1. RURAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

2. Rural Marketing – Course Plan Details
Issues, Opportunities & Challenges
Rural Marketing Environment
The Rural Economic Scenario
Consumer Behaviour

3. Consumer Behaviour
Demographically homogenous groups behave quite differently
Influences are caste, religion, undercurrents of power and politics
Role of opinion leaders, influencers in reference groups much higher
Factors are there but weightages change market to market.

4. CULTURE SYSTEM– LEVELS OF INFLUENCE
MACRO
EXO
MESO
PEER
GROUP
MICRO
FAMILY
ATTITUDES,
BEHAVIOUR,
VALUES,
IDEOLOGIES
CUSTOMS
CULTURE
WORK
NEIGHBOURS
POINT OF
PURCHASE
EXPERTS
SOCIAL NORMS

5. RURAL SECs – BEHAVIOUR/LIFESTYLES
BEHAVIOUR, ASPIRATIONS & LIFESTYLE
R 1
Landlord Farmers, educated, exposed to urban environment, children in schools/colleges in nearby towns. Aspiring to match urban lifestyle. Technology adaptors, modern farming methods. Eager for additional income sources. Socially & Politically well connected. Own durables like Tractor, 2 wheeler, Colour TV, Music system, LPG, refrigerator, mixer grinders.
R 2
Rich farmers with about 5 acres land, may not be educated, but will educate children. Consults Friends/relatives in urban for technology. Status conscious, aspiring to be well known in social/political circles. Owns durables like tractor, 2 wheeler, colour TV and LPG.
R 3
Avg land 2-5 acres; manages small savings. Children in village school. Low risk taker – opts for time ested echnology. Owns durables like tractor (self & rental) and any TV.
R 4
Has little or no land, agric. Labour, living below poverty line. A major purchaser from the Public Distribution System

6. Changing Behaviour Word of Mouth Social Movements
Anganwadi – grass roots agents for Child Development
Self-Help Groups (SHGs) – get microfinance at low interest rates for starting income generaing activities/micro ents.
Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS)
NGOs – working in agriculture, dairy, non-timber forest produce, health, education, drinking water, sanitation etc.

7. Roles and Status CASTE is a major definer of social status
Other individuals enjoying status :-
Sarpanch
Medical Practitioners
Retired Military personnel
Priests
Of late, a progressive farmer is respected

8. Status Symbols RURAL URBAN Social/Political status Educational Degree
Tractor(50 HP+)/Jeep/Car
Car
Large Pucca House with
Courtyard
House locality
Children city edu./jobs
Childrens’ school/college
Land
Airconditioning
Telephone
Club membership
Pilgrimage
Holiday abroad

9. Social Interaction More time with family/friends Daily visits to homes
Women inetract with each other during daily chores
Neighbour is extension of family and often part of family decision making process.
Every new purchase is discussed with neighbours/family, deliberated on, evaluated. This determines acceptability,repeat purchase and adoption by oher families

10. Characteristics AGE STAGE URBAN RURAL < 12 Child 13 - 19 Teenager
Video games, chocolates, health drinks
Toys, Ice Candy, daliya
Teenager
Cell Phones, motorcycles, internet
Bicycle, TV, Cinema
Young
Car, PC, branded clothing, alcohol, stores/malls
Motorcycle, telephone, LPG, tailored and unbranded clothes, country liquor, haat
Middle Aged
Luxury Car, Credit Cards, house, health insurance, holiday trips
Tractor, Kissan Credit Card, Postal savings, Mela
> 60
Old
Clubs, theatres, parks
Chaupal, playing cards, pilgrimage

11. Lifestyles Urban Rural Dimensions Demographics
Convent educated, salary, small nuclear family, large dense population, apartments
Govt. School, self-employed, large family, scattered popn., ordinary spacious house
Activities
Office jobs, internet surfing, health club, shopping, clubs, parties
Agriculture, physical sports, gossip, playing cards, cinema, religious meetings
Interests
Chinese, continental foods, designer clothes, beauty saloons, holiday trips
“Desi” food, milk, bright coloured clothes, jewellery, visiting towns, markets/mela

12. Rural Consumer Classification
Classn.
Description
’95-’96
’05-’07
The Affluent
Households owning personal car/jeep with other products
1.6
5.6
The Well-Off
HHs owning any/all of these : A/C, scooter/motorcycle, washing machine, fridge, colour TV etc. but no car/jeep
2.7
5.8
The Climbers
HHs owning any of these: moped/VCR/ mixer grinder, sewing machine, audio equipment, B/W TV, geyser etc but not those in 2 cats. above
8.3
22.4
The Aspirants
HHs owning any of these : bicycle, electric fan, electric iron etc but not those mentioned in 3 cats. above
26.0
44.6
The Destitutes
HHs other than those classified in Cats 1-4 above, but own any of : wrist watch, pressure cooker, transistor radio etc.
61.4
20.2

