Tilak Education Society’s

S.K College of Science and Commerce, Nerul

SYBMS IVth sem Question Bank Solution
Subject: Rural Marketing

QUESTIONS

Unit- 1
Q1 Explain the emerging profile of rural market in India.
Q2 State the problems of rural marketing.
Q3 What are the various constraints in developing the rural market?
Q4 What are the efforts put by government for rural development.
Q5 Discuss the 4 A’s of rural marketing.
Unit-2
Q6 Discuss the rural market environment.
Q7 Explain the characteristics of rural consumer / Discuss the profile of rural consumer.
Q8 Differences between Urban & Rural Consumer.
Q9 Explain the different socio- cultural factors affecting the buying behaviour?
Q10 Explain the different economic factors affecting the buying behaviour?
Q11 Explain the different types of consumer behaviour.
Q12 Define consumer behaviour and its features.
Unit- 3
Q13 Define product strategies for marketing products in rural areas.
Q14 Explain the defects in marketing agricultural goods.
Q15 Discuss the major causes for fake products and strategies to counter its sales.
Q16 What are the main strategies for pricing the products in rural markets.
Q17 What are the promotional strategies used in marketing.
Q18 Define segmentation and explain its types.
Unit-4
Q19 Explain method of distribution in rural markets?
Q20 Discuss the problems of physical distribution in rural areas?
Q21 Explain the challenges in rural communication?
Q22 Explain the steps in developing effective rural communication?
Q23 Explain the non-conventional media.

ANSWERS

Q1 Explain the emerging profile of rural market in India

Ans: Rural marketing is now a two-way marketing process. There is inflow of products into rural markets for
production or consumption and there is also outflow of products to urban areas. 
 Large and scattered population: The rate of increase in rural population is 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.
 Size/ large number of consumers: The rural market in India is vast and scattered, and offers a
plethora of opportunities in comparison to the urban sector. It covers the maximum population and
regions, and thereby, the maximum number of consumers. Rural market is account for about 74%
of total Indian population.
 Major income comes from agriculture: About 60% of the rural income is from agriculture and

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 Tilak Education Society’s
S.K College of Science and Commerce, Nerul
SYBMS IVth sem Question Bank Solution
Subject: Rural Marketing

hence the demand for consumer goods is high during harvesting season.
 Low standard of living: The standard of living of rural areas is low and rural consumers have
diverse socio-economic backwardness. This is different in different parts of the country. A con-
sumer in a village area has a low standard of living because of low literacy, low per capita income,
social backwardness and low savings.
 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.
 Diverse socio-economic background: Rural consumers have diverse socio-economic
backwardness. This is different in different parts of the country.
 Changing demand pattern: Demand pattern of rural customer is fast changing due to increase in
income and credit facilities offered by the banks like ‘kisan credit card’. This change is due to the
increase in the rural income.
 Infrastructure facilities: The infrastructural facilities like roads, warehouses, communication
system are inadequate in rural areas , Hence physical distribution becomes costly due to inadequate
Infrastructure Facilities.
 Saving habits: Rural consumer is now having saving habits due to the efforts of cooperative and
commercial banks. Presently more than 33% of India’s savings comes from rural India.
 Role of Government: Demand of products depends on availability of basic facilities like
electricity, transportation, schools, hospitals, etc. The steps taken by the Government of India to
initiate proper irrigation, infrastructural developments, prevention of flood, grants for fertilizers,
and various schemes to cut down the poverty line have improved the condition of the rural masses.
Rural market depends on government’s contribution to the rural sector.
 Media: Mass Media has created increased demand for goods and services in rural areas. Smart
marketers are employing the right mix of conventional and non-conventional media to create
increased demand for products. The role cable television has been noteworthy in bringing about the
change in rural people’s mind set and influencing their lifestyles
 Smart phones penetrating into rural India: 320 million are rural mobile phone users i.e. roughly
38 per cent of the rural population, which includes children and senior citizens. The actual benefit
of technology positively impacting rural economy will be seen when data communication is used
effectively.
Q2 State the problems of rural marketing.
Ans:  Underdeveloped People And Underdeveloped Markets: Rural society in India is
underdeveloped. Modern technology has tried to develop the people and markets in rural
areas. But the technology has made very less impact in rural areas.
 Transportation Problems: Transportation is essential for movement of products from
urban production centers to remote villages. In rural India transportation facilities are quite
poor. Nearly 80 percentages of villages in the country are not connected by well-
constructed roads. Many parts of India have kuccha roads. Due to poor transportation
facilities it is not possible for a marketer to access the rural market.
 Warehousing Problems: A storage function is necessary because there is a time gap
between production and consumption of commodities. Agricultural commodities are
produced seasonally but they are demanded over the year so there is need to store them.
But in rural areas, there is lack of public as well as private warehousing. Marketers face
problems of storage of their goods.
 Many Languages: India is a country of many languages. Language becomes barrier in
effective communication in the market efforts. The number of languages vary from state to

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 Tilak Education Society’s
S.K College of Science and Commerce, Nerul
SYBMS IVth sem Question Bank Solution
Subject: Rural Marketing

state, region to region and district to district, etc

 Low Level of Literacy: The literacy rate is low in rural areas as compared to urban areas.
Marketers face communication problem due to the lack of literacy rate. Print medium is not
much effective and it is irrelevant since its reach is poor. So, low level of literacy becomes
challenge for marketers in rural areas.
 Lack of communication facilities: Even today, most villages in the country are
inaccessible during the monsoons. A large number of villages in the country have no
access to telephones. Other communication infrastructure is also highly underdeveloped.
 Dispersed markets/ Vastness and uneven spread: Rural population is scattered over a
large land area. And it is almost impossible to ensure the availability of a brand all over the
country. District fairs are periodic and occasional in nature. Manufacturers and retailers
prefer such occasions, as they allow greater visibility and capture the attention of the target
audience for larger spans of time. Advertising in such a highly heterogeneous market is
also very expensive.
 Low per capita Income: The per capita income of rural people is low as compared to the
urban people. Moreover, demand in rural markets depends on the agricultural situation,
which in turn depends on the monsoons. Therefore, the demand is not stable or regular.
Hence, the per-capita income is low in villages compared with urban areas.
 Problems in sales force management: Sales force is generally reluctant to work in rural
areas. The languages and dialects vary from state to state, region to region, and probably
from district to district. Since messages have to be delivered in the local language, it is
difficult for sales force to communicate with the rural consumers. Sales force finds it
difficult to adjust to the rural environment and inadequate facilities available in rural areas.
 Market Organisation & Staff: Rural marketing needs large marketing organisation and
staff to have an effective control, which requires huge investment.
 Hierarchy of Market: Rural consumers have identified market places for different items
of their requirements. Thus depending upon the purchase habit of rural people, the
distribution network of different commodities has to be different.
 Non-Availability of Dealers: It is not possible to have direct outlets in each rural
market; firms need to have service of dealers, which is not easily available.

