Rural Consumer Behaviour

India

Urban
28%

Rural
72%
India
State 28
Uts 7
Districts 593
List of Tahsils/Talukas/CD Blocks 5464
Villages 638365
Urban Agglomerations (UAs) 384
Towns 5161
Total Population 1027015247
Male 531277078 51.70%
Female 495738169 48.30%
Population variation (1991-2001) 21.34
Rural 741660293 72.20%
Urban Pupolation 285354954 27.80%
Sex Ratio 933
Literacy
Total (%) 65.38
Male (%) 75.96
Female (%) 54.28
Change in Literacy Rate (1991-2001) 13.75
Definitions…
 Rural and Urban Areas

 The conceptual unit for urban areas is a 'town', whereas for the rural areas it
is a 'village.' The classification of an area as an urban unit in Census of India
2001 is based on the following definition:

 All places declared by the state government under a statute as a

municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area
committee, etc.
 All other places which simultaneously satisfy or are expected to satisfy
the following criteria:
 A minimum population of 5,000;
 At least 75 per cent of the male working population engaged in non-
agricultural economic pursuits: and
 A density of population of at least 400 per square kilometer (1,000 per
square mile)

 Any area, which is not covered by the definition of urban, is rural.

Shopping behaviour
 Word-of-mouth, very important and credible

 Mass driven
 Buy products that are perceived to be popular: the ‘bandwagon’
effect

 High awareness of range of consumer brands - but propensity

to actually purchase premium performance brands is low

 Still influenced by popular idols/role models such as movie

stars, famous sportsmen, etc
Collectivism (As opposed to individualistic)
 Adhere to prevailing social norms: the community they live in is
very important and their behaviour is usually consistent with the
community’s shared beliefs and norms

 Enjoy social gatherings: women’s associations, celebrations, events, etc

 Spend a lot of their free time chatting and gossiping with neighbours:
both as a source of entertainment and information (Choupals)

 Tend to be suspicious about people outside the community

 Follow opinion leaders: school teachers, priests, religious leaders,

urbanised relatives, local politicians, the village head
 Family and the housewife’s role
 Housewives manage the household and decide on its needs
 Largely determine brand choice for low-cost household products
 But in rural India, males play that role too
 Males are still dominant; largely a patriarchal society
 Yet, housewife establishes her ‘territory’
 High ‘power gaps’: less powerful members of the family accept and
expect that power is unequally distributed

 Family is at the core of their existence - and the ‘self’ is considered less
important
 Housewife is often frustrated in her own ambitions, but wishes to see
these aspirations fulfilled through her children
 Aims for children to achieve academic excellence

 Believe in having many children: future providers

Other beliefs
 Strong belief in ‘fate’ and ‘luck’, religion and God

 Active participation in religious activities

 “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”

Unchanged characteristics of rural consumers
India
 Continued existence of an oppressive and rigid caste
system, particularly in rural areas
 The rural consumer normally hails from the lower castes, and
therefore any depiction of him/her on an equal footing with the
higher castes would be seen as aspirational

