovations with radical or valuecreatinginnovations. 2. The second theme is speed. As window of opportunities for new technologies are shrinking product development timeliness are by necessity shortening, creating a real dilemma for product developers how to produce superior high technology product faster, yet at price the marketwilltolerate. 3. The third theme is entrepreneurship. The tool that entrepreneur employ to recognize and create opportunity , test a business concept in market, and gather resources to execute the businessconcept.

I.T.ANDRURALDEVELOPMENT:
The goal of using ICT with underprivileged group is not only about overcoming the shortcoming , but rather enforcing and passing the process of social inclusion to the next level, which is required for changeoftheenvironmentandsocialsystemthatreproducesscarcity. I.T. has varied applications in it, through which the development of the rural area can be possible accurately.GovernmenthadintroducedanumberofprogramsthroughwhichthepeopleofruralIndia can come forward and use the I.T. enabled services and work more systematically. Some of the programsrunbytheGovernmentare:

EMitra: ThisserviceislaunchedbytheRAJASTHANGovernmentforthefirsttimeforitsruralcitizens,so thattheycandeploytheI.T.enabledbenefitstoitsfullest.EMitraisStateGovernmentstarted projects,whichsoonbecomehighlypopularintheregion.Inyear2002,twoprojectscameinto existencenamely;LokMitraandJanMitra. WhereJanMitraisanintegratedelectronicplatformthroughwhichthecitizensofRajasthancan availthebenefitifgettingthedesiredinformationregardinganyGovernmentalDepartmentat kioskswhichisveryneartotheredoorstep.TheseInitiativeprogramofRajasthangovernment have not only helped the Government by reducing the burden of attending every call, it has reducedthewaitingtimefortheserviceandhasleadtoprovidecomforttothecitizensalso,as withtheinceptionofthisservicetheycaneasilygettheinformationrequiredattheirdoorstep. LokMitra isanurbanelectronic Governance Project which was launched in Jaipur city inyear 2002, which helps the citizens of Jaipur (now other cities also) to pay their bills online (land, Water, Bus Tickets and BSNL) leading the citizen to save the waiting time. This service also ensurespeoplethattheirmoneyisgoingdirectlytotheGovernmentandprovidesafeelingof securityrelatedtotheirbillspayment. CommunityInformationCenters: TheprogramisdesignedespeciallyforprovidingtheinternetaccessandI.T.Enabledservicesto the citizens through which the interface between the Government and the Citizens can be setup. These centers connect seven northeast states namely; Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur,Mehalaya,Mizoram,NagalandandTripura.Thecenterhelpstogaintheconnectivity at the time of unsuitable environmental conditions. The centers are commonly termed as CIC whicharegenerallysituatedattheschool,collegeoranygovernmentaloffice.Peoplecancome for the Internet access, and for accessing the internet, a nominal amount is charged from the peoplethroughwhichthedailyexpensesofthecentersaremaintained. WifiProjects: Oneofthewifiprojectunderwhichfewvillages(ofUTTARPRADESH)areconnectedtointernet isDigitalGangeticPlan(DGP).ThroughtheuseofDGPwirelessnetworkconnectivityiscreated, this program helped the people residing in villages of India to have the access of internet throughwhichtheinformationonvariousissuescanbecollectedadused,atthesametimethe people living in rural India can be updated with the new technological changes and the innovative changes taking place in the national and the international markets. For instance; Bimari Jankari is a portal through which the information regarding every disease and health related issues is available and Digital Mandi is available as one of the portals where all the information regarding the agricultural commodities are available. This portal provides the informationregardingthepricesofthecommoditiesandtheirrelativevalue. Drishtee: Drishteeispresentin5Statesandiscurrentlyavailableinsixdistricts.Itisaprivatecompany, which was previously named as Cyber Edge, which has the main work of developing the

