35187512 Rural Marketing End Term Project

8/6/2019 35187512 Rural Marketing End Term Project

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/35187512-rural-marketing-end-term-project 1/24

RURAL MANGEMENT

1

PROJECT REPORT

ON

parle-g based on Rural management

RURAL MANAGEMENT

Submitted By:

NIPUN SABHARWAL

FF3

47

INDIAN INSITITUTE OF PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT



RURAL MANGEMENT

2

RUR AL MARKET

THE OVERVIEW

In our country over 70% of the total population live in villages. There are states likeU.P, M.P,

Bihar, Rajasthan and Orissa where rural population varies form 80 to 90 per cent.Agriculture and agriculture related activities contribute to about 75% of the income in ruralareas.

Over 6, 31,307 villages, 700 million people a myriad of languages many traditions anda richculture. A vibrant land with a long History. Rural Indian people are known as much fortheir

warmth as their diversity. The real ³BHAR AT´.

³EXPLORE THE RUR AL MARKETS

DO NOT EXPLOIT THEM´

--CROP CULTIVATION --INDUSTRY

--ANIMAL HUSBANDRY ±BUSINESS--DAIRYING --SERVICES

--FISHERIES

--POULTRY

--FORESTRY

NDIAN ECONOMY

RURAL SECTOR URBAN SECTOR

AGRICULTURAL NON AGRICULTURAL



RURAL MANGEMENT

3

---INDUSTRY

--BUSINESS,SERVICES

Till recently, the focus of marketers in India was the urban consumer and by large nospecific

efforts were made to reach the rural markets. But now it is felt with the tempo ofdevelopment

accelerating in rural India, coupled with increase in purchasing power, becauseof scientificagriculture, the changing life style and consumption pattern of villagers with increase ineducation, social mobility, improved means of transportation and its varioussatellite channels

have exposed rural India to the outside world and hence their outlook to lifehas changed.Because of all these factors, rural India is attracting more and more marketers.

Increase in competition, saturated urban markets, more and more new productsdemanding urban

customers, made the companies to think about new potential markets. Thus,Indian rural marketshave caught the attention to many companies, advertisers andmultinational companies.

According to a recent survey conducted by National Council forA

pplied Economic Research(NCAER), the purchasing power of the rural people hasincreased due to increase in productivity

and better price commanded by the agriculturalproducts. By and large this rise in purchasing power remains unexploited and with growingreach of the television, it is now quite easy for the

marketers to capture these markets.

Rural marketing has become the latest mantra of most corporates. Companies likeHindustanLever, Colgate, Palmolive, Britannia, and even Multinational Companies (MNCs)like Pepsi,

Coca Cola, L.G., Philips, and CavinKare are all eyeing rural to capture the largeIndian Market.

Coming to the frame work of Rural Marketing broadly involves reaching the ruralcustomer,understanding their needs and wants, supply goods and services to meet theirrequirements,

carrying out after sales service that leads to customer satisfaction and repeatpurchase/ sales.



RURAL MANGEMENT

4

CONCEPT OF RURAL MARKETING

Rural marketing is a process of developing, pricing, promoting, distributing ruralspecificgoods and services leading to exchange between urban and rural markets which specifies

consumer demand and also achieves organizational objectives.

Rural marketing involves a two-way marketing process, however, the prevailing flow

of goods and services from rural to rural areas cannot be undervalued.

Since demands¶ of urban and rural folks are different, companies should manufacture products to suit the rural demand rather than dump urban products on rural consumers.

The process should be able to straddle the attitudinal and socio-economic disparitybetween theurban and rural consumers.



RURAL MANGEMENT

5

RUR AL MARKETING IN INDIA

A thorough understanding of the rural markets has become an important aspect of marketing inthe Indian marketing environment today. This attraction towards the rural markets is primarily

due To the colossal size of the varied demands of the 230million rural people. In fact, the ruralmarkets are expanding in India at such a rapid pace that theyhave overtaken the growth in

urbanmarkets. This rate of growth of the rural market segment is however not the only factor thathas driven marketing managers to go rural. The other compelling factor is the fact that

theurban markets are becoming increasingly complex, competitive and saturated.

