Distribution strategies for rural market

Everyone knows that along with creative product promotion, you need an effective distribution strategy to come out with flying colors in the business. It is further significant in India because of the vastness and geographical diversity. Marketing experts emphasize on the fact that decentralized model works better in India than the traditional hub-and-spoke model.

Research indicates that only those companies could perform brilliantly that developed multiple distribution centers catering a limited geography. Thus, they can reach the consumers quickly. There is a better control on product promotion and distribution.

A few essential things for effective distribution

• Focus on the local market is essential for a better grip on the situation. Since localized distribution hubs are supposed to cater a limited geography, they can work in a better way.

• All the stakeholders should be provided with adequate training. Yes, it is very much required because everyone has to be on the same page when you address the needs of rural consumers. Align your customers, vendors, and employees before you derive and implement effective marketing strategies.

• Tweak the product promotion and marketing tactics to the local needs. Since there is incredible diversity in cultures, traditions, and languages in rural India, the model has to be flexible and adaptive.

• Your company should make effective use of technology to reach the masses. Yes, there are ways to unleash the immense potential by thinking out-of-the-box ways of reaching people. Companies like Vritti iMedia have proved it. They made outstanding use of bus stands to promote products and services. Audiowala Bus Stand is a brilliant example of creative thinking and innovation.

• Service delivery is equally important. Marketing strategy shouldn’t be limited to promotion and distribution only. Rather, it should be equally efficient when it comes to delivering services.

• Always remember that an emotional touch works excellently in the rural areas. Once the trust is developed in the product, it is important that you live up to it.

Companies like Coca-Cola or Lays have proved it

We have seen in the past that companies such as Lays potato wafers or Coca-Cola have backed up their products by the sound distribution network. Also, they used sustainable technology to increase the footprints in the remotest areas. They thought differently and performed brilliantly by overcoming the challenges. It is possible to repeat the success story if a company has enough determination to conquer new heights of success in the rural market.

10 notes keep in mind when doing rural marketing

“You need half an hour to cut the tree, but you need six hours to sharpen the axe”, the adage is relevant in every situation. rural marketing agency is also not an exception to it. When you derive an effective strategy for the market, it is critically important to look at some salient features.

1. Know what the audience is interested into? Preferences of rural consumers are different from urban ones. One size doesn’t fit all; rural marketing agencies in india need to work from the grass root level while designing the campaign.

2. Don’t proceed without valid data points. Gather in-depth knowledge about the market sentiments, consumer psyche, product distribution and pricing. Marketers must pay attention to the way things will be communicated to the consumers.

3. Spend some time in making an understanding of the particular market. If the product or services are being launched for the first time, then this point is further critical.

4. You must understand that it is a different ball game. The rules are different here. Don’t treat is just another market segment. The more you get into it, better will be the result.

5. Look at the rural marketing strategy as the whole. You should work simultaneously on market development strategy, campaign, distribution, or rural marketing events in india. The overall impact will be effective.

6. Look at the market from a long-term perspective. There is immense potential in the rural market, and the effectiveness of your strategy will decide how successful you will be in grabbing the attention of people.

7. If you are one of the best rural marketing companies in india, then don’t forget to include the client in every stage of planning and execution. The final say has to be of your client.

8. Prepare a checklist. It is critical for the success of the strategy. Checklist makes sure that you do not forget anything in the execution process.

9. Don’t get disheartened by the initial lukewarm response. May be you need a little bit tweaking here and there. Rural consumers take some time to appreciate a product or service, but they are highly responsive once they get an idea about it.

10. You needn’t be extravagant while deriving rural marketing strategy. It is possible to come out with flying colors by adapting a conservative approach.

These points help in taking your company new heights of success in the rural market. With a sound groundwork and well-planned execution; you can be the role model for others.

