2. What Is Rural Marketing?
The Rural Marketing refers to the activities undertaken by
the marketers to encourage the people living in rural areas to
convert their purchasing power into an effective demand for
the goods and services and making these available in the
rural areas, with the intention to improve their standard of
living and achieving the company’s objective, as a whole.
4. Characteristics Of Rural Marketing
1. Large and scattered population:
According to the 2001 census, 740 million Indians forming 70 per cent of India’s population live
in rural areas. The rate of increase in rural population is also greater than that of urban
population. The rural population is scattered in over 6 lakhs villages. The rural population is
highly scattered, but holds a big promise for the marketers.
2. Low literacy level:
A large percentage of rural population is illiterate or semi-literate. Therefore, audio and visual
media are needed in place of print media. Demonstration on use is necessary in case of durable
products.
3. Development of infrastructure:
Roads, power, warehouses, etc. are inadequate. Therefore, physical distribution is difficult, time
consuming and expensive.
5. 4. Reference Groups:
Teachers, health workers, panchayat members, shop owners are the main influence on buying
decision making.
5. Media Habits:
Rural customers are fond of folklore, fairs, haats, nautanki, etc.
6. Traditional outlook:
The rural consumer values old customs and traditions. They do not prefer changes. Gradually,
the rural population is changing its demand pattern, and there is demand for branded products
in villages.
7. Marketing mix:
The urban products cannot be dumped on rural population; separate sets of products are
designed for rural consumers to suit the rural demands. The marketing mix elements are to be
adjusted according to the requirements of the rural consumers.
6. Rural Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix ‘refers’ to the set of
actions, tactics, tools or variables that a
company uses to promote and sell its
brand or product in a market.
7. 4 Ps of Rural Marketing
Every Product and promotion, which is a hit in cities , might not work
in rural areas.
Product
Promotion
Price
Place
8. Product
Product for rural market must be built or modified to
suit the lifestyle and needs of the rural consumers.
Product Strategies:
1. New/Modified Product
2. Utility Oriented Product
3. Avoiding Sophisticated Packaging
4. Application of Value Engineering
5. Small unit packaging
9. Price
• The villagers, due to their limited resources, are very price sensitive by
nature.
Pricing Strategies:
• Large volume - Low merging
• Overall efficiency and passing on benefits to consumers.
• Low cost/value for money product
• Low volume - low price
10. Place Strategy
• Segmentation
• Coverage of villages with 2,000 and above population
• Distribution up to feeder markets/Mandi towns.
• Direct Contact with rural Retail
Place
(A village as a pace for promotion, distribution, and
consumption is very different from town or city)
11. Promotion
• Promotion aspect always creates a challenge in rural markets because
of the fact that village have thin population density and are widely spread
over large remote areas.
• NCAER conducted survey to study the socio economic effects of
advertising ; the India Society of Advertisers sponsored this survey. It
covered 3,836 household in 50 towns and 50 rural district in 10 states. It
showed a clean rural –urban divide, 16% or rural and 25% of urban
customers felt that advertising influenced them to frequently or always
buy products they do not really need.
12. What is Social Marketing?
Social marketing is an approach used to
develop activities aimed at changing or
maintaining people’s behaviour for the
benefit of individuals and society as a
whole.
14. Product
What we’re offering people:
• Service
• Behavior
• Commodity (tangible goods)
Solution to a problem:
• Benefits
• Unique
• Competitive
Real:
Defined in terms of the user’s beliefs, practices, and values
15. The cost of purchasing the product:
• Money
• Time
• Pleasure
• Loss of self-esteem
• Embarrassment
Price
16. Channels for information:
• Where service is provided
• Where information is received
• Where tangible product is purchased
• Available
• Easy to find and use
• Appropriate
• Timely
Place
18. What is Digital Marketing?
“Digital marketing” is the process of building and
maintaining customer relationships through online
activities to generate sales and/or capture customers that
are searching on the Internet for answers.
19. What are the benefits of digital
marketing?
Over traditional marketing *
Puts the consumer in control
Provides convenience
Drives brand loyalty
Reduces the selling cycle
Builds your brand
It is measurable
It is cost effective
20. Digital Marketing Objectives
One way to make sure you are found on the web is with an optimized digital
marketing strategy. Most digital marketing strategies and campaigns have 5
objectives:
Reach the right audience
Engage with your audience
Motivate your audience to take action
Ensure efficient spending on your campaign
Maximize return on investment (ROI)
21. Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is a form of advertising where organizations
communicate directly to customers through a variety of media
including cell phone text messaging, email, websites, online
adverts, database marketing, fliers, catalogue distribution, promotional
letters and targeted television, newspaper and magazine advertisements
as well as outdoor advertising. Among practitioners, it is also known
as direct response.