Q3 What are the various constraints in developing the rural market?

Ans:  Low Literacy: There are not enough opportunities for education in rural areas. The literacy level is
as low (36%) when compared to all-India average of 52%.
 Traditional Life: Life in rural areas is still governed by customs and traditions and people do not
easily adapt new practices. For example, even rich and educated class of farmers does not wear
jeans or branded shoes.
 Media for Promotions: Television has made a great impact and large audience has been exposed
to this medium. Radio reaches large population in rural areas at a relatively low cost. However,
reach of formal media is low in rural households. Therefore, the market has to undertake specific
sales promotion activities in rural areas like participating in meals of fairs.
 Ineffective distribution channels: The distribution chain is not very well organized and requires a
large number of intermediaries, which in turn increases the cost and creates administrative
problems. Due to lack of proper infrastructure, manufacturers are reluctant to open outlets in these
areas. They are mainly dependent on dealers, who are not easily available for rural areas. This is a
challenge to the marketers.
 Spurious brands: Cost is an important factor that determines purchasing decision in rural areas. A

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 Tilak Education Society’s
S.K College of Science and Commerce, Nerul
SYBMS IVth sem Question Bank Solution
Subject: Rural Marketing

lot of spurious brands or look-alikes are available, providing a low cost option to the rural
customer. Many a time the rural customer may not be aware of the difference due to illiteracy.
 Seasonal Demand: Demand for goods in rural markets depends upon agricultural situation, as
agriculture is the main source of income. Agriculture to a large extent depends upon monsoon and,
therefore, the demand or buying capacity is not stable or regular.
 Buying Decisions: Rural consumers are cautious in buying and decisions are slow and delayed.
They like to give a trial and only after satisfying personally, they buy the product.
 Poor or improper communication facilities: Most villages even today largely depends on
telegrams and phones for their communication needs print media and visual media[Television
cinema] etc reaches only a small percentage of rural Indians.
 Transportation: Transportation is one of the biggest challenges in rural markets. As far as road
transportation is concerned, about 50% of Indian villages are connected by roads. However, the rest
of the rural markets do not even have a proper road linkage which makes physical distribution a
tough task. Many villages are located in hilly terrains that make it difficult to connect them through
roads. Most marketers use tractors or bullock carts in rural areas to distribute their products.
Q4 What are the efforts put by government for rural development.
Ans: The rural economy is an integral part of the overall Indian economy. As majority of the poor reside in the
rural areas, the prime goal of rural development is to improve the quality of life of the rural people by
alleviating poverty through the instrument of self-employment and wage employment programmes, by
providing community infrastructure facilities such as drinking water, electricity, road connectivity, health
facilities, rural housing and education and promoting decentralization of powers to strengthen the
Panchayati raj institutions etc. The various strategies and programs of the Government for rural
development are discussed below:
 Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP): First introduced in 1978-79, IRDP has
provided assistance to rural poor in the form of subsidy and bank credit for productive employment
opportunities through successive plan periods. Subsequently, Training of Rural Youth for Self
Employment (TRYSEM), Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA),
Supply of Improved Tool Kits to Rural Artisans (SITRA) and Ganga Kalyan Yojana (GKY) were
introduced as sub-programs of IRDP to take care of the specific needs of the rural population.
 Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana [2000]: Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
was launched on 25th December 2000 as a fully funded Centrally Sponsored Scheme to provide all
weather road connectivity in rural areas of the country. The programme envisages connecting all
habitations with a population of 500 persons and above in the plain areas and 250 persons and
above in hill States, the tribal and the desert areas. According to latest figures made available by
the State Governments under a survey to identify Core Network as part of the PMGSY programme,
about 1.67 lakh Unconnected Habitations are eligible for coverage under the programme. This
involves construction of about 3.71 lakh km. of roads for New Connectivity and 3.68 lakh km.
under upgradation.
 Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana: Since 1 April 1999, the “Swarnjayanti Gram
Swarozgar Yojana [SGSY]” for the self-employment of the rural poor has been under
implementation after restructuring and merging the erstwhile IRDP and its allied programs. The
program aims at bringing the assisted BPL families above the Poverty Line through [i] organizing
rural poor into Self-Help-Groups [ii] establishing micro enterprises in rural areas based on the
ability of the poor and potential of each area. [iii] provision of credit linked capital subsidy to help
beneficiaries acquire income- generating assets [iv] training of beneficiaries in group dynamics and
skill development for managing micro-enterprises [v] marketing support with focus on market
research, upgradation and diversification of products, packaging, creation of marketing facilities

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 Tilak Education Society’s
S.K College of Science and Commerce, Nerul
SYBMS IVth sem Question Bank Solution
Subject: Rural Marketing

[vi] provision of infrastructure development fund to provide missing critical links.

 Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana: The Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) was
launched on 25 September, 2001 by merging the on-going schemes of EAS (Employment
Assurance Scheme) and the JGSY (Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojna) . Objective was to providing
additional wage employment and food security, alongside creation of durable community assets in
rural areas.
 Wage Employment Programs: Anti-poverty strategies, like assistance to the rural poor families
to bring them above the poverty line by ensuring appreciable sustained level of income through the
process of social mobilization, training and capacity building. Wage Employment Programs have
sought to achieve multiple objectives. They not only provide employment opportunities during lean
agricultural seasons but also in times of floods, droughts and other natural calamities. They create
rural infrastructure which supports further economic activity. It encompasses Swarnjayanti Gram
Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) and National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) etc. NREGA is an act of parliament. It is not merely a
scheme or policy. It aims at enhancing the livelihood security of the people in rural areas by
guaranteeing hundred days of wage employment in a financial year, to a rural household whose
members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The objective of the Act is to create durable
assets and strengthen the livelihood resource base of the rural poor
 Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS): EAS was launched in October 1993 covering 1,778
drought-prone, desert, tribal and hill area blocks. It was later extended to all the blocks in 1997-98.
The EAS was designed to provide employment in the form of manual work in the lean agricultural
season. The works taken up under the program were expected to lead to the creation of durable
economic and social infrastructure and address the felt-needs of the people.
 Food for Work Program: The Food for Work program was started in 2000-01 as a component of
the EAS in eight notified drought-affected states of Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Maharastra and Uttaranchal. The program aims at food
provision through wage employment. Food grains are supplied to states free of cost. However,
lifting of food grains for the scheme from Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns has been slow.
 Indira Awaas Yojana : Initiated in1985-86 it was introduced by Rajiv Gandhi.IAY is a flagship
scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development to provide houses to the poor in the rural areas. The
objective of the Indira Awaas Yojana is primarily to help construction/upgradation of dwelling
units of members of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, freed bonded labourers, minorities in the
below poverty line and other below poverty line non-SC/ ST rural households by providing them a
lump sum financial assistance.