Pandharpur Wari becomes an ideal occasion to reiterate pain-relieving capabilities of Iodex

Gyanba Tukaram and Mauli Mauli are perhaps the most uttered words in Maharashtra during the Wari period. The famous 250 kilometers walk that crosses the length and breadth of Maharashtra isnt just a religious procession, but a huge social event. It shows the great respect and intense belief in Vitthal, the most beloved deity in the state. People dont leave any opportunity of being part of this highly praised event.

The 21 days procession of Pandharpur Wari becomes one of the best ways of establishing brands and products. Marketing brains come out with innovative and interesting ways of establishing products and services without hampering the religious and cultural setup of the prestigious event. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, one of the leading healthcare companies, brought a highly creative idea of Iodex Massage Van last year. The concept was greatly appreciated by everyone because of its utility and direct mapping with the event.

The history repeats itself

The overwhelming success of the campaign last year was so encouraging that the team wants to acquire further heights of success this year. The biggest cultural and religious event in Maharashtra will be used as the platform for customer activation in a contextual manner.

Since the pilgrims cover approximately 250 kilometers distance in 21 days, it is a tough task indeed. Since Iodex is already an established brand for quick relief from all kinds of pains, the catch line is just perfect in the context of Pandharpur Wari.

Badan Dard ka Expert, Sirf Iodex is the punch line which means Iodex is the best remedy for every kind of body ache. When people walk almost 12 to 15 kilometers every day, it is very obvious that the majority of them face back pain, pain in the calf muscles or headache.

What does the Iodex brand campaign do?

The campaign offers 12 branded vans that accompany the Pandharpur Wari from the first day to the day procession gets over. The well-equipped and well-branded vans offer instant relief from pain and discomfort to the pilgrims. The procession that claims attendance of more than two million devotees every year is the biggest and brightest opportunity to showcase Iodex, the best pain reliever brand in India.

Other than vans, massage tents offer free massage to the pilgrims. These well-branded tents serve pilgrims during the breaks or night to rejuvenate and make them ready for the next day.

Pandharpur Wari is an event of international stature where brand establishment brings an incredible identity.

New perspective in rural marketing

Several game plans are suggested by the experts when we ask about the best way of getting success in the enormous rural market in India, and everybody has a different story to tell. However, everyone agrees to the fact that developing an effective distribution channel is one of the key elements of success. Failure in achieving it would be a major inhibiting factor for business growth.

Whether it is a consumer product, food product, or electronic item; it should reach to the right people at right time. Thus, effective distribution network, fast and swift modes of transportation and good warehousing facilities are extremely important.

What could be the best means of reaching the masses?

Many companies have done exceptionally well in the niche of reaching the rural markets and consumers. They developed fast and economic models to reach as many people as possible. Other than meticulous planning and flawless implementation, they developed smart ways of doing the things. Experts say that it is possible to take the performance to further high by doing something exclusive and unique. It is certainly a new perspective towards rural marketing.

(i) Is it possible to use the public distribution system which already exists? Since thousands of fair price shops and millions of people depend on it for the supplies of food grains, kerosene, and sugar, the system is fairly efficient and accurate. Using the same infrastructure for marketing the products in the rural areas would be cost-effective and accurate. Of course, it will be a chargeable service. However, the accuracy and dependability will make it the preferred service.

(ii) Use of rural cooperative societies: Almost every village in India has some or other cooperative society. Marketing experts say that these societies can play a pivotal role in making a product or service hit. They can be instrumental in distribution on a chargeable basis. Since the societies would earn handsome money, they will do it enthusiastically.

(iii) Using social and religious events for product marketing: In the recent years, marketing experts have realized the huge potential of events that take place in the rural areas. Mela, Urs or other religious events showcase the product or services to a large audience. The cost of product promotion is quite reasonable, and the results are superb. As the products are displayed in the local event, people associate to it pretty well.

These groundbreaking perspectives have a great potential to change the rural marketing.

Rural Growth is Key to Indias Success

When they say India lives in the villages, they are not wrong. A country where more than 80 percent of the population lives in small and middle-sized towns (a chunk of the population contributing eight to ten per cent of the total economic growth); how can one ignore it? Economists say that the key to growth lies in the rural sector, keeping in view the saturation in the urban areas.