Further, the vast untapped potential of the rural markets is growing at a rapid pace.The policies

of the government largely favors rural development programmers. This is clearly highlighted bythe fact that the outlay for rural development has risen from Rs 14000 croresin the 7th plan to Rs30000 crores in the 8th plan period. These figures also prove that therural market is emerging

stronger with a gradual increase in disposable income of the ruralfolk. In addition, better procurement prices fixed for the various crops and better yields due tomany research

programmes have also contributed to the strengthening of the rural markets.Thus, with the ruralmarkets bulging in both size and volume, any marketing manager will bemissing a great

potential opportunity if he does not go rural.

DISTINCTIVENESS OF RUR AL MARKETS

The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers great opportunities tomarketers. Two-thirds of countries consumers live in rural areas and almost half of the national



RURAL MANGEMENT

6

income is generated here. It is only natural that rural markets form an important part of the totalmarket of India. Our nation is classified in around 450 districts, and approximately 630000

villages, which can be sorted in different parameters such as literacy levels, accessibility, incomelevels, penetration, distances from nearest towns, etc. The features of Indian rural markets are:

· Major income from agriculture: Nearly 60 % of the rural income is fromagriculture. Hencerural prosperity is tied with agricultural prosperity.

· Low standard of living: The consumer in the village area do have a low standard ofliving because of low literacy, low per capita income, social backwardness, lowsavings, etc.

· Traditional Outlook :The rural consumer values old customs and tradition. They donot prefer changes.

· Diverse socio-economic backwardness: Rural consumers have diversesocioeconomicbackwardness. This is different in different parts of the country.

· Infrastructure Facilities :The Infrastructure Facilities like roads, warehouses,communicationsystem, and financial facilities are inadequate in rural areas. Hencephysical distribution becomes

costly due to inadequate Infrastructure facilities.

PROBL

EM RELA

TED TO RUR AL

MA

RKETING

Although the rural market does offer a vast untapped potential, it should also berecognized that itis not that easy to operate in rural market because of several problems.Rural marketing is thus a

time consuming affair and requires considerable investments interms of evolving appropriatestrategies with a view to tackle the problems.

The major problems faced are:

y Underdeveloped People and Underdeveloped Markets :The number of people below poverty line has not decreased in any appreciable manner. Thus underdeveloped people

and consequently underdeveloped market by and large characterize the rural markets.Vast majorities of the rural people are tradition bound, fatalistic and believe in oldcustoms, traditions, habits, taboos and practices.

y Lack of Proper Physical Communication Facilities: Nearly fifty percent of the villagesin the country do not have all weather roads. Physical communication of these villages ishighly expensive. Even today most villages in the eastern parts of the country are

inaccessible during the monsoon.



RURAL MANGEMENT

7

y Media for Rural Communication :Among the mass media at some point of time inthelate 50's and 60's radio was considered to be a potential medium for communication to the

rural people. Another mass media is television and cinemas.Statistics indicate that the ruralareas account for hardly 2000 to 3500 mobile theatres,which is far less when compared to the

number of villages.

y Dispersed Market :Rural areas are scattered and it is next to impossible to ensure theavailability of a brand all over the country. Seven Indian states account for 76% of the

country¶s rural retail outlets, the total number of which is placed at around 3.7 million.Advertising in such a highly heterogeneous market, which is widely spread, is very

expensive.

y Many Languages and Dialects :The number of languages and dialects vary widely fromstate to state, region to region and probably from district to district. The messages have to

be delivered in the local languages and dialects. Even though the number of recognizedlanguages is only 16, the dialects are estimated to be around 850.

y Low Per Capita Income: Even though about 33-35% of gross domestic product isgenerated in the rural areas it is shared by 74% of the population. Hence the per capita

incomes are low compared to the urban areas.