Q5 Discuss the 4 A’s of rural marketing / Short Note on 4 A’s of rural marketing.
Ans: The dimensions in rural marketing mix are availability, affordability, acceptability and awareness as
compared to the 4 P‘s of traditional marketing. Marketing mix indicates an appropriate combination of 4
P‘s from the marketer‘s point of view. Considering dynamics of rural market and the challenges in
exploring the rural markets, a practical approach would only be to use the model based on 4 A‘s.
 AVAILABILITY
 Availability is the first A is about making the product reach the consumers. This is to ensure
availability of the product or service.
 Rural people are more concerned with the utility of the products rather than their appearance. This
is why the firms have designed sturdy and utility based products for the rural consumers.
 For example Philips free power radio, Nokia‘s mobile phone with an in built torch, LG‘s

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 Tilak Education Society’s
S.K College of Science and Commerce, Nerul
SYBMS IVth sem Question Bank Solution
Subject: Rural Marketing

Sampoorna television, Hero Honda motorcycles are still popular in rural areas due to the aforesaid
reasons.
 It has been acknowledged by many that distribution systems are the most critical component and a
barrier which needs to be overcome for success in marketing in rural areas.
 The task of distribution in these areas is considered to be more difficult than in urban areas, low
density of population and inaccessibility makes the problem of servicing villages individually
difficult and often uneconomical.
 Direct delivery of goods even to the top one percent of villages cost twice as much as servicing
urban markets .Villages are spread over hundreds of kilometres; where majority of population
dwells and finding and then segmenting them is not easy. However, given the poor state of
infrastructure in rural areas, it is an even greater challenge to regularly reach products to the far‐
flung villages.
 Marketers must trade off the distribution cost with incremental market saturation. In the
distribution the importance of small town markets cannot be ignored and need to be given
importance as besides being a point of distribution they can also be used for promoting products as
villagers tend to come to the town frequently for either purchase of agricultural inputs or sale of
their produce.
 Coca cola, which considers rural India as a future growth driver, has evolved a hub and spoke
distribution model to reach the villages. LG Electronics define all cities and towns other than the
metro cities as rural and semi-urban markets. To tap these unexplored markets, LG has set u 45
area offices and 59 rural area offices.

 AFFORDABILITY
 The next challenge in rural marketing is to ensure affordability of the product or service. While
rural income level has gone up in recent years, the lower income group constitutes about 65% of
the rural population.
 The major source of income for the people of rural regions is still by and large, agriculture and
agriculture related activities. The cost component needs to be tailored according to the needs of
rural masses.
 The availability of disposable income in rural areas is cyclical relate to agricultural cycles. Some
companies have addressed the affordability problem by introducing small unit packs. Most of the
shampoos are available in smaller packs. It has been shown through the success of single use small
packs that the cost per-use is more important than the cost of the overall product or service.
 Fair and lovely was launched in a smaller pack. Colgate toothpaste launched its smaller packs to
cater to the travelling segment and the rural consumers. Godrej recently introduced three brands of
Cinthol, Fair Glow and Godrej in 50‐gm packs, priced at Rs 4‐5 meant specifically for rural areas.
Hindustan Lever, among the first MNC‘s to realize the potential of India's rural market, has
launched a variant of its largest selling soap brand, Lifebuoy at Rs 2 for 50 gm.
 The move is mainly targeted at the rural market. Coca ‐Cola has addressed the affordability issue by
introducing the returnable 200‐ml glass bottle priced at Rs 5. The initiative has paid off: Eighty per
cent of new drinkers now come from the rural markets. Coca‐Cola has also introduced Sunfill, a
powdered soft‐drink concentrate.

 ACCEPTABILITY
 The third challenge is to gain acceptability for the product or service. Therefore, there is a need to
offer products that suit the rural market. Acceptability includes issues needed to be addressed to

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 Tilak Education Society’s
S.K College of Science and Commerce, Nerul
SYBMS IVth sem Question Bank Solution
Subject: Rural Marketing

improve the willingness to consume, distribute or sell a product.

 It also includes how the product or service could be made more acceptable to the rural consumers
by incorporating features which would make it attractive to them. The rural population where
illiteracy is very high needs to be taken into consideration before coming out with the product and
the feature which would be included in the product need to be rethought; the needs of rural
consumer need to be taken into consideration.
 One company which has reaped rich dividends by doing so is LG Electronics. In 1998, it developed
a customized TV for the rural market and christened it Sampoorna. It was a runway hit selling
100,000 sets in the very first year. Because of the lack of electricity and refrigerators in the rural
areas, Coca‐Cola provides low‐cost ice boxes — a tin box for new outlets and thermocol box for
seasonal outlets. The insurance companies that have tailor ‐made products for the rural market have
performed well.
 However, the rural consumer expressions differ from his urban counterpart. Outing for the former
is confined to local fairs and festivals and TV viewing is confined to the state ‐owned Doordarshan.
Consumption of branded products is treated as a special treat or luxury.

 AWARENESS
 Brand awareness is another challenge. Fortunately, however, the rural consumer has the same likes
as the urban consumer — movies and music — and for both the urban and rural consumer, the
family is the key unit of identity. However, the rural consumer expressions differ from his urban
counterpart.
 Awareness is also linked to the issues of promotion in rural areas. The promotion of the services
also needs to be adapted to the village environment; the language and means of communication
used should be in the local language.
 The best places to promote the services could be the local haats and melas which is frequented by
the villagers, the local festivals should also be included in the promotional plan, so should be the
agricultural cycles.
 Outing for the villagers is confined to local fairs and TV viewing was confined to the state ‐owned
Doordarshan, in most of Indian rural regions. Consumption of branded products is treated as a
special treat or indulgence. Hindustan Lever relies heavily on its own company ‐organized media.
These are promotional events organized by stockiest.
 Godrej Consumer Products, which is trying to push its soap brands into the interior areas, uses
radio to reach the local people in their language. Coca ‐Cola uses a combination of TV, cinema and
radio to reach 53.6 per cent of rural households. It has used banners, posters and tapped all the
local forms of entertainment. LG Electronics uses vans and road shows to reach rural customers.
 The company uses local language advertising. Philips India uses wall writing and radio advertising
to drive its growth in rural areas. The key dilemma for MNC‘s ready to tap the large and fast‐
growing rural market is whether they can do so without hurting the company's profit margins.
Q6 Discuss the rural market environment.
Ans: An environment is that which surrounds an organization. It is sum total of external factors and made up of
tangible and intangible factors, both controllable and uncontrollable. Rural marketing is basically focused
marketing activity of an organization. The environment includes threats and opportunities in the rural
market. The Rural marketing environment is complex and is changing continuously.
Rural marketing environment changes will be in the area of
a) Social changes