It is the time to turn back to villages

A big chunk of the Indian population which lives in the rural areas was neglected for more than two decades after the economic policies took a U-turn from the traditional socialist ideology to so-called capitalist market. Everything from marketing strategy to product development and advertizing to promotions was focused on the neo-rich and upper-middle segment of the urban population. It drifted the lifestyle and habits of Indians and world-famous pizza and burger outlets marked their presence in the Indian market, promisingly and successfully.

After a whooping success for more than two decades, the urban market faces a big challenge in maintaining the same growth rate. Hence, the time has come to look back a big chunk of the Indian population that shows tremendous growth potential and promising future.

Though it is a challenging task, not impossible

Everyone agrees that the key to growth lies in the rural market, but it is equally true that the path is full of steeps and turns, just like approach roads in the villages. In a market where round-the-clock power cut is still a reality, how can one think about marketing lifestyle products that expect uninterrupted power supply?

However, the rural India is changing and with a pretty fast pace. As the government is keen to take the necessary facilities to the remotest village, good quality approach roads are being made to every village. With more emphasis on unconventional energy sources, e.g. solar energy or wind energy; villages are being made self-sufficient for power generation.

It is quite clear that as these efforts would start yielding results, there will be a phenomenal change n the life of the rural people. With a significant growth of the middle class in these areas, the demand for lifestyle products will surge like anything.

Companies that read the pulse of it correctly get prepared for the new challenge. Early movers would have the obvious advantage. They will not only seize the biggest chunk but maintain excellent growth as well.

Godrej spreads the message of purity this kumbh season

Godrej Consumer Products limited (GCPL) through its various brand activations has created an experience that brought alive the Kumbh ritual of purity, making every Indian experience of India’s purest bath even more pure and enjoyable.

Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage, held in India every three years and attracting 100 million people. GCPL installed multiple refresh vans across the city at various junctures like bus stop entries and pilgrim shelters so that the devotees can feel the purity and essence of such a pious festival right from their arrival. These multiple experience zones have successfily been able to touch each and every Indian across ghats and akhaadas, enabling the pilgrims to experience the glow of Godrej No 1 soaps and get rejuvenated for the holy dip.

Not just this!! GCPL ensured that the holy place where the Aarti took place was also pious and pure. How?? Simply by creating a number of fumigation rickshaws shaped like Goodknight Fast Card that moved around the mela and guaranteed that the place became mosquito free within minutes. Given the unexpected rains and the season of mosquitoes, a team of experts also performed particularly created Goodknight Fast Card aartis across Akhaada by lighting up special diya’s before beginning of a bhajan or aarti inside ahaadas to ensure that the place becomes mosquito free.

“From the Akhada to the main ghat, GCPL sure made it a pure, pest free and a memorable experience for all the pilgrims. The brand has very consciously moved away from the traditional concept of a static stall and has created mobile experience zones.  We are also sampling more than 20k Godrej No 1 soaps and 1.5 lac Fast cards to devotees,” said Sunil Kataria, Head – India and SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL).

About Godrej Consumer Products Limited:

Godrej Consumer Products Limited is the largest home-grown home and personal care company in India. We are constantly innovating to delight our consumers with more exciting, superior quality products at affordable prices. We have bold ambitions and are becoming more agile and future ready. We rank number 1 in hair colour, household insecticides and liquid detergents and number 2 in soaps. In India, you grow up with our brands – Good knight, Cinthol, Godrej Expert, Godrej No. 1 – and we are now on our way to becoming an emerging markets FMCG leader. In line with our 3X3 approach to international expansion, we are building a presence in 3 emerging markets (Asia, Africa, Latin America) across 3 categories (home care, personal wash, hair care). In 2010, we acquired the Indonesia based Megasari group, a leader in household insecticides, air fresheners and baby care. With the acquisition of Rapidol and Kinky in South Africa, the Darling Group, a leading pan-Africa hair care company, and Frika, a premium hair care brand, we have a strong presence in the fast growing African hair care market. We acquired the Issue and Argencos groups in Argentina, leaders in hair colour, in 2010, and expanded our footprint to Chile through the acquisition of a 60% stake in Cosmetica Nacional. Our UK business acquired in 2005 has a play in hair and personal care. We also operate in the Middle East and have a strong presence across SAARC countries.

