Rural market of India is quite enormous than people think. Statistics says that it contributes to almost half of the GDP, and the per capita income there shows faster growth than the urban sector. People are ready to spend for lifestyle products, electronic items, and entertainment. It is needless to say that a corporate house cant give impressive results unless it uses effective strategies to attract this huge marketplace. It is the success mantra of the 21st Century.
So many studies have been conducted so far to understand why and how companies did miracles, and they revealed that only those could succeed who overcome the hurdles and explored the opportunities.
Three secrets of success
Studies also revealed that entrepreneurs who performed exceptionally well in the rural market had three things common.
(i) They reached to as many consumers as possible.
(ii) They acquired as many customers as possible.
(iii) They retained the customers for as long as possible.
It looks quite a simple thing to achieve, but there are practical difficulties in it. Inadequate distribution network, delayed payments, and frail marketing channels are the biggest roadblocks. Companies that manage these issues can only mark effective presence in the marketplace. Also, the marketing brains should think from a different perspective while designing marketing campaigns and promotions for the rural India. The mindset, thinking patterns and ideologies are quite different there.
Two measures of performance in the rural India for a company
If we think about measuring the success of a company in the high-potential rural market, then there are two performance measures.
Firstly, it is checked on up to what extent the company finds rural market strategically important as far as the long-term or short-term goals are concerned. The more is the importance; higher is the performance.
Secondly, it is checked on the percentage of rural contribution to the top lines and bottom lines of the balance sheet. When we talk about rural segment, product innovation, effective market penetration, and controlling expenses are the effective ways of keeping top and bottom lines under control.
Since the rural market is expanding with great speed, companies need to focus on the sales and distribution channel. It is critically important to improve the top line without disturbing the bottom one so that profitability gets enhanced.
When urban demand indicates sluggishness because of saturation, it is the time to look at another fertile field; the rural market!