 High illiteracy levels: often incapable of reading or

pronouncing a brand name
 E.g. Lifebuoy is referred to as ‘the red soap’
Key considerations while targeting
rural consumers?
Targeting rural consumers…
 Highlight multiple uses from the same product
 Dettol liquid for cuts, gargle for bad throat, washing clothes as a
disinfectant , dandruff etc
 Jet mosquito coil for mosquito repellent and room freshner
 Advertise small packs with a low unit price
 Tiger biscuits tikki pack
 Cavin Kare - Chik shampoo
 Chota Pepsi 5 rupiya mein
 Why pay more?
 Nirma Super “Jab vohi manghe damo vali quality kam dam mein mile to koi
vo kuye le”
 A little (of the product) goes a long way
 Rin detergent bar claims that with just a little Rin, you can get a whole lot
of wash
 One drop vim liquid
 Targeting rural consumers…
 The rural consumer is sensitive about being portrayed as poor
 Don’t do it!
 Play on their aspirations instead
 Fantasy, Song & Dance, Idiom of the cinema
 Nirma detergent powder employs song and dance, up-market
models and a vibrant jingle
 Navrattan hair oil - Govinda in a dance sequence
 Use catch-phrases accompanied by matching signature visuals
 Surf Ultra detergent powder used the hugely evocative phrase -
“Dhoondte reh jaoge” along with the characteristic twirl of the
finger
 Rin detergent bar used the phrase “Zara sa Rin” along with the
characteristic flick of the finger
Targeting rural consumers…
 Use opinion leaders
 If they are credible, they work
 Colgate dental cream endorsed by a doctor
 Sarpanch - Anti Leprosy
 Leverage the rural consumer’s belief in natural ingredients
 Ganga soap claims that it contains milk and is made from the water
of Ganga
 Dabur Amla hair oil with “Anvla”, Lal Dant Manjan with “lavng”
 Depict characters and families that are aspirational yet real
 It is advisable to use characters that are aspirational and yet middle-
of-the-road i.e. not beyond the perceived reach of the rural consumer
 avoid being too freaky or too Westernised i.e. jeans are OK but torn or
rugged ones may not be
Targeting rural consumers…
 Understand and leverage your local culture, beliefs and
customs
 Fair and Lovely skin lightening lotion makes use of people’s
belief in palmist
 Bajaj scooters sybolising progressive nation ‘buland bharat ki..’
 Make promotions relevant and ‘aspirational’
 Upbeat promotions that promise the possibility of winning a
dream prize such as a house, gold ornaments etc
 Use radio effectively
 Radio often has a much higher reach
 Sampling
 The sampling provides a low-risk opportunity to try the
product
 Targeting rural consumers…
 Packaging
 Pack is sometimes the only communication medium
 Due to low literacy levels, particularly in India, recognition of the
brand name is mainly through its distinct logo and visual pack
properties
 Brand recognition signals
 Distinctive colours: use lively, bright colours
 Strong and bright colours usually imply a health proposition,
whereas pastels and shades have a cosmetic or beauty connotation
 For toothpaste, avoid using pack colours that have negative
connotations - like yellow which connotes dirty teeth
 Synergy across media
 Targeting rural consumers…
 As the rural consumer tend to come to the shop frequently, POS
materials act as a constant reminder of brand presence and advantage
 Branding must be done through colour, brand name and symbols: strong
visuals are important
 POS material should be
 Durable
 Functional and reusable: calendars, mirrors, stands
 Decorative
 Location is key: need to be placed strategically
 Billboards, wall paintings, banners
 Special events which are entertaining are very popular
 Folk-song concerts
 Road shows
 Travelling cinemas
 Video parlours
Rural Communication Planning
Framework for selection and evaluation of relevant rural advertising options for a given
communication task
The framework
 Outline media possibilities for various marketing situations
 Construct an evaluation system for various rural options
 Modify it for relevant state as per regional variations
 Outline execution pointers
 Outline costs
Marketing Situations
 Build penetration
 launch in newer popstrata

 Test market
 Test acceptability of new product/mix

 Pressure Test
 vary advertising weights to gauge response

 Promotion

 Maintenance
 Ideally, this is the requirement.
Situation Reach Frequency

Increase penetration High Low

Test Market High High

Pressure Test Low High

Promotion High Low

Maintenance Low Low

Rural media usage grid
Jeep based advertising Van Based Advertising
Wall Painting Melas
High
Bus Stand Direct to Home
Reach
Bus Panels Folklore groups
Haats Exhibitions/Created events
Hoardings
Postal branding
Co-operative Notice Board Tin Plating – Trees/Shops
Shop Front Painting Leaflets
Tin Plating – House Posters
Dealer Boards Banners
Low
Village Boards Streamers/Danglers
Reach
Well Tiles
Calendars/Lables

High Frequency Low Frequency

Thank you!