22. Common forms of direct marketing include:
•Brochures
•Catalogues
•Fliers
•Newsletters
•Post cards
•Coupons
•Emails
•Targeted online display ads
•Phone calls
•Text messages
Forms of Direct Marketing
23. Channels of Direct Marketing
1. Direct selling:
Direct selling is the sale of products by face-to-face contact with the customer, either by having salespeople
approach potential customers in person, or through indirect means such as Tupperware parties.
2. Direct mail
The term advertising, or direct mail, is used to refer to communications sent to potential customers or donors
via the postal service and other delivery services. Direct mail is sent to customers based on criteria such as
age, income, location, profession, buying pattern, etc. Direct mail includes advertising circulars, catalogues,
free-trial CDs, pre-approved credit card applications, and other unsolicited merchandising invitations
delivered by mail to homes and businesses.
3. Telemarketing:
Another common form of direct marketing is telemarketing, in which marketers contact customers by phone.
The primary benefit to businesses is increased lead generation, which helps businesses increase sales volume
and customer base.
24. 4. Direct-Response Advertising:
Direct-response advertising is communicating with potential buyers through television, radio, magazines,
and newspapers. The prospective consumer watches, hears, or reads about the product or service and
initiates a call to a toll-free number to place their order. Television, for example, offers a wide range of
exposure, from a 30-second commercial to a 60-minute infomercial.
5.Kiosk Marketing:
Customer order machines, versus vending machines that actually provide products, are another form of
direct marketing.
25. Good direct marketing campaigns focus on promoting a specific product or service, and call on your customers
to act - to receive further information, register their interest, visit your website, make a booking or a purchase.
Direct marketing gives you the opportunity to promote your products and services directly to the customers who
most need them.
A good direct marketing campaign will:
•help you build relationships with new customers
•test the appeal of your product or service
•tell you which marketing approaches reach your target market
•provide customers with compelling content they can share with potential customers
•increase sales.
However, direct marketing campaigns require careful planning and a clear understanding of responsible direct
marketing practice. Being aware of the benefits and challenges of direct marketing will help you use direct
marketing effectively.
Benefits of Direct Marketing
26. Services Marketing
The promotion of economic activities offered by a business
to its clients.
Service marketing might include the process of selling
telecommunications, health treatment, financial, hospitality,
car rental, air travel, and professional services.
27. The American Marketing Association defines services as - “Activities, benefits and satisfactions which are offered for
sale or are provided in connection with the sale of goods.”
The defining characteristics of a service are:
Intangibility: Services are intangible and do not have a physical existence. Hence services cannot be touched, held,
tasted or smelt. This is most defining feature of a service and that which primarily differentiates it from a product.
Also, it poses a unique challenge to those engaged in marketing a service as they need to attach tangible attributes
to an otherwise intangible offering.
1.Heterogeneity/Variability: Given the very nature of services, each service offering is unique and cannot be
exactly repeated even by the same service provider. While products can be mass produced and be homogenous the
same is not true of services.
2.Perishability: Services cannot be stored, saved, returned or resold once they have been used. Once rendered to
a customer the service is completely consumed and cannot be delivered to another customer.
3.Inseparability/Simultaneity of production and consumption: This refers to the fact that services are generated
and consumed within the same time frame. Eg: a haircut is delivered to and consumed by a customer simultaneously
unlike, say, a takeaway burger which the customer may consume even after a few hours of purchase. Moreover, it is
very difficult to separate a service from the service provider.
Characteristics
29. Product
The product in service marketing mix is intangible in nature. Like physical products such
as a soap or a detergent, service products cannot be measured. Tourism industry or the
education industry can be an excellent example. At the same time service products
are heterogeneous, perishable and cannot be owned.
The service product thus has to be designed with care. Generally service blue printing
is done to define the service product. For example – a restaurant blue print will be
prepared before establishing a restaurant business. This service blue print defines
exactly how the product (in this case the restaurant) is going to be.
30. Place
Place in case of services determine where is the service
product going to be located. The best place to open up a
petrol pump is on the highway or in the city. A place where
there is minimum traffic is a wrong location to start a petrol
pump. Similarly a software company will be better placed in a
business hub with a lot of companies nearby rather than being
placed in a town or rural area.