y Low Levels of Literacy : - The literacy rate is low in rural areas as compared to urbanareas. This again leads to problem of communication for promotion purposes. PrintMedium becomes ineffective and to an extent irrelevant in rural areas since its reach is

Poor and so is the level of literacy.

y Prevalence of spurious brands and seasonal demand: - For any branded product thereare a multitude of µlocal variants¶, which are cheaper, and, therefore, more

desirable to villagers.y Different way of thinking: - There is a vast difference in the lifestyles of the peopleThe

kind of choices of brands that an urban customer enjoys is different from thechoices

available to the rural customer. The rural customer usually has 2 or 3 brandsto choosefrom whereas the urban one has multiple choices.

MASSMEDIAM

The past two decades have seen a dramatic expansion of exposure to mass media in rural areas.

Since these are, almost, by definition urban media at present is an overwhelmingly urban portrayal of life and values, their impact on attitudes and behavior hasbeen profound.

· Radio is the medium with the widest coverage. Studies have recently shown highlevels of

exposure to radio broadcasting both within urban and rural areas, whether ornot listeners actuallyown a set. Many people listen to other people's radios or hearthem in public places. Surveys



RURAL MANGEMENT

8

indicate that in rural areas more than a one third of themarried women of reproductive age havelistened to a radio within the last week.

· Television, video and films expose viewers to a common window on styles of lifeand

behaviors, an impact increased by the supranational reach of the media. Television is extremely popular where it isavailable. Television increasingly exposes viewers toa wide range of national,regional andinternational viewpoints. Rural exposure totelevision has been lower by far than

radio.The mass media brings change wherever they go; but change does not have to berandom. Successful media campaigns have changed attitudes and behaviour in a varietyof areas,

from basic literacy to health care and family planning.

· But Advertising to rural consumers continues to be a hit and miss affair .At best, it isan exercise where communicators grapple with issues of language, regional and

religiousaffiliations and local sensitivities. Most often finding the right mix that will have a pan-

Indian rural appeal is the greatest challenge for advertisers. But more often than not,marketers

throw in the towel going in for simplistic solutions: such as going in for a mere transliteration of advertising copy. The result: advertising that is rooted in urbansensitivities and do not touch the

hearts and minds of the rural consumer.

To understand the way the rural markets work - we need to go to these markets andspend timethere in understanding them. We live in surroundings where the things are

completely different from what the rural customer experiences. And we can't understandhimunless we go and spend time there. Things like what time does he get up, etc need to

bestudied and customer needs to be understood. Also these studies need to be passed on sootherscan also benefit from the ground works done and enhance them further.We need in depth studies

of the market, the medium, the message and the ruralcustomer in center of all these to understandthe rural markets completely.The winning combination will be a good product with consistent

quality andavailability. Once you earn the villagers' loyalty (and they are known for their brandloyalty),it will be difficult for competitors to take away your customers.

· RETAILER S: -For the rural customerthe choices available are limited. So theretailer plays avery big role in thepurchase decision. Data on ruralconsumer buying behavior indicates thatthe

rural retailer influences 35% ofpurchase occasions. The rural customergoes to the same shopalways to buy histhings. And there is a very strongbonding in terms of trust between the two.

The buying behavior is also such that the customer doesn't ask for the things by brand but like - "paanchrupeywaalichayedena".

Now it is on the retailer to push whatever brand he wants to push as they can influencethe buyer very easily and very strongly on the preferences. Therefore, sheer productavailability can

determine brand choice, volumes and market share. Thus distribution isthe key factor for the

success of rural marketing.This includes, maintaining favorable trade relations, providing

innovative incentivesto retailers and organizing demand generation activities among a host of



RURAL MANGEMENT

9

other things.In rural areas, the place where consumers prefer to shop is very important, becauseithas been found that they buy their requirements from the same shop. This high shop loyalty is

Accentuated by the "khata" system, which is widely practiced. Hence, if the product isnotavailable at the place where the consumer shops, he would buy some other available brand.