modules. It is present in Bihar, Haryana, Madya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. It is generally suitedinthePanchayatorinthebazaars.Theypreparethemoduleforthepoorsectionofthe society who cannot understand the international language. The modules are designed for the ruralandsemiurbanareasespecially. Gyandoot: ItwasestablishedinJanuaryinyear2000.Itisanegovernancebasedmoduledesignedforthe rural citizens. The project was initially initiated by the Government of MADHYA PRADESH. Gyandootcaterstheneedofthevillagersbyprovidingtheinformationrelatedtotheprevailing ratesoftheagrobasedcommoditiesandtherateofland.EachGyandootInfokioskscatersto approximately15panchayatsand30villages.Themoduleisdesignedwiththeaimtoprovide costeffectiveandsustainabledeliverymodeltothepeople. TARAhaat: It was developed by an NGO (nongovernment organization); with the vision to bring internet facility to the rural India. It is a franchisee based business model that attempts to generate revenuesbyfocusingonthemarketingservicesthroughthemodule(especialfocusonthelocal applications).ItwasinitiatedintheregionofPUNJABwiththeintroductionofdifferentcenters calledasKendraswhichareconnectedtoeachotherthroughthedialupinternetconnection facility. These Kendras have power backup also; in case, the electricity supply is interrupted. The info kiosks provide online and offline services information on education, prevailing opportunities in the market and other useful information for the villagers. TARAkendras are verypopularinbetweenthelocalpopulationasitprovidestheinformationinthelocallanguage andtheportalisdesignedinsuchapatternthatsemiliteratepopulationcanalsounderstandit withoutanydifficulty.DifferentservicesthatTARAkendrasprovideare: TARABazar(forproductinformation) TARAdhaba(forprovidingconnectivity) TARAdak(connecttorelativesatdistance) TARAgyan(educateruralyouthonvariousissues) TARAguru(helpsinmentoringandconsultancy) TARAvan(deliveryofordersatremoteareas)andmanyotherservicesarealsoprovided. Ruraleseva: ItwasinitiatedbyANDRAPRADESHGovernment.ItwasinitiallyimplementedinWestGodavari District to deliver egovernance facility. The centers are designed with the view to provide better governance facilities to the people of the Rural India. The popularity of eseva can be estimatedfromthefactthatintheyear2003,morethan400millionrupeeswascollectedonly for the electricity payment. With the success of the eseva in electricity bills payment, Governmentislookingforwardforintroducingitintheareasofcollectionoftelephonebillsand localGovernmentalBills.Esevaisgainingpopularitywithpassingdaysasithelpsthecitizensto availthebenefitofgettingthecertificatesattheirdoorsteps;whichisbothrelaxingandreliable.

Bhoomi: The Karnataka Government for maintaining the records related to the land introduced it. The Department of Revenue in Karnataka has computerized 20 million records of land ownership belongingto6.7millionfarmersofthestate.Withtheintroductionoftheprogram,thefarmers are free from giving the bribe and are protected from the harassment. Framers can easily get theRecordsofRights,TenancyandCrops(RTC)bydepositingaminimalfeeofRs.15. NationalInformaticsCenters(NIC)throughwhichthesoftwareonlinecopiesofthelandrecords are available developed the software of Bhoomi. By giving an online request, farmers get an onlineenrollmentnumberthroughwhichfurtherprocessingcanbedone.Inthesoftware,the connectivityisthroughtheLANthroughwhichalltheclientsareconnectedtothehubs. Withtheincreasingpopularityoftheproject,GovernmentofIndiahasdecidedtointroducethe projectinotherpartsofthecountryalso,namely:Kerala,WestBengal,Sikkim,Tripura,Punjab, Haryana,MadyaPradesh,HimachalPradesh,Uttaranchal,Gujrat,Assam,Orrisa,Rajasthanand Pondicherry. echoupal: ItisdesignedespeciallyforthefarmersofIndia.Throughechoupal,farmerswhoarelivingin theremoteareaofthecountryandcannotmanagetohavedirectcontactwiththeconsumer cancomeforwardtohaveadirectcontact.Itprovidesaneprocurementsystemthroughwhich the farmers can access the latest and updated information (local, national and international) related to different farming practices. It provides real time information and customized knowledge to the farmers through which the farmer can take better decisions and can have direct contact with the customer, reducing the amount wasted by moving through the distributionchannelofintermediary. Echoupal has already become the largest initiative among all internetbased interventions in Rural India. Echoupal is present in 36,000 villages through nearly 6,000 kiosks across nine states.ITC(IndianTobaccoCompany)isplanningtoexpandtheconceptofechoupalfurtherin 15statesofIndia. Aksh: ItismostlyactiveinNorthernIndia,itisafiberopticcablecompanywithitscorecompetencein lay down and maintenance if cable. Aksh has the license to lay down the cables in the rural areas.ItinitiallyhascollaboratedwithDrishteeformaintenanceofkiosks,butwiththechanging times; Drishtee and Aksh have separated in different service offerings. While Urban Area has witnessedapenetrationofcableT.V.,ruralareashaveleftunserved.Thefactbehindthelow levelofcableT.V.proportioninruralascomparedtourbanareaisduetothefactthatinrural areatherearealimitednumberofhouseswhichcanaffordcableT.V.Thebandwidthdelivered by Aksh supports a large variety of services (including video interactions) which will lead to increase the level information exchange in between the people living in several areas of rural India. nLogue