Read more at www.godrejcp.com

Five impressive facts about the rural sector

India is known as the country of villages because most of the population lives in the rural areas. It predominantly depends on agriculture, making it the backbone of the economy. No wonder, the rural market plays a significant role in the consumable sector. However, the segment has been neglected so far, and all marketing strategies have been myopic to the urban population. With the economic development in last three decades and widespread popularity of the satellite television make the rural people aware of the latest lifestyle products. As a result, entrepreneurs realize the immense potential of this unexplored niche.

Indian rural segment is special

As per statisticians and economic pundits, the rural sector of India possesses a few remarkable peculiarities that are just impossible to ignore:

• The Indian villages and rural sector are self-sufficient from centuries. A village is a self-contained unit where the people depend on agriculture for food and local market for the day-to-day stuff. There are skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled people in the village that contribute to the economy as per their ability.
• With the social and political reforms happened in the last 20 years, people of rural areas became socially and politically aware. They know their strengths and weaknesses and don’t hesitate in putting forward their feet on the important national issues. They use the welfare schemes run by the government, get the benefit of subsidies and utilize the power of ballet.
• The people who live in villages know the power of commercialization of agriculture. They make use of the opened up economy to yield the maximum profits from the agriculture. They use high production techniques for high-quality crops. A major portion of the profit is used for spending on the lifestyle products. No wonder, entrepreneurs find the market highly lucrative and profitable.
• There has been a tremendous emphasis on the road connectivity in last decade. Every village has been added to the mainstream by at least one approach road. The ambitious “Pradhanmantri Gram Sadak Yojana” and “Golden Quadrilateral” schemes connect the majority of the villages. It enhances the market potential of the rural India.
• With the increase in competition and readiness to offer the best products to the consumers, retail sector opens new horizons. Producers earn more profits than ever before, and consumers get high prices.

The aspects enhance the importance of this niche, making it a greatly promising market of tomorrow.

Vritti I Media supporting Kannada film industry

Vritti Media is not only a successful marketing and brand promotion company but is has also shown a deep social concern and responsibility. It has been part of several initiatives that are directly connected to the social welfare. Offering facilities to pilgrims at Pandrapur is an example. The company is concerned about the roadblocks being faced by Kannada film industry nowadays. The economics of Kannada movie industry are not as strong as the other regional languages of South India. Hence, it can’t compete with them in spite of producing good movies with superb storylines.

Kannada cinema spearheaded parallel cinema once upon a time

In the decades of 70s and 80s, Kannada cinema was considered the leader of the South Indian film industry. It successfully carried social reformation movement and produced movies that had meaning and message. There were stalwart actors, directors, and writers who took it to very high standards.

However, a lot of water has flown since then and today the Kannada film industry is in a dreadful situation. It has been overshadowed by Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film industries. Today, it becomes difficult to bring the audience to the movie theaters. Vritti shows a deep concern with it and the company is determined to bring back the glorious days.

Audio Nildana promotes Kannada movies in the best way

Vritti knows very well that communication is the crux of success in the rural market. In Karnataka, a bus is the most preferred medium of travel in the interior areas. Roads are very good, and Karnataka State Transport buses are quite comfy and luxurious. There is a large footfall in the KSRTC bus stands which makes them the best place to reach the masses. Audio Nildana plays promotions, songs and information about the newly released Kannada movies. It also provides informational content and segmented promotion of the retail market.