· RUR AL

FOL

K MEDIA

:-As a generalrule, rural marketing involves moreintensive personalselling effortscompared to urban marketing. Marketersneed to understand the psyche of therural

consumers and then actaccordingly. To effectively tap the rural market a brand must associate it

with the same things the rural folks do .

Utilizing thevarious rural folk medi a to reach them in their own language and in large numbers

so thatthe brand can be associated with the myriad rituals, celebrations, festivals, melas andother activities where they assemble, can do this.

In the Indian rural marketing context, perhaps linguistics could provide a newapproach to

tackling communication issues and arriving at a better understanding of ruralconsumers. Also,

the manner in which symbols and icons are used, which provides insightsand clues into themindsets of rural audiences, can be deployed to grab their attention.

Though television and radio fare better then print, the best way to kick start sales areevents.

Where the company meets and interacts with the audience, talks to them in their ownidioms andtells them what this product offers. Marketers should think up games and events,which would

attract the attention of the villagers from all professions uniformly. This wouldrequire local levelgoods creation and social negotiation skills.

The best choice comes from weekly bazaars. With varying populations, one shop or few shopscannot really cater to all the needs of the consumers. Thus, it makes sense to haveweekly outlets

that caters to the needs of the consumers in these regions. Frugal though therural consumer issuccess from these weekly outlets is that much more pertinent.

What attracts her is the freshness of the produce, buying in the bulk for a week and the bargaining power. These markets (haats and shandies) have high potential that corporate are now



RURAL MANGEMENT

10

waking up to. The scope that these markets offer to distribution is something that hasto beseriously considered. Distribution is clearly the key to rural marketing.

· TR ADITIONAL MEDIA can be used to reachthese people in the marketing of new concept.

The traditional media with its effective reach,powerful input and personalized communication

system will help in realizing the goal. Besidesthis when the advertisement is couchedinentertainment it goes down easily with thevillager.

The traditional media like folk/street plays, wall signs/shop paintings, vancampaign/Haat

events (weekly fairs), melas, home-to-home contacts and productdemonstrations can be

effectively used for this purpose.

HAATS AND MELA

The countries oldest tradition holds the key torural penetration. The average daily sale at aHaat isabout Rs.2.25 Lacs while the annualsales at melas amount to Rs.3, 500 crore.In rural India,

annual melasorganized with a religious or festive significance are quitepopular and provide avery good platform fordistribution. Rural markets come alive at these melas and people visit

them to make severalpurchases.

According to the Indian Market Research Bureau, around 8000 such meals are held inrural India

every year.

Rural markets have the practice of fixing specific days in a week as Market Days when exchangeof goods and services are carried out. This is another potential low costdistribution channel

available to the marketers. Haats serve a good opportunity for promotionafter brand building has been done at Meal.

Also, one satellite town where people prefer to go to buy their durable commoditiesgenerally

serves every region consisting of several villages. If marketing managers use thesefeeder townsthey will easily be able to cover a large section of the rural population. Melasare organized after



RURAL MANGEMENT

11

harvest season, so the villager has enough money, which he will be readyto spend.Demonstration at Haat is essential to convert customers at haats since their attitudeis far more

utilitarian than that of visitors to a fair.

PROFILE OF RUR AL CONSUMAR

This however raises a fundamental problem of fathoming the differences betweenurban and rural

markets in India. This is of paramount importance in the Indian marketingenvironment as ruraland urban markets in our country are so very diverse in nature thaturban marketing programmes just cannot be successfully extended to the rural markets.

influence buying behavior and the variations to behavior. These help to generate information

upon which a marketer can create bases tosegment the rural market taking the following factorsconsideration:

Environment of the consumer

Geographical InfluencesInfluence of Occupation

Place of PurchaseCreative use of Products

Obviously rural consumers do make some purchases from urban areas (twinset) because there

are a few product categories where rural distribution is still comparativelylow and therefore theconsumers buys from towns; and in certain cases, the consumer seeksvariety. In the case of

biscuits, toilet soaps and washing powders, the consumers mayperceive the range in villages as

limited.

