commentary continued

consumer education

Product differentiation in tribal communities can occur only once the marketer establishes the basic need for a first-time purchase. It simply cannot be done by hanging a sample on the consumer's postal box or door knob in a remote region. Education and consumer literacy are key, and the face-to-face demonstration is the starting point for them.

Van tours are scheduled to each village and hatta for a dekko (Hindi derivation for a "see" or a "look"), where the product is shown in application. With the Indians' love for movies, visits are scheduled by cinema vans that show popular movies interspersed with product advertising from marketers.

The rural marketer must be student as well as educator. Product usage may vary wildly compared to urban centers or suburbs. In some villages the same soap used to clean clothes or dishes may be used to wash body and hair. The rural marketer can either develop multiple-use soap products or educate the frugal villager on the benefit of two different soap products.

packaging

Basic utilities and storage space are a luxury not found in most villages. The use of pouch packs for food products and sachets for personal care
products provide a combination of a visually attractive shelf-stable form. With modes of delivery ranging from animal to bicycle, jute sacks may be substituted for cardboard shipping boxes to permit easier transport and storage.

pricing

Pricing challenges are a major consideration given that agrarian villagers are typically paid when crops are harvested or sold or when construction projects are completed. However, even with incredibly low wages, there is a modest disposable income because housing, transportation, and utility costs are extremely low (or non-existent) by urban standards.

For this reason value is as important as price in the rural marketplace. What in urban areas might be an impulse-buy is, in fact, a considered purchase in the villages. Thus, the true test of a brand or product purchased for the very first time will be the price: performance ratio more so than a cheap price.

technology/infrastructure

Blend ancient tribal custom with technologies that actually leapfrog some mature markets for a snapshot of the new science of rural marketing. Armed with mobile phone, Internet access, and a printer, the newly microcredit-capitalized village "CMO" can have instantaneous communications related to anything from "brand van" visits to commodity pricing in cities and villages.

The trailblazing E-choupal network (choupal is Hindi for gathering place) of ITC Ltd., one of India's leading companies, has led to Internet installations in 31,000 rural villages, representing some 3.5 million remote agrarian workers. Internet infrastructure provider n-Logue focuses specifically on underserved rural villages. N-Logue installs Internet kiosks via satellite access that serve as the village hub for e-mail, photos, and web access. A critical link in rural marketing has become the thousands of emerging women's Self Help Groups. The name is misleading given that networks of these groups have become incredibly important bridges between microfinance finance institutions and the development of marketing-driven business models.

GO TO: [1] [2] [3]