13. DECISION PROCESS - DEWEY
PROBLEM
IDENTIFICATION
POST PURCHASE
EXPERIENCE
SEARCH
ALTERNATIVE
EVALUATION
CHOICE

14. Consumer Buying Process - Car and tractor
STAGE
URBAN (CAR)
RURAL (TRACTOR)
PROBLEM RECOGNITION
High Involvement; comfort, status, drive experience.
High involvement; productivity
INFORMATION SEARCH
TV, Internet, Newspaper Ads. Consult fellow owner; dealer
Fellow owner, dealer at nearby town.
ALTERNATIVE EVALUATION
Aware of tech specs; mostly test drives for own experience
Lot of to & fro involving progressive farmer. Live field demonstration crucial.
PURCHASE DECISION
Buyer decides. Family influences colour, looks. Drives home with family
Collective decision by buyer, adult son, mechanic, PVF. Drives home – no women involved
POST-PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR
Higher risk taking ability, and therefore higher post purchase satisfaction/dissonance
Lower risk taking, therefore lower expectations, therefore lower dissonance

15. Role of Rural Women TILL FEW DECADES AGO :– Ghunghat or purdah.
Rarely left home (except fairs/festivals) & accompanied by males.
Few girls sent to school
No involvement in family decisions
NOW :-
More educated, aware & hence more empowered
Growing presence of media improves influence
Step out of home alone for education, health services, social services, functions, festivals.
Involvement in family buying decisions on the increase

16. Buying Roles INITIATOR – One who suggests the idea of buying
INFLUENCER – One whose views influence the decision
DECIDER – One who decides to buy or not
BUYER – One who makes the actual purchase
USER – One who ultimately uses/consumes the product

17. Buying Roles BUYING ROLE URBAN ENTITY RURAL ENTITY INITIATOR
YOUNG MAN – Feels need of commuting to college/office and initiates process
SON (Mostly) FATHER (sometimes) Son studying in nearby town; father needing mobility.
INFLUENCER
FRIENDS/COLLEAGUES – Evaluates models on TV, asks friends/colleagues who influence
FRIENDS, URBAN RELATIVES – Asks friends and esp urban relatives who have sizable influence
DECIDER
YOUNG MAN – Sometimes he pays, sometimes father does. But he arranges financing
FATHER – because he pays
BUYER
YOUNG MAN – who goes to dealer (sometimes with friends) and makes the purchase
SON, RELATIVES, FRIENDS – who accompany him and make it into an occasion
USER
YOUNG MAN
SON AND FATHER – but mostly son where bought for him. In Joint families others too

18. Opinion Leadership
Opinion leader is one whose word, acts and/or behaviour informally influence the action and/or attitude of others
Opinion leadership comes from social status, power or success in public life
Key opinion leaders are :-
Gram Pradhan/Sarpanch
Schoolteachers
Retired Forces personnel
Young villager returning after city education

19. Place of Purchase - Durables
PRODUCT TYPE
URBAN
RURAL
Crockery, gas stoves, pressure cookers
Crockery shops
Haats, Melas, nearby town shop
Electronics eg. Transistor, 2-in-1, walkman, CD/DVD player
Consumer Electronics shops in commercial areas
Consumer Electronics shops in nearby towns
Electrical HH items eg. Fans, light fittings
Electrical shops
Electrical/Electronic shops in nearby towns
Bicycles
Company specific shops or combined dealer shops
Bicycle/spare parts shops in nearby town.
Mopeds
Company authorised dealer
Company authorised dealer in nearby towns.
Motorcycles/Car/MUV
Tractors
Not used
Company authorised dealer in nearby town

20. Place of Purchase – Non-Durables
PRODUCT TYPE
URBAN
RURAL
Toiletries. Personal care, beverages & snacks
General Merchant, Grocer, Kirana Shop
All in one stores at village
Liquor
Liquor shops, Bootleggers
Desi/IMFL shops in nearby town/country liquor bars/village bhatti
Clothings
Apparel shops – company stores or mixed stock shops
Ordinary wear – haats Special wear – nearby town shops
Footwear
Footwear shops – company stores or mixed shops
Chappals – haats
Shoes – nearby town shops
Cereal, pulses & edibles
Grocery shops
All in one stores
Vegetables
Shops, subzimandis or thelas. Also weekly mkts.
Haats/village shops
Meat/Chicken/Fish
Meat/fish shops
Haats