ITS BISCUIT TIME FOLK S



RURAL MANGEMENT

12

Biscuits are something that doesn¶t need an introduction as such. Everyone everyday have them.

Some have it for their taste, some for their health factor, some to fulfill their hunger and so on.

A product that is consumed almost daily.A product that has no boundaries. There are biscuits for

all kinds of teeth. Sweet, Creamy, Salty, Semi Sweet, Sweet and Salty etc are the various kindsof biscuits that are available in today¶s market, fitting all kinds of mood. And if you look at the

history of biscuits, it dates back to second century Rome and it comes from the Latin word"biscoctum" which mean twice baked.

As people started to explore the globe, biscuits became the ideal traveling food, because theystayed fresh for long periods. Biscuits really boomed during the seafaring age,when they were

sealed in airtight containers to last for months at a time. In fact, the countries where biscuits aremost popular today, such those in Western Europe, led the seafaring charge. The present biscuits

scenario in India looks like a battle front.

The battle being led by stalwarts like Britannia and Parle with close competition from other

companies like ITC, Nutrine, HLL Kissan, Kwality and even International Brands likeKellogg¶s, Nestle, Sara Lee, United Biscuits etc. Britannia is undoubtedly the leader with Brands

like Tiger, Little Hearts, and Milk Bikis etc.

Britannia's Tiger biscuits are doing a world of good to the company. It is indeedselling like hot

pancakes in the rural areas which actually constitute 56% of the biscuitmarket.

But in the G lucose segment P arl e G is the mark et l eader. Parle G has indeed becomea

household name. Not to forget the Market niches coming in the form of Hll and ITC.Hllbistix(biscuits sticks that can be dipped into flavours like Strawberry and Chocolate) isindeed

an innovation and will surely have and is surely having a lot of takers. The pricingadopted byHLL is also kind of unique. Its charging only Rs 5 for Bistix.

Whereas, ITC's foray into the world of Biscuits seems to be paying off good. ITCSunfeast brandof biscuits with a new and peppy flavors of Marie, Orange will surelygenerate a kind of curiosity

in the minds of biscuit consumers. The toughest competition forthese established players comefrom the unorganized market. This market is indeedinteresting to study. It consists of "n" number

of companies. They are more or lessCounterfeiters or Cloners.



RURAL MANGEMENT

14

other me-too brands were introduced in the market. And thesebrands had names that were similar to Parle Gluco Biscuits so that if not by anything else, theconsumer would err in picking the

brand. This forced Parle to change the name from ParleGluco Biscuits to Parle-G.

Originally packed in the wax paper pack, today it is available in a contemporary,premiumBOPP pack with attractive side fins. The new airtight pack helps to keep thebiscuits fresh andtastier for a longer period.

Parle-G was the only biscuit brand that was always in short supply. It was headingtowards becoming an all-time great brand of biscuit. Parle-G started being advertised in the80's. It was

advertised mainly through press ads. The communication spoke about the basicbenefits of energy and nutrition. In 1989,Parle-G released its Dadaji commercial, which went on to

become one of the most popular commercials for Parle-G. The commercial was run for a periodof 6 years.

Parle-G grew bigger by the minute. Be it the packs sold, the areas covered or thenumber of consumers. It became a part of the daily lives of many Indians. It wasn't a biscuitany more. It had

become an i con. The next level of communication associated the brand withthe positive values

of life like honesty, sharing and caring.

In the year 1997, Parle-G sponsored the tele-serial of the Indian superhero,Shaktimaanthatwent on to become a huge success. The personality of the superheromatched the overall superb

benefits of the brand. Parle extended this association withShaktimaanand gave away a lot of merchandise of Shaktimaan, which was supported byPOS and press communication. The

children just could not get enough of Parle-G andShaktimaan.

