Media Coverage

Why do I love my job as a marketing executive? Certainly, because it is creative and lively, but there is another dimension to it. As a rural marketing expert, you need to travel a lot; and that too in the remote places and small villages. Dont underestimate our small villages and local markets by assuming that they are boring and dull. In fact, there is a lot of excitement and thrill hidden underneath as you explore a little bit deeper.During my journeys, visits, and meetings with retailers, buyers and distributers in the remote places, I get new insights and learning about the customer mentality and their buying behavior. My recent experience in the sandy market Have you heard about the sandy market ever? Dont think that I have misspelled Sunday Market as Sandy Market! It is called Sandy Market or you can call it the Weekly Market which happens on the fixed day of the week at the fixed place in the villages.People from the local place and nearby villages come to buy things of their needs. This market is like a huge departmental store or Super Bazaar in the big cities and metros. You can get anything from pin to piano there. Grocery items, fruits, and vegetables, clothes, utensils, eatables, cosmetics; you name it, and they have it!I was in the Bagalkot District of Karnataka. It was a tiny village named Kerur where I was looking at the business opportunity for products of my company. During my visit, I saw an interesting thing. There was a van carrying all sorts of homemade spices and pickles.The shopkeeper was busy in weighing and packing red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander seed powder, salt and hundreds of other items. He was selling prepared mixes such as Sambar Masala also. Surprisingly, I saw packed spices and branded spices in many shops, but people preferred the homemade stuff from this person. The secret of the success It made me quite curious about it, and I decided to talk to the shopkeeper. Thankfully, he was generous enough to spend a few minutes in his extremely hectic schedule. He revealed that people trust his products because they are homemade. The spices and pickles carry the goodwill and trust of the shopkeeper.When people buy the stuff, they know that the ingredients are of good quality; they are properly cleaned and mixed in hygienic conditions. The pickles also bring the authentic taste of Karnataka, and they will not get spoiled for a long time.Moreover, the person has been selling these things for quite a long time. Thus, he carries trust and credibility. The takeaway Again, it was an interesting learning for me. I realized that in the rural market, more than the brand, people prefer reliability and trust. The personal credibility creates more magic than advertising and campaign.Since people have faith that the spices are homemade and there is no compromise with its quality, they prefer it instead of buying branded stuff made in some factory. Amazing, isnt it? Yes, our rural market stores many such amusements!

India is a land of surprises and the more you explore it, the more you get amazed with it! Well, the clich mentioned here is not just a clich for me but a hard reality of the life. Being a marketing executive, I have been traveling in the remote rural areas of our country, and I am not hesitated to accept that every tour reveals new secrets of this huge market. Buyers in the rural market are equally curious, inquisitive and aware of their requirements. They know what products are good and what are mediocre.Not only buyers, the markets of our rural India are very different from what we see in the cities and towns. You dont see huge malls and posh showrooms; you dont find big grocery shops and shopping complexes. What you get is a sandy street market there. Usually it is a weekly market at a fixed place in the village. I call it the super bazar of a village because it really resembles a lot with a huge departmental store in a big city. The only difference is it is spread horizontally and not vertically. My recent amazing experience I love wandering these sandy weekly markets where there is a lot of charm and liveliness. It is a colorful world where everything gets sold at reasonable prices.Recently, during my market visit in a rural area, I was looking at the shops and goods getting sold in different shops. A peculiar thing dragged my attention. Though the shops were flooded with a lot of variety of products, I saw only one brand of toothpaste and biscuits.In the whole market, only Colgate toothpaste and Parle G biscuits were sold.While inquiring about it, I got something interesting. Shopkeepers in the sandy markets get the stuff from local distributors. In this particular village, the distributor was very prompt and customer-centric. He supplied piles of toothpaste and biscuits to all the shopkeepers and made it available at competitive prices.He was considerate and flexible. Hence, shopkeepers were not interested in any other brand! The takeaway For me, it was a great learning. It proves that above all marketing strategies and lucrative product promotion gimmicks, what really matters to the retailer is the availability of the product and convenience. If we manage product supplies well and become considerate towards the hardships of the retailers, then nothing can beat a product from becoming the market leader.