NLogueisactivatedinSouthIndiaandduetoitsadvantagesisenteringintothenorthernareas. ThemainimpetuscamefromIITChennai.Itisanonprofitorganizationwiththeresponsibility ofprovidingruralITbasedservices(includinghardwareandsoftware)throughconnectivityand application all around the rural area. It is functional with WLL Technology whose construction and maintenance is costly and the connectivity is also limited to a certain area, but has the facilityofprovidingconnectivitywitharangeofservicesasitprovidesthevoicecallfacilityand overcome the problem of dial up connection errors. NLogue is further supported by IIT Chennai,whichpreparesavarietyoflocallanguagesoftwareforitinshorttimeforconvenience andcomfort.Ithasalsoaddedthefacilityofwebcamthroughwhichtheremotediagnosisof variousproblemscanbedone.TamilNaduGovernmenthassupportedthefunctionsofnLogue (especially in its Madurai and Nellikuppam district). NLogue charges for connectivity and is relativelypopularinthesouthernregionduetoitseasyconnectivityfunctioningandtrainingof handlingtheapplications.

Innovationandcommercializationprocess:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. The rural consumer behavior exhibits certain behavior unique to rural settings and this makes it importantformarketerstounderstandruralconsumersthroughappropriateresearch.Ruralconsumers, forexample,tendtoleadamorerelaxedlifestylecomparedtotheurbancounterpartsandexhibitlittle urgency.Consumersinruralmarketstendtohavegreatertrustinproductsandservicesendorsedbythe governmentanditsagencies.Theytendtobemorebrandloyal,ashabitsonceformedaredifficultto change and they tend to feel a pride in getting a good deal rather than paying premium prices for productsandservices. THERuralNetwork,anallianceofleadingruralmarketingorganizationsinthecountry,isspearheadinga seriesofinitiativesdesignedtoputruralmarketingissuessquarelyinthereckoningofcorporatelooking fornewmarkets. Ruralcommunitiestendtobecloserthanurbansocietiesandreferencegroupshaveagreater importance.Relativesandpeoplefromthesamecasteareimportantreferencegroups.Jointfamilies stillexistsinvillagesalthoughthetrendistowardsthenuclearfamilies.Inruralareas,theconsumption isdriventoalargedegreebytheoccupationandincomeoftheconsumers.Lowincomelevelsand inadequacyofcreditfacilitiesalsoaffecttheconsumptionpatterns.Anotherimportantfactorthat Inventionandinnovation:connection,discovery,invention,application OpportunityRecognition:idea+customerneed=BusinessConcept ProtectingIPR:Patent,trademark,copyright,tradesecreat ProductDevelopment:Prototypingtechnologyfeasibilityalphatesting BusinessDevelopment: DevelopingtheBusiness:BusinessPlan Launchingthebusiness