21. Place of Purchase – Non-Durables
PRODUCT TYPE
URBAN
RURAL
LPG
Home Delivery, informal purchases
Collection from nearby towns
Stationery items
Stationery shops
All in one stores
Gift Items
Gift shops
Melas, nearby towns
Medicines (OTC)
Pharmacies, selected general stores (medicines not needing drug licence)
Medicines (Prescribed)
Pharmacies
Nearby town pharmacy

22. Place of Purchase – Services
PRODUCT TYPE
URBAN
RURAL
Medical services
Hospitals, Clinics, Nursing Homes
Village RMP, PHC sub centre, CHCs
Banking Services
Scheduled Banks
Rural , Scheduled or Coop banks
Schools, tuitions
Schools , coaching centres
Village schools, private tutors in village
Watching movies
Homes, stand alone theatres, mutiplexes
Theatres in nearby town, video parlours
Transport Services
Transport Depots
Bus through village, Hitching, Depot in nearby town

23. The Adoption Profiles CONSUMER TYPE URBAN RURAL iNNOVATOR
Young, affluent, public school educated, in business, credit card holder, party goer and fun loving
Young, progressive farmer, urban exposure, kissan credit card, additional income
EARLY ADOPTER
Young, educated, affluent, employed in MNC/leading Indian Co, exposed to media and credit card holder
Rich farmer, high disposable income, urban exposure, conscious evaluator, kissan credit card.
EARLY MAJORITY
Young, educated, married, disposable income, self employed/in service
Mediocre farmer, member of coop., ready for KCC and willing to look at technology
LATE MAJORITY
Middle aged, self employed/in service. Looks for consumer schemes
Member of coop society, hesitates to take agri loan, adopts time tested technology/product after approval of opinion leader
LAGGARD
Middle Aged/older. In service and shops mainly in neighbourhood stores.
Marginal farmer using traditional forms of cultivation. Low wage earner and lazy.

24. Brand Loyalty vs Brand Stickiness
In Rural India the propensity to change brands is very low
Often marketeers think this is Brand Loyalty
But the reason is not “undying love” for the brand but a fear that the replacement may be worse.
The reasons for stickiness is the lower risk taking attitude so “a known devil is better than an unknown devil”.

25. Examples of Rural Consumer Behaviour
When Asian Paints launched Tractor Enamel Paint, they first decorated the horns of the cattle – Why ?
Henko detergent failed in Maharashtra because of the name “Henko” . Why ?
Dabur’s Herbal toothpowder containing Tulsi (which is good as a herb) failed. Why ?
Mahindra with it’s MaXX model offered metallic colours, aluminium footstep and an elegant spare wheel cover for rural market. Why ?
In Rural West U.P., we have seen strong sales of MP3 players among the farmers, esp cheaper Chinese models. Why ?
At the Allahabad Kumbh mela, shops located after the “dupki” and “darshan” areas had to pay 30% higher rentals than those located before the areas. Why ?
Dabur traditionally paints walls on the way to the village temple and/or mosque. Why ?
In part of U.P. there is a popular brand of gripe water called “daee ji ki 112 saal purani ghutti”. What’s special ?
A young rural person near Karnal saw an ad for Liberty shoes on T.V. When he was at a Haat, there was a retailer selling the brand. But he did not buy it, preferring to go to the company outlet near Chakravarty lake. Why ?
To cater to the large population of lower caste consumers, a “Harijan” brand beedi was launched in Bihar. No one wanted to touch it. Why ?
In some parts of rural India there is a belief that after washing hair, they should not be left loose because:
It gives an opportunity for evil spirits to enter
Loose hair reflects loose character
If you were a shampoo marketeer, how would you handle the communication ?

26. Examples of Rural Consumer Behaviour
In a small village retail outlet the retailer displayed only local brands. Only when a cash paying consumer came and asked for an HLL brand by name, the retailer pulled it out of a drawer and gave it. What does this behaviour show ?
Cadbury’s has launched ChocoBix, a chocolate flavoured biscuit in rural markets. What do they believe rural mother’s are thinking
A North Indian tractor manufacturer went to South. He featured a Sikh sitting on a tractor as a symbol of “agricultural success”. But the communication was seen as irrelevant. Why ?
A guest visited a Marwari household. As he was having his lunch with them (rice, daal and aalu ki sabzi) he asked for a Papad. The host was scandalised. Why ?
Rajdoot motorcycles used Dharmendra in a commercial (Cinema/TV/video parlours) saying “Jaandaar logon ki shandaar sawari ? Did it work ? Why ?
Although black is not a “lively” colour, the black colour of Chik shampoo was loved. Why ?