Since the facility reaches to more than 100 bus stations of Karnataka, it is a greatly cost-effective mode of publicity. Audio promotions and song bits are played at widespread locations simultaneously experts rate it effective than FM Radio. A song will be played for two minutes, and it is expected to reach over five million people at a time. Interesting information will be broadcasted in between the songs so that the content keeps people engaged.

It is sure that there will be further development in the coming years, and Vritti will add new and exciting things to promote Kannada film industry.

How is Vrittii Media successful in carrying out cost-effective rural campaigns?

 

The success of a company depends on two important aspects, quality and cost-efficiency. As far as Vritti iMedia is concerned, it is successful on both parameters. It is a well-acclaimed company for incredibly effective rural campaigns at affordable rates. The successhas been astonishing so far, but it is not just fluke. It is the result of a well-thought and well-implemented modus operandi.

What strategy does Vritti iMedia use to reach the rural audience?

Media experts at Vritti iMedia know that the rural marketing is a different ball game where Media Company has to reach the users. Since approachability is a significant issue in the rural market, they used an innovative way to reach the maximum people at a time.

Vritti iMedia a targeted bus stands because they are the transit points for people living in small towns and villages. Typically, the frequency of buses in interiors is low and people spend a considerable time at the bus stands. Thus, it is a wise and effective strategy. With the largest Digital Audio Network at the rural bus stands, it has achieved significant coverage and penetration.

Vritti iMedia overcomes the hurdles of marketing communication

Since there is a vast disparity in language, understanding, and intellect; achieving effective communication is a big challenge. Marketing experts at Vritti iMedia have worked at very micro level. For example, local dialect has been taken into account while designing media campaigns. AudioWala Bus Stand is a massive hit because of suchcritical analysis.

Innovative 4C Strategy for an overwhelming success

As the cliché goes, “it takes an hour to cut the tree, but six hours to sharpen the axe”; a detailed planning is required for a massive success. Marketing gurus at Vritti recommend a unique 4C strategy for achieving success in the rural markets.

• Creating a separate Rural sales team (sub-vertical hired locally) to focus on the rural market.
• Customizing the products to meet specific needs of the rural markets.
• Channelizing the offers properly and create alternate channels for lead generation or sales
  Ex:- Rural Youth, Common service centres, e-chaupals, Rural BPOs and NGOs to be used for influencing or selling these offerings as partners. It will be over-and-above the conventional dealer-distributor model.
• Carving localized campaigns on the fundamental concept of Vritti iMedia, “Think Local Act Local”.

No wonder, the company has kept the costs under control and reach the maximum people by spending the minimum money. Reaching 60K people using Audiowala Bus stand daily by spending Rs.600 is a miracle, indeed.

Vritti Solutions Limited presented 3 awards by Asian Customer Engagement Forum & Awards.

Vritti iMedia is an ace company in rural marketing and rural advertising. Their innovative ideas like  bus stand announcement advertising and other audio commercial advertising has led Vritti Solutions Limited to win prestigious accolates for thier work.The Asian Customer Engagement Forum & Awards has felicitated Vritti Solutions Limited with  3 prestigious awards for their contibution.

Vritti Solutions Limited was announced 3 awards by the Asian Customer Engagement Forum & Awards. The theme being Profitable Customer Engagement: Concept, Metrics and Strategies. Vritti Solutions Limited was awarded Gold Winner for Fattack Se Furr for the Goodknight Fast Card campaign at Pandharpur. They won the 1st Runner Up in Effectiveness of  Events and Promotions – Fattack Se Furr and 2nd Runner Up for Creativity of Out of Home Media – Aika Ho Maharaja for the Parle Marie campaign at ST Bus Stations.

The venue for the awards ceremony was Taj Lands End, Ballroom (Bandra West, Mumbai) n 25th April. The award ceremony saw prominent personalities from Marketing and Advertising business like KV Sridhar (Saipent Nitro, India), Ashutosh Tiwari (Cosmos Strategy Consultants), Vivek Bhargava (iProspectCommnicate 2) and other such personalities.

This recognition has made Vritti Solutions Limited to work at a faster pace towards rural marketing.