affectsdemandpatternsinruralareasistheinstabilityoftheincomeofthefarmers,whichislinkedto theseasonalityofagriculturalproductionaswellastotheunpredictabilityoftheharvest.Similarly,the landlesslabourersanddailywageearnersgettheirremunerationonadaytodaybasisandtherefore theypurchaseinsmallerquantitiesofproductsatatime,mostlyonadailybasis. Ascomparedtotheurbancounterparts,theruralconsumershavedifferentinterpretationsofcolors, symbols,andsocialactivities.Theculturalvaluesandnormshaveastronginfluenceindetermining buyingandconsumptionbehaviorintheruralareas.Therearerestrictionsonthetypeoffoodandthe typeofintoxicantsthatcanbeconsumedinthevillages.Similarly,womenoccupyamoretraditional placeinruralareasandthereforewesternapparelmaynotbeacceptedintheruralmarkets.However, theruralyouthareopentoanynewideas,andinfluencedbytheurbanconsumptionpatterns.Asthe exposuretomassmediaandinformationtechnologyisincreasing,ruralconsumersarebeingmore informedaboutproductsandservicesandtheirdependenceontraditionalreferencegroupsiswaning.

Conclusion
Theincreaseintheservicesprovidedtotheruralpeople(intermsofvariousservicesoffered)willresult in the overall betterment of the society on one side by enriching the people with updated market informationandprovidinglatesttechnologicaldevelopmentalnewsandorganizationsonothersideby creatingmoremarketopportunitiesforthemandadjustmentofthemarketprices. ITcanbuildupthe role of each governance pillar in rural development and scarcity reduction. It can facilitate rapid, transparent, responsible, efficient and effective interaction between the stakeholders. This not only promotes better administration and better business environment, but also saves time and money in transactionscostsofgovernmentoperations(IICD2001)

Prof.PankajArora, Lecturer, DIMAT, Raipur(Chhattisgarh), Emailid:arora.pankaj07@gmail.com ContactNo:9827910110

Reference:
1. AllenR.Kathleen,Bringingnewtechnologytomarket,1streprintedition,Prenticehall Publication,pp.121,2005 2. AllenR.Kathleen,Bringingnewtechnologytomarket,1streprintedition,Prenticehall Publication,pp.28,2005 3. Dogra,B.andK.ghuman.2008.RuralMarketing:ConceptandPractices.NewDelhi:TataMc GrawHill. 4. Gopalaswamy,T.P.1997.RrualMarketing:Environment,Problem,andStrategies.NewDelhi: WheelerPublishing. 5. Jha,M.1988.RuralMarketing:someconceptualissues,EconomicandPoliticalWeekely,23(9): M8M16. 6. Kashyap,P.andS.Raut2006.TheRuralMarketingBook.NewDelhi:Biztantra. 7. Kotler,P.,K.Keller,A.KoshyandM.Jha2007.MarketingManagement:ASouthAsian Prespective.NewDelhi:PearsonPrenticeHall. 8. Kotler,P.2000.MarketingManagement.NJ:PrenticeHall. 9. Koehn,NancyF.BrandNew:HowentrepreneurEarnedConsumersTrustfromWedgewoodto Dell.Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,2001. 10. Krishnamacharylu,C.S.G.andL.Ramakrishnan.2002.RuralMarkeitng:TextandCases.Delhi: PearsonEducation. 11. Nabi,M.k.andK.C.Raut1995.ProblemandImperativesofRuralMarketingInIndia,Indian JournalofMarketing.24(23):1624. 12. Prahalad,C.K.2005.Thefortuneatthebottomofthepyramid:EradicatingPovertythrough Profits.NewDelhi:PearsonEducation. 13. Rajagopal.1994.MarketingChannelforRuralIndustries,JournalofRuraldevelopment,13 (4):593601. 14. Rao,K.L.KandR.G.Tagat.1985.RuralMarketing:AdevelopmentApproach,Vikalpa10(3): 31526 15. Singh.Nirvikar, Information technology and rural development in India, UniversityofCalifornia, SantaCruz,USA,April2004 16. Vaswani,L.K.,R.Aithal,D.PradhanandG.Sridhar.2005.RuralMarketinginDevelopment Paradigm,InternationalJournalofRuralManagement,1(2):24562 17. Velayudhan,S.K.2002.RuralMarketing:TargetingtheNonurbanconsumer.NewDelhi: responseBooks. 18. Viitanen.K.Anita;TheRoleofICTinGoverningRuralDevelopment