In the year 2002, it was decided to bring the brand closer to the child who is a majorconsumer. A

national level promo - `Parle-G MeraSapnaSachHoga' was run for a periodof 6 months. The promo was all about fulfilling the dreams of children. There were over 5lakhresponses and of

that, over 300 dreams were fulfilled. Dreams that were fulfilled rangedfrom trips to Disneyland

at Paris & Singapore; meeting their favorite film star HrithikRoshan; free ride on a chartered

plane; 20 scholarships worth Rs 50,000; a special cricketcoaching camp with the Australiancricketer - Ricky Ponting; etc.

The year 2002 will go down as a special year in Parle-G's advertising history. A yearthat sawthe birth of G-Man - a new ambassador for Parle-G. Not just a hero but also asuper -hero that

saves the entire world, especially children from all the evil forces. Acampaign that is not justnew to the audiences but one that involves a completely new way ofexecution that is loved by

children all over the world - Animation.



RURAL MANGEMENT

15

A TV commercial that showed G-Man saving the children from the evil forcecalledTerrolenelaunched this campaign. It was also supported by print medium through

postersand streamers put up at the retail outlets. G-Man, a new superhero of Parle-G hasthepotential of making it big. And will be supported by a campaign that will see many a

newcreative in the future so as to keep the children excited and generate pride in being

aconsumer of Parle-G.

To make the brand much more interesting and exciting with children, it was decidedto launch a

premium version of Parle-G called Parle-G Magixin the year 2002. Parle-GMagixis availablein two exciting tastes - µChoco¶ and µCashew¶. The year 2002 alsowitnessed the launch of

Parle-G Milk Shakti, which has the nourishing combination of milkand honey, especiallylaunched for the southern market.

Parle-G continues to climb the stairs of success. Take a look at the global marketwhere it is being exported. First came the Middle East then USA followed by Africa andthen Australia.

An Indian brand, that's exported to almost all parts of the world. After allthat's what you wouldexpect from the Parle-G World's Largest Selling Biscuit.

Parle¶s efforts to make biscuits affordable to all?

Biscuits were very much a luxury food in India, when Parle began production in 1939.Apartfrom Glucose and Monaco biscuits, Parle did offer a wide variety of brands.

However, during the Second World War, all domestic biscuit production was divertedto assistthe Indian soldiers in India and the Far East. Apart from this, the shortage of wheatin those days,

made Parle decide to concentrate on the more popular brands, so that peoplecould enjoy the price benefits.

Thankfully today, there's no dearth of ingredients and the demand for more premiumbrands is onthe rise. That's why; we now have a wide range of biscuits and mouthwateringconfectionaries to

offer.

STRENGTH OF THE PAR LE BR AND

Over the years, Parle has grown to become a multi-million US Dollar company. Manyof theParle products - biscuits or confectionaries, are market leaders in their category andhave won

acclaim at the Monde Selection, since 1971.



RURAL MANGEMENT

16

Today, Parle enjoys a 40% share of the total biscuit market and a 15% share of thetotalconfectionary market, in India. The Parle Biscuit brands, such as, Parle-G, Monaco

andKrackjack and confectionery brands, such as, Melody, Poppins, Mangobite and Kismi,enjoya strong imagery and appeal amongst consumers.

Be i t a big ci ty or a r emot e vi lla ge of Indi a, the P arl e name s ymbol izes qual i ty,health and g r eat

tast e!

And yet, this reputation has been built, by constantly innovating and catering to newtastes. Thiscan be seen by the success of new brands, such as, Hide & Seek, or the singletwist wrapping of

Mango bite.

In this way, by concentrating on consumer tastes and preferences and emphasizingResearch &

Development, the Parle brand grows from strength to strength.

QUALITY COMMITMENT



RURAL MANGEMENT

17

Parle Products has one factory at Mumbai that manufactures biscuits &confectioneries while

another factory at Bahadurgarh, in Haryana manufactures biscuits.Apart from this, Parle hasmanufacturing facilities at Neemrana, in Rajasthan and atBangalore in Karnataka.