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 Tilak Education Society’s
S.K College of Science and Commerce, Nerul
SYBMS IVth sem Question Bank Solution
Subject: Rural Marketing

b) Economic changes
c) Ethical changes
d) Political changes
e) Physical changes
f) Technological changes
1. SOCIAL CHANGES:- The social factor consists of three sub-factors,
1) Sociological factor:- Consumer society or the community is an important consideration while devising
rural marketing strategy. The rural consumer life style is largely influenced by the social setup. The
sociological changes influence rural customer habits, taste, and lifestyles.
2) Anthropological factors:- The cultures, subcultures and living patterns influence advertising, sales
promotion, selling and packing strategies of the marketing organizations. The rural consumers living in east
India have different taste whereas those living in western India have totally different.
3) Psychological factors:- Consumer behaviour, attitudes, personality and mental make ups are unique.
The study of rural consumer behaviour is vital to evolve marketing mix.
2. ECONOMIC FACTORS:-
1) Competition:- A good and healthy competition brings in good and overall improvement in economic
activities. It also brings good quality, good quantity and price. Considering rural marketing, there exist less
or minimal competition. The presence of local brands in the rural markets has great impact on competition.
2) Consumers:- Rural lifestyles and behavioral trends are increasingly coming to resemble urban patterns,
in both form and variety. Like urban consumers, the rural middle class is buying more fairness creams,
whereas many of the rural poor are keen to invest in a mobile phone connection. The consumer today is
quite knowledgeable. The rural folks are even choosy than their urban counter parts because they are ready
to spend only when they are assured of getting value for their money. Therefore their progress and well
-being should be the aim of any economic activity.
3) Price:- Pricing is a delicate issue where it should be market friendly, not too high or too little. The
marketer has to keep in mind to get descent returns on investment and effects of producers and marketers.
But pricing becomes more important when the target segment is rural population. Even the marketers have
to introduce smaller packs for their products to these rural population owing to their low purchasing power.
4) ETHICAL FORCES:-
Business minus ethical values brings degeneration. In the long run it creates several problems. Sub-
standardization, exploitation and falsification are main ethical values in such organization. The marketers
have to take proper care while designing their products for rural segments as the rural people are largely
uneducated and are quite sensitive. A slight unethical practice may result in huge boycott of their products.
5) POLITICAL FORCES:-
The government policy towards trade and commerce, internal taxation and preferential treatments, have
great influence on the rural marketing strategies. The marketing environment has to meet the political
frame work in which a government is made to work. Thanks to rural supportive initiatives by Indian
government, more and more companies are making their presence felt in these rural areas. The government
has increased spending in rural areas, from US$9 billion for the financial year ending March 2007 to an
anticipated US$16billion for the financial year ending March 2010.
6) TECHNOLOGICAL FORCES:-
The fast changing science and technology gives a cutting edge to the marketing of products. The changes
warrant changes in marketing inputs and strategies. Faster and efficient communication and transport
systems have speeded up marketer. The capital is made to work faster and harder. So the marketer has to
use these new marketing tools and facilities in designing and implementing his marketing strategies which
are adaptive to the change in environment and ensure success. Even the rural folks are eager to adopt the
faster changing technology. They are now ready to spend a handsome amount for purchasing the latest

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 Tilak Education Society’s
S.K College of Science and Commerce, Nerul
SYBMS IVth sem Question Bank Solution
Subject: Rural Marketing

gadgets and durables.

Q7 Explain the characteristics of rural consumer / Discuss the profile of rural consumer.
Ans: 1. Size of the Rural Consumer: Rural population forms a major portion of the Indian population as seen in
the table. If we consider the state level picture, in several states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh and Kerala, the rural population constitutes more than 80% of the total population. In states like
Bihar and Orissa 90% of the population is in rural areas.

2. Location Pattern of Rural Consumer: Statistics shows that out of the 6,38,3645 villages have
populations of more than 5000 persons each. About 55% of the villages have population in the range of 500
people or less. The influence is clear, rural demand is scattered over a large area, unlike the urban demand,
which is highly concentrated.
3. Literacy Level: The rural literacy in the rural area is on an increase. Among the rural population Kerala
tops with 77%.The literacy rate has its implication in communication with the rural population. It appears
that communication should not prove a hurdle, provided appropriate means are chosen.
4. Rural Income: An analysis of the rural income pattern reveals that nearly 60% of the rural income is
from agriculture. Rural prosperity and the discretionary income with rural consumers are directly tied up
with agricultural prosperity. The pre-dominance of agriculture in the income pattern has one more
significance-rural demand is more seasonal.
5. Rural Savings: The rural consumers have been drawn into the saving habit in a big way. The
commercial banks and the co-operative have been marketing the saving habit in the rural areas for quite
some years. Today nearly 70% of the rural households are saving a part of their income. The habit is
particularly widespread among salary earners and self-employed non-farmers.
6. Reference groups: Primary health workers, doctors, teachers, and panchayat members.
7. Conscious customer: Though not educated, very conscious about value for money.
8. Brand loyalist: Rural customers sense a patronizing attitudes and even formidable barriers to protect
themselves. It is not easy to introduce new products for them. They are bigger brand loyalists than their
urban counterparts.
9. High degree of involvement: He checks and rechecks particularly for purchasing expensive and durable
products.
10. Interpersonal communication: Its accounts 80% of the communication process in village. Hence
word of mouth recommendation by users has great influence.
11. Media habits: TAMASHA in Maharashtra and NAUTANKI in UP is a popular form of entertainment
which can be used as promotional media.

Q8 Differences between Urban & Rural Consumer.

Ans: URBAN MARKET RURAL MARKET
Mostly concentrated Widely spread and scattered
High infrastructural level Low infrastructural level
High density of population per sq km Low density of population per sq km
Good physical connectivity and high Poor physical connectivity and low
mobility mobility
Incomes are more stable and permanent People work in less certain environment
Occupations are government Mostly agricultural occupation
employment, business, industry etc.
Income received at regular income Acute seasonality in income receipts

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 Tilak Education Society’s
S.K College of Science and Commerce, Nerul
SYBMS IVth sem Question Bank Solution
Subject: Rural Marketing

