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INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE, NEW DELHI

Course Outline: MK 617 Rural Marketing 2013

Instructor: Venkatesh Umashankar Credits: 03

(venkatesh@imi.edu) Ph. 471 94135

Preamble:

Given that 70 percent of the Indian population resides within rural communities, that have structures

and features different from urban societies, it is natural to have a closer look at how we could be

effective in our marketing approaches while targeting rural consumers. Certain broad shifts have

occurred in the past decade that further accentuate this need to review our understanding of this rural

space such that corporations can sustain their growth by being more relevant and accessible to this

large market. It is also true that given the economic difficulties the driver for FMCG sales and also in

many service categories, the rural market has contributed greatly to push up corporate performances.

This course will therefore discuss and debate about the structure and characteristics of this marketalong with developing insight vis--vis the marketing mix elements in order to enable the participants

design effective marketing strategies and plans based upon a deeper understanding of the rural society

and consumption patterns.

Objectives:

At the end of the course the students should be able to:

Develop an insight into rural markets and their underlying structural characteristics Be able to apply their existing knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts of marketing

and re-calibrate them in light of the realities of rural markets Define and structure marketing-mix elements with respect to rural market needs Understand the issues pertaining to ethical and sustainable aspects of rural marketing

Content:

Rural markets Meaning, issues, opportunities & challenges: The rural marketing environment Rural economic scenario Rural consumer behaviour

Researching rural markets and consumption Segmenting, targeting & positioning Product strategy Pricing Managing distribution in rural markets Communication strategies for rural markets Marketing of services in rural markets Retailing in rural markets

mailto:venkatesh@imi.edumailto:venkatesh@imi.edumailto:venkatesh@imi.edumailto:venkatesh@imi.edu

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References:

Core Text:

Kashyap, Pradeep (2012) Rural Marketing. 2nd ed. Delhi: Pearson.Supplementary Reading:

1. De, Partha S. (2012) Rural Sociology. 1st ed. New Delhi: Pearson.2. Dogra, B and Ghuman, K (2011) Rural Marketing: Concept and Parctices. Delhi: Tata McGraw-

Hill.

3. Gopalaswamy, T.P. (2010) Rural Marketing: Environment, Problems and Strategies. 3rd ed. NewDelhi: Vikas Publishing.

4. Krishnamacharyulu, C.S.G. and Ramakrishnan, L. (2011) Rural Marketing: Text and Cases. 2nd ed.Delhi: Pearson

5.

NCAER (2006) India Rural Infrastructure Report. New Delhi: Sage India.6. Velayudhan, S.K. (2007) Rural Marketing: Targeting the Non-Urban Consumer. 2nd ed. New

Delhi: Sage/Response Books.

Pedagogy:

The course delivery will involve your active participation in lectures, case analysis, discussions, videos,

readings, individual and group tasks based upon primary and/or secondary research.

Assessment:

Quizzes (2 nos.) : 20% (unannounced)

Mid-term examination : 20% Group Assignment : 20%

o Project submission : 15%o Presentation : 5%

End Term examination : 40%

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Weekly Session Plan

Session Topic Refs./Readings Cases

1

ISSUES, OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES:

Rural Markets meaning and nature; Is there really an

urban-rural dichotomy that needs to be addressed

separately; Potential of rural markets; BoP and ruralmarkets- are they same; Need to study rural marketing in

India.

Core Text:

Ch. 1

Reading:

(Vaswani et al.,2005)

HUL Shakti Amma

2

RURAL MARKETING ENVIRONMENT

Defining rural India, the Rural society; Evolution of rural

marketing, Rural market structure, and Size of rural

market.

Ch. 2 HUL Shakti Amma

3

RURAL ECONOMIC SCENARIO

Rural market structure; Incomes & consumption; Physical

infrastructure, Marketing infrastructure, Commercial

infrastructure & govt. policies.

SR#5: Ch. 1

Reading:

(Kashyap, 2012)

(Kumar, 2008)

4-5

RURAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Cultural, Technological and Economic Factors,

Characteristics of the Rural Consumer, Buying Behavior

Patterns, Customer Relationship Management & the Trade

Role.

Ch. 3

Reading:

(Subrahmanyan,

2008)

6

RURAL MARKET RESEARCH

Planning Rural Research, Field Procedures & Rural realities,

Understanding the Rural Market Research Industry

Ch. 4

7-8

SEGMENTING, TARGETING & POSITIONING

Demographic, Psychographic & Behavioral Segmentation,

Targeted/ Differentiated Marketing, Identifying, Selecting,

Developing & Communicating the Positioning concept.

Ch. 5

Reading:

(Vasavada-Oza et al.,

2012)

TBA

9-10

PRODUCT STRATEGY

Product Concepts & Classification, Rural Product

Categories, New Product Development, ConsumerAdoption Process.

Ch. 6

11-12

PRICING

Pricing Influences, Pricing strategies, Role of Retailer &

Schemes/Margins.

Ch. 7

13-14

MANAGING DISTRIBUTION IN RURAL MARKETS:

Coverage Challenges & Dilemma, Channels of Distribution,

Existing Distribution Models, Emerging Distribution

Models.

Ch. 8 TBA

15-16

COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR RURAL MARKETS

Challenges in Rural Communication, The Communication

Process, Developing Effective Communication, Rural

Media, Role of Innovative Media

Ch. 9

Reading:

(Rajagopal, 2008)

TBA

17 Marketing of services in rural markets Ch. 10

18

RURAL RETAILING & FUTURE OF RURAL MARKETING

Conventional vs. Organized retail; problems in rural retail;

innovation in rural marketing

Ch. 12

SR#4: Ch. 10

19ISSUES PERTAINING TO SUSTAINABILITY & ETHICS

Readings:

(Karnani, 2012)

TBA

20 PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

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Reading List:

1. Karnani, Aneel (2012) Markets of the poor: Opportunities and Limits. International Journal ofRural Management. 8(1-2), P. 7-17.

2. Kashyap, Pradeep (2012) The rural boom in India. International Journal of Rural Management.8(1-2), p. 133-141.

3. Kumar, Arun (2008) Expanding people's might Putting social infrastructure into the hands ofthe community: Investigation into a village community. International Journal of Rural

Management. 4(1&2), p. 129-152.

4. Rajagopal (2009) Branding paradigm for the bottom of the pyramid markets. MeasuringBusiness Excellence. 13(4), p. 58-68.

5. Subrahmanyan, S. and Gomez-Arias, J.T., (2008) Integrated approach to understandingconsumer behavior at bottom of pyramid.Journal of Consumer Marketing. 25(7), p. 402-412.

6. Vasavada-Oza, F., Nagraj A. and Krishna, Y. (2012) Marketing to rural women: How variousleading brands are doing it? The IUP Journal of Brand Management. 9(2), p. 7-17.

7. Vaswani, L.K., Aithal, R., Pradhan, D. and Sridhar, G. (2005) Rural marketing in the developmentparadigm. International Journal of Rural Management. 1(2), p. 245-262.