Page 276 - DMGT509_RURAL MARKETING

Unit 14: Corporate Sector in Agri-Business

14.15 From Four P’s to Four A’s Notes

Gupta of TSMG notes that the traditional four P’s of marketing — product, price, place and
promotion, as outlined above — have been replaced by a different framework for analysis.
“A number of companies have worked on various elements of the marketing mix to improve
the four A’s — affordability, awareness, availability and acceptability — for rural markets,” he
says. “FMCG companies innovated on package sizes to introduce low price points. They have
customized promotional strategies for rural markets using local language and talent. Some
FMCG players continue to expand rural penetration [HUL’s Project Shakti, Tata Tea’s Gaon
Chalo]. Coca-Cola’s Parivartan program has trained more than 6,000 retailers to display and
stock products. Dabur has created a training module ASTRA [advanced sales training for retail
ascendance] in several regional languages. A number of auto companies have launched rural-
specific campaigns.”
Gupta of rural naukri.com offers more examples:
1. Affordability — Godrej introduced three brands of Cinthol, Fair Glow and Godrej (soap)
in 50-gram packs, priced at 10 cents; Adidas and Reebok increased their sales by 50% in
rural markets by reducing prices.
2. Size and design changes — Videocon introduced a washing machine without a drier for
US$60; Philips launched a low-cost smokeless chulha (stove); DCM Shriram developed a
low-cost water purifier especially for rural areas.
3. Improving product acceptance — LG Electronics developed a customized TV (cheap and
capable of picking up low-intensity signals) for the rural markets and christened it Sampoorna.
It sold 100,000 sets in the first year; Coca-Cola provided low-cost iceboxes as regular
power outages meant families could not depend on refrigerators.
Figure 14.2: Philiphs Low Cost Smokeless Chulha for Rural Market

Perhaps the ultimate sign that rural India has arrived is in the allocation of talent. “In the old
days, the weakest people in organizations, the ones without a star career path, held the reins of
the rural marketing divisions,” says Bijoor. “Today, things have changed. Sharper and sharper
brains from within the organization are being diverted to rural strategy formulation.” When
the whiz kids go to villages, you know the cows have come home.

14.16 The Rural Scenario

Even as the rural market is a major contributor to the total sales of consumer durables, the
penetration level of consumer durables in rural India – with as much as 70 per cent of the total
Indian population – is still low, making it a lucrative market for CDIT players.

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