Large number of interactions with Less number of interactions with persons

persons and less frequent between same and more frequent between same persons
persons
Social norms are less visible Social norms influencing individuals
Cast influence indirect and less visible Cast influence direct and strong
High exposure to variety of products Low exposure to variety of products
High brand awareness Low brand awareness
High exposure to marketing researchers Low exposure to marketing researchers
and multiple source of information and limited source of information
More convenient buying, more retail Less convenient buying, less retail outlet
outlet per 1000 population per 1000 population
Q9 Explain the different socio- cultural factors affecting the buying behaviour?
Ans. SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS: The socio- cultural factor that influence a consumer include: culture,
social class groups , family role, and sociability.
 Culture: It influences consumer behaviour to a great extent. Cultural values and elements are
passed from one generation to another through family, educational institutions, religious bodies and
social environment. The cultural diversity influences food habits, clothing, customs and traditions.
For example, consuming alcohol and meat in certain religious communities is not restricted, but in
certain communities, consumption of alcohol and meat is prohibited.
 Social class: social classes in rural areas are difficult to define as the occupations are not the same
throughout the year and the incomes are understated. However the upper and middle upper class
segment of the rural markets is positively responding to the stimuli offered by the marketers of the
premium products.
 Group: Associated groups are the groups to which a consumer belongs as a member , they may be
primary groups in which there is a regular and informal interaction like family, friends and
neighbours. Marketers can make use of group dynamics to influence consumers.
 Family: The family is the main reference group that may influence the consumer behaviour.
Nowadays, children are well informed about goods and services through media or friends circle,
and other sources. Therefore, they influence considerably in the decisions of buying both fast
moving consumer goods and durable items.
 Roles and status: A person performs certain roles in a particular group such as family, club,
organization, and so on. For example, a person may perform the role of a vice president in a firm
and another person may perform the role of a marketing manager.
Q10 Explain the different economic factors affecting the buying behaviour?
Ans: Economic Factors:
Consumer behaviour is influenced largely by economic factors. Economic factors that influence
consumer behaviour are:
a) Personal Income:

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The personal income of a person is determinant of his buying behaviour. The gross personal income of a
person consists of disposable income and discretionary income. The disposable personal income refers to
the actual income (i.e. money balance) remaining at the disposal of a person after deducting taxes and
compulsorily deductible items from the gross income. An increase in the disposable income leads to an
increase in the expenditure on various items. A fall in the disposable income, on the other hand, leads to a
fall in the expenditure on various items.

The discretionary personal income refers to the balance remaining after meeting basic necessaries of life.
This income is available for the purchase of shopping goods, durable goods and luxuries. An increase in the
discretionary income leads to an increase in the expenditure on shopping goods, luxuries etc. which
improves the standard of living of a person.

b) Family income:
Family income refers to the aggregate income of all the members of a family.

Family income influences the buying behaviour of the family. The surplus family income, remaining after
the expenditure on the basic needs of the family, is made available for buying shopping goods, durables and
luxuries.

c) Income Expectations:
Income expectations are one of the important determinants of the buying behaviour of an individual. If he
expects any increase in his income, he is tempted to spend more on shopping goods, durable goods and
luxuries. On the other hand, if he expects any fall in his future income, he will curtail his expenditure on
comforts and luxuries and restrict his expenditure to bare necessities.

d) Savings:
Savings also influence the buying behaviour of an individual. A change in the amount of savings leads to a
change in the expenditure of an individual. If a person decides to save more out of his present income, he
will spend less on comforts and luxuries.

e) Liquid assets:
Liquid assets refer to those assets, which can be converted into cash quickly without any loss. Liquid assets
include cash in hand, bank balance, marketable securities etc If an individual has more liquid assets, he
goes in for buying comforts and luxuries. On the other hand, if he has less liquid assets, he cannot spend
more on buying comforts and luxuries.

f) Consumer credit:
Consumer credit refers to the credit facility available to the consumers desirous of purchasing durable
comforts and luxuries. It is made available by the sellers, either directly or indirect у through banks and
other financial institutions. Hire purchase, installment purchase, direct bank loans etc are the ways by
which credit is made available to the consumers.

Consumer credit influences consumer behaviour. If more consumer credit is available on liberal terms,
expenditure on comforts and luxuries increases, as it induces consumers to purchase these goods, and raise
their living standard.

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g) Other economic factor:

Other economic factors like business cycles, inflation, etc. also influence the consumer behaviour.

Q11 Explain the different types of consumer behaviour.

Ans: Consumer wants are unlimited because there are different types of consumer  buying behavior. To satisfy
these wants they need to buy goods and services. Buying a salt is totally different from buying a diamond
necklace. The more expensive the good is the more information is needed by the consumer. There are four
types of consumer buying behavior based on the buyer involvement in the purchase.
High involvement Low involvement
Significant differences between Complex buying Variety seeking behavior (soap)
brands behavior (television)
Few differences between Dissonance buying Habitual buying behavior (salt)
brands behavior (wall paints)
1) Complex buying behavior:- when the consumer is highly involved in the purchase and have the
knowledge about significant differences between brands then it is called complex buying behavior. So in
this case the consumer must get relevant information about the product attribute and the marketer must
develop brand preference to provide detailed information regarding the product attribute. For eg. Consumer
while buying a television or air conditioner is highly involved in the purchase and has the knowledge about
significant differences between brands.
2) Variety seeking behavior:- in this case there is low involvement of the consumer regarding the product
and there are significant differences between brands. Consumers generally buy different products not due to
dissatisfaction but due to seek variety. Like every time they buy different soap just for variety. In this case
the marketer must encourage the consumer to buy the product by offering discounts, free samples and by
advertising the product a lot.
3) Dissonance buying behavior:- sometimes consumer is highly involved in the purchase but there are few
differences between brands. Highly involvement again means that the product is expensive, but due to few
differences between brands consumer will buy the product frequently. Like consumer while buying a  wall
paints, buy them quickly as there are few differences between brands.
4) Habitual buying behavior:- in this case there is low involvement of the consumer regarding the product
and there are few differences between brands. The consumer just goes to the market and buys the product.
For eg. Salt.

Q12 Define consumer behaviour and its features.

Ans: According to Prof CG Walter & GW Paul, “ consumer behaviour is the process whereby individuals
to decide, whether what, when, where, how, and from whom to purchase goods and services.”
Features of consumer behaviour:
1) Consumer behaviour involves individual aspects as well as social aspects. It is generally a
proposal, decision making process.
2) It is the result of interaction of consumer with environmental forces. The buyers behaviour is
influenced by the buyers environment.
3) It is reflected through satisfaction or dissatisfaction on the part of consumers after actual purchase
of product.
4) Consumer behaviour includes behaviour of consumers/ buyers of consumer goods, consumer
durables and industrial products.
5) Consumer behaviour is a net result of various external and environmental factors. Such factors

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are mainly social and psychological in character.

6) Consumer buying behaviour is a challenge and an opportunity to a marketer. Large-scale
marketing is possible only when consumer behaviour is anticipated accurately in advance.
7) Consumer behaviour is always uncertain as the thinking process of a human mind is uncertain.
8) Consumer behaviour gives answer to the various questions such as why, what and how consumer
purchase goods and services.

UNIT 3 & 4
Q1 Define product strategies for marketing products in rural areas.
Ans: Meaningful product strategies for rural market and rural consumers are discussed here.
1. Small unit -Larger pack sizes are out of reach for rural consumers because of their price and usage
habits. The small unit packaging method has been tested by other products like shampoos, biscuits, pickles,
vicks five gram tins, etc. and has proven successful.

2. New product designs-A close observation of rural household items indicates the importance of
redesigning or modifying the products. The manufacturing and marketing men can think in terms of new
product designs specially meant for rural areas keeping their lifestyles in view.

3. Sturdy products-Sturdiness of a product either in terms of weight or appearance is an important fact for
rural consumers. The product meant for rural areas should be sturdy enough to stand rough handling and
storage. People in rural areas like bright flashy colours such as red, blue, green etc., and feel that products
with such colours are sturdy but they are more concerned with the utility of the item also.

4. Brand name-The rural consumers are more concerned with the utility of the products. The brand name
awareness in the rural areas is fairly high. A brand name and/or logo is very essential for rural consumers
for it can be easily remembered.

5. Utility oriented products-The rural consumers are more concerned with the utility of the product and its
appearance.

6. Products with multiple uses-The rural population prefers a product which has multiple uses for e.g.
Asian paints which can be used to paint the house as well as the horns of the cattle.

7. low cost packing-In the strategy of keeping the low priced packed the objective is to keep the price low
so that the entire rural community can try. This may not be possible in all types of products, but wherever
this can be resorted to, the market is bound to expand.
8. Products based on resource constraint-Products which function inspite of constraints are also in rural
demand for e.g. Samsung introduced stabilizer free operations in its direct cool refrigerators to take care of
voltage fluctuations.
Q2 Explain the defects in marketing agricultural goods.
Ans:
1) Too Many Intermediates- The one main defect is the presence of too many middlemen and exploitation
of farmers by them. On one hand these middlemen exploit the farmers by purchasing the produce at lower
prices and on the other hand they exploit the customers by demanding higher prices from them. 
2) Lack of standard weights and measures- The multiplicity of weights and measures makes supervision
difficult and there is a great chance of cheating the producer. It also creates an element of uncertainty in
trade and render frauds on the part of retailers.

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3) Distress Sale- Most of the Indian farmers are very poor and thus have no capacity to wait for better price
of his produce in the absence of proper credit facilities. Farmers often have to go for even distress sale of
their output to the village moneylenders-cum-traders at a very poor price.

4) Lack of Transportation- In the absence of proper road transportation facilities in the rural areas, Indian
farmers cannot reach nearby mandis to sell their produce at a fair price. Thus, they prefer to sell their
produce at the village markets itself.

5)  Lack of Grading - Indian farmers do not give importance to grading of their produce. They hesitate to
separate the qualitatively good crops from bad crops. Therefore, they fail to fetch a good price of their
quality product.

6) Lack of Institutional Finance - In the absence of adequate institutional finance, Indian farmers have to
come under the clutches of traders and moneylenders for taking loan. After harvest they have to sell their
produce to those moneylenders at unfavourable terms.

7) Lack of Store Houses- An important deficiency of Indian agricultural marketing is lack of store houses.
Due to lack of this facility the farmer is unable to keep his product safely until it can fetch a fair price, and
he is forced to sell his product at a low price. The insufficient and unscientific facilities of shortage which
are available, waste large quantities of grains.

8) Lack of Awareness of the Market - The Indian farmer has no knowledge about marketing. He believes
on information acquired from the businessmen and money lenders of the village. Mostly, the Indian farmers
are illiterate so they cannot read the newspaper. Thus, they do not have sufficient knowledge about the
market. Now, government transmits the rates of the market on the ratio, which has definitely benefited
them.

9) Multiplicity of Charges- A large number of market charges are paid by the producer-seller. The charges
vary from market to market.

10) Illiteracy and Lack of Unity among Farmers- The Indian farmers are illiterate who are easier be
fooled by the money lenders, traders, middlemen, due to their simple nature. Similarly, lack of unity among
farmers also causes their exploitation because Indian farmers are spread in distant areas in rural places.
They are unable to meet with each other and resolve their problems, as a result they do not get a fair price
for their produce.

Q3 Discuss the major causes for fake products and strategies to counter its sales.
Ans: Fake products are of two types :
 Counterfeit Products:- These are fake products that bear the identical
name/packaging/graphics/colour scheme and even the same name and address as genuine
manufacturer. These are manufactured to look exactly like the real product.
 Pass-off products:- These use similar sounding or are similar in spelling for example ‘Luk” for
“Lux” . They use a similar type of packaging, colours or designs. They are brought with the motive

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of misleading and cheating ordinary consumers who are uneducated or in a hurry when purchasing
products.
Major causes :
1. Low awareness of brand levels: Since the maximum number of consumer in rural India are still not
aware of many brands that do exist hence it is easier to make a fake version and sell it at cheaper prices and
convince the less educated and unaware consumers.

2. Awareness exists but products not available:- In certain rural areas where there is awareness of the
brands the products are not available hence consumers end up preferring the fake one’s .

3. Retailer Influence:- Since the margin is more and also its cost effective to the retailer to sell fake
products as the cost cheaper retailers also influence the purchase decision of rural consumers.

4. lack of preventive measures:- Also there is lack of preventive measures and controls to curb the sales
of fake products in rural market. No strict adherence to any standard or actions are taken care of.

5. Distributors contribution: At times the distributors make it possible to increase the sale of spurious
product by ensuring the product availability in such areas.

Strategies to counter Fake brands:-

1. Complicated packaging: Packaging could be made more difficult to replicate. For e.g. holograms can
be used.

2. Products at the low end:- A range of products targeted for the rural consumer could be launched with
low price and low quality to counter the spurious products. This can be done by developing franchisee units
to manufacture low-end products with a highly localised coverage.

3. Promoting quality consciousness: local promotion should be made to educate villagers. It should aim at
highlighting the harm that fake products can cause to the users and communicating them on general
differences to spot in fake and genuine products.

4. Rural pull promotion:- Rural sales schemes to reach consumers should be encouraged and the support
of the retailers should be taken to promote these schemes.

5. Syndicated:- National players should join hands to promote their products in rural areas as well as to
counter spurious products.

Q4 What are the main strategies for pricing the products in rural markets.
Ans: Pricing is one of the four elements of the marketing mix, along with product, place and promotion. Pricing
strategy is important for companies who wish to achieve success by finding the price point where they can
maximize sales and profits.
Following are the pricing strategies which are used:-
1. Economy Pricing:- Companies take a very basic, low-cost approach to marketing--nothing fancy, just
the bare minimum to keep prices low and attract a specific segment of the market that is very price
sensitive.
2. Price Skimming :- Businesses that have a significant competitive advantage can enter the market with a

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price skimming strategy designed to gain maximum revenue advantage before other competitors begin
offering similar products or product alternatives.
3. Psychological Pricing:- Psychological pricing strategy is commonly used by marketers in the prices
they establish for their products. For instance, Rs.99 is psychologically "less" in the minds of consumers
than Rs.100. It's a minor distinction that can make a big difference.
4. Penetration Pricing :- A penetration pricing strategy is designed to capture market share by entering the
market with a low price relative to the competition to attract buyers. The idea is that the business will be
able to raise awareness and get people to try the product.
5. Value Pricing :- Setting prices based on the benefit or value consumers derive from products is called
value pricing. In other words, value-based pricing seeks to set prices based on what consumers are willing
to pay. 
6. Location pricing:- It involves variations of prices depending on the location where the product and
service is being sold and is mostly influenced by the changes in the currencies as well as inflation.
7. Product form pricing:- This involves charging price on the basis of per unit that is sold. For e.g.
Mosquito-repellent coils or mat packs are opened and sold piece by piece at a higher unit price compared to
pack price.
8. Coinage pricing:- Prices are set at a coin value. Coinage price are is directly proportionate to the
package size. These packs are small in size and are normally meant for one time consumption. For e.g.
shampoo sachets.

