Page 169 - DMGT509_RURAL MARKETING

Rural Marketing

Notes Product Warranty and After Sales Service

A significant portion of the rural population is paid in daily wages. Daily wage earners tend to
have little stock of money, and therefore tend to make purchases only to meet their daily needs.
The implication is that pack sizes and price points are critical to sales, and importantly, that rural
consumers view the purchase-tradeoff dilemma across a much wider range of product categories.
As a result, the nature of competition is much greater; a beverage manufacturer is not only
competing with other manufacturers in its category, but also other products that consumers may
consider one-off luxury purchases such as shampoo. So marketer will have to examine method by
which he can make the product more affordable. In the case of consumer durable one way is to
work through rural bank and offer higher purchase terms to consumer. In short, the Value for
money is the most important concept that will differentiate the successful brand from the rest

Figure 8.9: Budget Seeking Consumer in Rural India

As explained in Figure 8.9, a budget seeking consumer in the rural India, takes into consideration
first of all the budget available to him and then warranty and after sales service before settling
on the brand name and model. Thus, the concept of the product fitting into one’s budget is most
important consideration while making a purchase decision.

8.15 New Product Development in Rural Markets

One important aspect of designing products for rural markets is the product fit with the rural
lifestyle and environment. It is easier for marketers to relate the product to themselves in the
urban context since they belong to urban areas and are familiar with the environment.

Companies like Dupont and Godrej had adopted the Unique approach of Rural Immersion
Programmes which provide a platform for new product Idea Generation through an exploration
of and immersing within rural markets thereby taking forward the product Innovation agenda.
Based on this idea, once a concept is developed, it must be tested in the market. Concept Testing
in rural market needs to be done in different regions, as needs change from area to area depending
upon the characteristics of a particular region.
After the concept testing, another crucial step is the final product Development. Since the rural
market is becoming the next big thing, many companies have started addressing it through a
new approach vis-à-vis product development, that is, reverse innovation or frugal engineering.
Market Testing of any new product is the most important aspect, and it decides the failure or
success of that product. It becomes critical in the rural context as the chances of failure are really

164 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY