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Preeti Mehra
Neha Kaushik

New Delhi , Aug 10

You could be doing your rural business all wrong, for the hinterland needs specialised strategies to win the hearts and wallets of village consumers. The latest study by Marketing and Research Team (MART), New Delhi and Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, provides an insight into the non-conventional techniques that could go a long way in increasing penetration of consumer durables in interior India.

Apart from the use of melas, mandis, haats and vans to decimate product information and increase awareness, the study identifies agri-mills, rural tournaments, service camps and the creation of local brand ambassadors as vehicles of effective communication.

The study, conducted in six districts of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, finds that agri-mills (such as sugar mills) are a good means of targeting the prospective farmers during the peak season. More than 200 tractors visit a mill every day during this time, and farmers have to stand in long queues before their crops get unloaded from the tractor and accounts are settled.

Apart from the farmer being in a cash-rich mindset, he has ample time to spare and listen to product details and watch live demonstrations.

The study cites the example of a Hero Honda dealer who regularly puts up stalls at agri-mills to target farmers. He also puts up stalls outside factories and electricity boards, keeping in mind the product and the profile of the farmer/worker. According to the dealer, setting up such a stall costs him around Rs 1,000 and he is able to target 1,000 high-potential consumers.

The study also recommends the use of local brand ambassadors, who can spread the good word about the product's technicalities. Invariably, every village, with an over 2,000 population, has a mechanic and an electrician, who services/repairs the electronic products in the area, and can create a positive image for the brand. The study recommends that companies maintain a good relationship with this local ambassador by painting/branding his shop, and providing him with free tools/gifts from time to time. "Their word carries a lot of weight for the village people", the study says.

Another crowd-puller in the entertainment-starved rural scenario is the games/tournaments played between villages periodically. For instance, in Punjab, kabbadi tournaments, sometimes even organised by NRIs on a large scale, attract thousands of people and can be used effectively for brand awareness. The study recommends that companies not only put up stalls at such venues and sponsor the event, but also use their products as prizes to be given away.

Encouraging dealers to set up free service camps for their products would also build a good reputation of the company. "Since most of the people in the villages consult their friends and relatives before buying any product, keeping the existing customers happy and satisfied would lead to more referrals for the product and hence more sales", the study finds. However, it emphasises that there must be good warm-up publicity through loudspeakers 2-3 days prior to setting up the service camp so that people turn up in substantial numbers.

The study finds that such non-conventional methods could be vital for penetrating the Rs 5,000-crore rural market for consumer durables, as studies have shown that the reach of the mass media in these areas is poor. A National Readership Survey (NRS) study revealed that the press reaches only 23 per cent of the rural consumers, cinema only 26 per cent and TV only 36 per cent, hence the need to reach out in new ways.

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