Q5 What are the promotional strategies used in marketing.

Ans: Promotion creates awareness and develops brand loyalty and brand image. Following are the promotion
strategies used for marketing :-
1. Personal Selling:- It is a process of face to face interaction between the salesperson and the prospective
customer. Through a proper training and guide, a salesman can be a valuable medium between the
marketer and the prospective customer. For the marketer to adopt personal selling as a tool of promotion in
rural area, following are few of the basic requirements that need to be present in their salesperson −
Familiarity with the Rural Area , Proficiency in Local Language Acquaintance with the Rural Folks etc
2. Mass Media : A medium is called mass media when it reaches 50 million people. This includes:-
A) Radio:- Irrespective of the literacy levels of the people and the geographical location the radio reaches the rural people easily,
it continues to be the principal source of information.
B) Television:- It is the most popular and powerful medium also it has wide reach.
C) Press/Print media:- The print media consist of wide variety of item such as newspaper, pamphlets, booklets, printed literature.
3. Public Relations − Public relations in case of marketing promotions in case of rural areas are highly
important so as to create the formal relationship with the newly acquired customers. Also, dissemination of
information concerning the rural folk is possible only through effective public relations.
4. Sales promotion:- According to marketers, sales promotion includes those sales activities that
supplement both personal selling and advertising, and coordinating. The following are the different types

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of sales promotion −
 Push-up Sales promotion :- It is the technique where marketers persuade third parties i.e.
intermediaries like dealers, retailers etc. to stock the products of the respective company and push
them towards the ultimate customers. This includes - Free display materials, Storage materials,
Demonstrations, Incentives to dealers, Lucky draw contest etc.
 Pull-up sales promotion − As the name suggests, pull-up sales promotion is the tool where
marketer pulls the customers towards their product through various promotional strategies and
advertising. This includes:- Free Distribution of Samples, With-pack Premiums, Price-off
Premiums, Exchange Premiums, Interactive Games.
5. Fairs and Exhibitions
Fairs are a part of rural people’s life. For the rural people, they are the source of entertainment and a good
opportunity to launch their products for the marketers in the rural market.

 Village Haats :- Haats provide to the marketers an opportunity to display their products.
Consumers are ready to try the product by overcoming all inhibitions and can get the touch and
feel of the product and this will further generate sales as most of the people come to the haats with
an intention to buy.
 Melas :- Melas are again the essential element of India’s culture and pull masses. In a trade mela,
one can find variety of products. Melas are held usually in festive seasons like Dussehra, Diwali,
Holi, Eid etc.
 Mandis :-Mandis are the place for agricultural produce and inputs. Mandis can be a good platform
for manufacturers of agri-inputs ─ both durables and non-durables. Durable are tractors, pump
sets, threshers etc. Non-durable includes seeds, fertilizers etc.

Q6 Define segmentation and explain its types.

Ans: Market segmentation is the process of dividing a broad consumer or business market, normally consisting
of existing and potential customers, into sub-groups of consumers (known as segments) based on some type
of shared characteristics. In dividing or segmenting markets, researchers typically look for common
characteristics such as shared needs, common interests, similar lifestyles or even similar demographic
profiles. The overall aim of segmentation is to identify high yield segments – that is, those segments that
are likely to be the most profitable or that have growth potential.
 Geographical Segmentation: Here, the segmentation is done on the basis of the geographical
location of the customers. The geographical segmentation is based on the premise that people
living in one area have different purchasing or buying habits than those living in other areas of the

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country.For example, the banking needs of people living in rural and urban areas are different and.
Therefore, different banking products and services are designed keeping in mind the different
preferences of each customer group. Also, the factors like climatic zone, state, region, constitutes
geographic segmentation.
 Demographic Segmentation: The demographic segmentation means dividing the customer market
on the basis of several variables such as age, sex, gender, occupation, income, education, marital
status, family size, community, social status, etc. Such segmentation is based on the premise, that
customer’s buying behavior is very much influenced by his demographics, and moreover, these
variables can be measured easily as compared to the other factors.
 Psychographic Segmentation: The psychographic segmentation relates to the personality,
lifestyle, and attitude of the individual. It is believed that the consumer buying behavior can be
determined by his personality and lifestyle. The personality refers to the traits, attitudes and habits
of an individual and the market is segmented according to the personal traits such as introvert,
extrovert, ambitious, aggressiveness, etc.The lifestyle means the way a person lives his life and do
the expenditures. Here the companies segment the market on the basis of interest, activities, beliefs
and opinions of the individuals.
 Behavioral Segmentation: Here, the marketer segments the market on the basis of the individual’s
knowledge about the product and his attitude towards the usage of the product. Several behavioral
variables are occasions, benefits, user status, usage rate, buyer readiness stage, loyalty status and
the attitude.The buyers can be classified as those who buy the product or services occasionally, or
who buy only those products from which they derive some sort of benefits. Also, there are buyers
who can be called as ex-users, potential users, first-time users and regular users; the marketers can
segment the market on this classification. Often, the market is segmented on the basis of the usage
rate of the customers, such as light, medium and heavy users.
Thus, market segmentation helps the companies to divide the prospective customers into small groups who
have similar needs and plan the marketing strategies accordingly. This enables a firm to concentrate more
on a specific group and earn more profits rather than catering to the needs of the entire market who have
different needs and desires.

Q7 Explain method of distribution in rural markets?

Ans:
Distribution is central to the success of a rural marketing strategy.

METHODS OF DISTRIBUTION

1. Stockist’s Van / Company Owned Vehicles: In this system, a salesman loads the van with stocks
and from the company stock point and distribute in the surrounding market. Then he moves the
next stock point and covers all surrounding markets. In this way he moves from one stock point to
another and returns to company’s stock point. It is the best but an expensive method.
2. Hired Vehicles: In this system, the salesman hire a public carrier like a taxi or a truck. The
disadvantage of this system is that the salesman has to spend lot of time in organizing transport.
3. Working by Independent Stockist: In this system, inspite of having salesman, company gives this
job to the stockist. Each stockist is asked to cover his surrounding market. It is useful only to
companies with high volume turnover.
4. Selling Through Bullock Cart / Camel: This is used to market in remote villages with no
motorable roads. In this system the number of outlets covered is limited because of slow
transportation.