31. Promotion
Promotions have become a critical factor in the service marketing mix. Services
are easy to be duplicated and hence it is generally the brand which sets a service
apart from its counterpart. You will find a lot of banks and telecom companies
promoting themselves rigorously.
Why is that? It is because competition in this service sector is generally high and
promotions is necessary to survive. Thus banks, IT companies, and dotcoms place
themselves above the rest by advertising or promotions.
32. Pricing
Pricing in case of services is rather more difficult than in case of products. If you
were a restaurant owner, you can price people only for the food you are serving.
But then who will pay for the nice ambiance you have built up for your customers?
Who will pay for the band you have for music?
Thus these elements have to be taken into consideration while costing. Generally
service pricing involves taking into consideration labour, material cost and
overhead costs. By adding a profit mark up you get your final service pricing. You
can also read about pricing strategies.
33. People
People is one of the elements of service marketing mix. People define a service. If
you have an IT company, your software engineers define you. If you have a
restaurant, your chef and service staff defines you. If you are into banking,
employees in your branch and their behaviour towards customers defines you. In
case of service marketing, people can make or break an organization.
Thus many companies nowadays are involved into specially getting their staff
trained in interpersonal skills and customer service with a focus towards customer
satisfaction. In fact many companies have to undergo accreditation to show that
their staff is better than the rest. Definitely a USP in case of services.
34. Process
Service process is the way in which a service is delivered to the end customer.
Lets take the example of two very good companies – Mcdonalds and Fedex. Both
the companies thrive on their quick service and the reason they can do that is
their confidence on their processes.
On top of it, the demand of these services is such that they have to deliver
optimally without a loss in quality. Thus the process of a service company in
delivering its product is of utmost importance. It is also a critical component in the
service blueprint, wherein before establishing the service, the company defines
exactly what should be the process of the service product reaching the end
customer.
35. Physical Evidence
The last element in the service marketing mix is a very important element. As said
before, services are intangible in nature. However, to create a better customer
experience tangible elements are also delivered with the service. Take an example
of a restaurant which has only chairs and tables and good food, or a restaurant
which has ambient lighting, nice music along with good seating arrangement and
this also serves good food. Which one will you prefer? The one with the nice
ambience. That’s physical evidence.
Several times, physical evidence is used as a differentiator in service marketing.
Imagine a private hospital and a government hospital. A private hospital will have
plush offices and well dressed staff. Same cannot be said for a government
hospital. Thus physical evidence acts as a differentiator.
36. What is Green Marketing?
Green marketing is the marketing of environmentally friendly products and services. It
is becoming more popular as more people become concerned with environmental
issues and decide that they want to spend their money in a way that is kinder to the
planet.
Green marketing can involve a number of different things, such as creating an eco-
friendly product, using eco-friendly packaging, adopting sustainable business
practices, or focusing marketing efforts on messages that communicate a product’s
green benefits.
37. Beyond making an environmentally friendly product, business owners can do other
things as part of their green marketing efforts.
The following can all be part of a green marketing strategy:
•Using eco-friendly paper and inks for print marketing materials
•Skipping the printed materials altogether and option for electronic marketing
•Having a recycling program and responsible waste disposal practices
•Using eco-friendly product packaging
•Using efficient packing and shipping methods
•Using eco-friendly power sources
•Taking steps to offset environmental impact
Green Marketing Methods
38. Importance of Green Marketing
1. Now, people are insisting pure products – edible items, fruits, and vegetables based on organic
farming.
2. Reducing use of plastics and plastic-based products.
3. Increased consumption of herbal products instead of processed products.
4. Recommending use of leaves instead of plastic pieces; jute and cloth bags instead of plastic
carrying bags.
5. Increasing use of bio-fertilizers (made of agro-wastes and wormy-composed) instead of
chemical fertilizers (i.e. organic farming), and minimum use of pesticides.
6. Worldwide efforts to recycle wastes of consumer and industrial products.
7. Increased use of herbal medicines, natural therapy, and Yoga.
8. Strict provisions to protect forests, flora and fauna, protection of the rivers, lakes and seas from
pollutions.
9. Global restrictions on production and use of harmful weapons, atomic tests, etc. Various
organizations of several countries have formulated provisions for protecting ecological balance.
10. More emphasis on social and environmental accountability of producers.
39. • Lack of credibility or trust by consumers and end-users
• Confusion regarding green or sustainable product claims
• Reputational risk from "misleading claims"
• Liability risk from "greenwashing" under FTC Green Guides
Problems In Green Marketing