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5. Appointment of Primary Dealers: Here a big retailer in a village is appointed as a primary dealer

ad is asked to purchase the goods from nearby stockist with a special discount.
6. Using Urban Wholesalers: Company can ask the urban wholesaler to recommend and sell its
products through their rural retailers. In return, company gives them 1% incentives on actual sales
made.
Q8 Discuss the problems of physical distribution in rural areas?
Ans: The problems in physical distribution in rural context relates to :
1. Transportation Problems:Transportation is essential for movement of products from urban production
centers to remote villages. In rural India transportation facilities are quite poor. Nearly 80 percentages of
villages in the country are not connected by well-constructed roads. Many parts of India have kuccha roads.
Due to poor transportation facilities it is not possible for a marketer to access the rural market.
2. Warehousing Problems: A storage function is necessary because there is a time gap between
production and consumption of commodities. Agricultural commodities are produced seasonally but they
are demanded over the year so there is need to store them. But in rural areas, there is lack of public as well
as private warehousing. Marketers face problems of storage of their goods.
3. Communication problem:- Communication infrastructure like post, telegraphs and telephones is quite
inadequate in rural areas. Since communication is first requirement for effective marketing , lack of proper
communication infrastructure poses difficulties.
4. Multiple tiers, Higher cost and administrative problems:- The distribution chain in the rural context
requires a large number of tiers compared to urban context. The long distances and scattered locations
make the affair more costlier and difficult to administer.
5. Scope for manufacturer’s own outlets limited, greater dependence on dealers:- Scope for
manufacturer’s outlet like showroom, depots is limited in rural market. It becomes very expensive as well
as unmanageable. Also dependence on dealers is very much since direct outlets are ruled out.
6. Inadequate bank facilities:- Due to lack of banking and credit facilities distribution in rural markets is
difficult. As facilities are required for paying remittances to get stocks, also there are limited number of
branches of bank which makes it further difficult to procure finance for distribution activities.
7. Non availability of dealers:- Suitable dealers are limited even if the firm is willing to start from scratch
and try out new comers, the choice of candidate is limited.

Q9 Explain the challenges in rural communication?

Ans: Following are the challenges in rural communication :-
1. Low levels of literacy: The level of literacy is lower compared with urban areas. This again leads to a
problem of communication in these rural areas. Print medium becomes ineffective and to an extent
irrelevant, since its reach is poor.
2. Heterogeneity and spread:- Communicating the message to rural consumers has posed enormous
challenges to the rural marketer, because of the large numbers of consumers scatters across the
country. The languages and dialects vary from state to state, region to region and probably from district to
district. Since messages have to be delivered in the local language, it is difficult for the marketers to design
promotional strategies for each of these areas. Facilities such as phone, telegram and fax are less developed
in villages adding to the communication problems faced by the marketers.
3. Media Reach is Limited:- The limited reach of the mass media has imposed limitations on universal
communication for rural consumers. These factors have lead to poor message comprehension and

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negligible impact, which fails to translate into consumer awareness and hence failure in generating
consumer pull.

4. Poor infrastructure facility:- It is not easy to access villages . Lack of roads, telecom facilities and postal

services make the task of the marketer reaching the target audience difficult.

5. Situation based leisure time activities:- In villages daily routine revolves around agricultural activities.

These activities don’t have fixed timings. So it becomes difficult to find the time slot for advertisement as

leisure times are uncertain.

6. Linguistic and socio-cultural differences:- it is difficult for a marketer to use single language message

in a country where there are 24 major languages and hundreds are spoken in rural areas. Similarly cultural

and social norms differ from place to place creating problem for marketers in designing message.

Q10 Explain the steps in developing effective rural communication?

Ans: In order to develop an effective communication following steps can be implemented:-
1. Identifying and profiling the target audience:- There should be a clear idea about target audience in
the mind of marketer. The target audience could be a potential buyer or existing user it will have a heavy
impact on communicator’s decision on what, how, when, where a message will be said and who will say it.

2. Determining the communication objectives:- After determining the target audience the communicator
needs to figure out on how to move the target audience to higher states of readiness to buy the product. The
AICDA (A-awareness, I-interest, C-conviction, DA-desire action) model of communication, is the oldest
and the best known that works in this scenario.

3. Designing the message:- An effective message should get attention , hold interest, arouse desire and
obtain action (AIDA model) so in putting the message a communicator should take into account- the
message content( appeal or theme), Message structure and message format.

4. Selecting the communication channel:- There are two types of communication channels
 Personal communication:- in this two or more people communicate directly with each other. It
could be face to face, via telephone, mail etc.
 Non- personal communication:- it includes use of media. Media consists of newspaper, magazines,
direct mail, broadcast media etc.

5. Budgeting for communication:- There should be an objective analysis of the goals and task of
communication in order to determine the size and the allocation of the budget. Generally an estimate is
prepared based on different activities.

6. Designing the communication Mix strategy:- depending on the product and target audiences a

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marketer designs his communication mix- mix includes use of different communication tools like
advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, personal selling etc generally one or more tools are used in
combination.

7. Measuring the impact of communication:- After implementing communication plan, the

communicator measures its impact on the target audience. In rural areas , where mostly non -conventional
media are used the effectiveness and impact is are measured using controlled and non- control situations
areas.
Q11 Explain the non-conventional media.
Ans: 1. Wall Paintings: The speech or the film comes to an end but the paintings stay as long as whether allows
it to stay. The retailer usually paints its shops wall and name board which acts as a status symbol
2. Folk media:-
a. Puppetry: Puppetry is the indigenous theatre of India; it has been mot popular form of entertainment
available to the village people. The performer uses puppets as a medium to communicate, ideas, values and
social messages. Example: (i)Sounds and drama division of the government of India used puppets to
promote various government projects. (ii) LIC used puppets to educate rural masses about ‘jeevan beema’
in Lucknow.
b. Folk Theatre: Folk theatre is mainly short and rhythmic in form. It has been used as an effective
medium for social protest against injustice and exploitation.
c. Interactive games :- They are very popular as they draw a large number of crowd.
d. Syndicated AV Vans: It is an AV van publicity service provided by the independent agencies. Firms,
which cannot afford to have their own publicity van, can utilise the syndicate van services.
e. Stalls, Haats, Melas: These are useful media of rural communication to spread the message and to
induce brand trials.

3. Personalized Media:- With growing competition companies are trying to establish direct contact with
customers for e.g.
a. Fertiliser companies are conducting soil testing for farmers and advising them on the use of right
quantity of fertilisers.
b. Some companies have already set up their agri-portals like ikisan.com. The agri- portal help transform
the local farmer into a global farmer and helps harvest the world.
c. Companies such as HUL & Godrej are promoting their products through door-to door selling.
d. Social workers , revenue officials and other development personnel who interact with villagers can act as
advocacy channels.

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