The factories at Bahadurgarh and Neemrana are the largest such manufacturingfacilites in India.Parle Products also has 14 manufacturing units for biscuits & 5 manufacturing units for

confectioneries, on contract. All these factories are located atstrategic locations, so as to ensure aconstant output & easy distribution. Each factory hasstate-of -the-art machinery with automatic

printing & packaging facilities.

All Parle products are manufactured under the most hygienic conditions. Great care isexercised

in the selection & quality control of raw materials, packaging materials & rigidquality standards

are ensured at every stage of the manufacturing process. Every batch of biscuits&confectioneries are thoroughly checked by expert staff, using the most modernequipment.

" P arl e P r od uct s Limi t ed wi ll str ive t o pr ovide consist ently nutr i t ious & qual i ty foodpr od uct s t o

meet consumer s' sat isf act ion b y using qual i ty mat er i al s and b y adopt ing a ppr opr i at e

pr ocesses . To f aci l i tat e the above we wi ll str ive t o cont inuously train ouempl o yees and t o

pr ovide them an open and part i cipat ive envi r onment."

PAR LE¶S RUR ALMARKETING MANAGEMENT

Marketing management refers to distribution of the firm¶sproduct or service to the customers in

order to satisfy their needsand to accomplish the firm¶s objectives.

Marketing includes developing the product, pricing,distribution, advertisement, andmerchandising, doing personalselling, promoting and directing sales and service to customers.

Marketing is an essential function because unless the firm has a market, or candevelop a market,

for its product or service, other functions of staffing, producing andfinancing are futile

Developing rural marketing Strategies for Parle: -

Determine what the customer¶s needs are and how those needs can be satisfied.

Select the market that would be served.Decide what advantage that will give a competitive edge over other firms.

Meeting customer¶s needs



RURAL MANGEMENT

18

Learning customer¶s needs

Conscious about the firm¶s image

Looking for danger signals

These are the questions which arise while introducing a new product, such as HIDE n SEEK.

Market Segmentation:

A market should be defined in terms of various characteristics such as economic status, age,education, occupation and location. The best opportunity is to identify a marketsegment that is

not well served by other firms. To determine the firm¶s market segment, thefundamental aspectsare summarized:

What is the place of the firm in the industry and how it can compete with others?

Whether the firm is known for its quality or price.

Image of the firm among the customers.

³ As P arl e is a well establ ished brand , i t s

P r od uct s ar e not new t o the peopl e . So ,

W hen the y launch a new pr od uct, i t

Becomes eas y for them as the Compan y is

k nown for i t s branded pr od uct s all ovethecountry.



RURAL MANGEMENT

19

STR ATEGIC MARKETING POLICIES OF PAR LE

Formulation of strategic marketing policies for certain areas of the Parle Are:

Morality and public serviceProduct

MarketProfit

Customer relationsPromotion

Credit Policies

· Morality and Public Service:

Policies on morality and public service consist of general statements expressingParle¶s desire to

be honest in its dealings with public and its customers. They fulfill the demands of theconsumers by supplying adequate quantities to them. And they followmorality by providing

products at good and acceptable quality.

· Product

Parle often finds its most effective competitive weapon in the field of productstrategy. It may

concentrate on narrow product line, develop a highly specialized productservice or provide a product containing an unusual amount of advantage and satisfaction.

Competitor¶s products, prices and services are constantly examined to determine whether the

Company can build a better product.

Parle has always followed this principle of making the product as the most importantthing rather than spending more on advertising and promotions. They feel that if the producthas quality, than

it will be promoted on its own. It will itself act as publicity.

· Market

Market policies are designed to clarify with geographic areas Parle wishes to serveand other marketing characteristics appropriate for it. The market policies are framed as perthe market

segmentation. As the Parle Biscuits don¶t have the targeted market as such,because it is a productconsumed by all. So, there are market strategies as per the potentialityto cover the marketsAnd

the biggest achievement for Parle is that, it is available in ³ Every Nook andCor ner´ of thecountry. It has even reached the interior most part of the rural areas. This hasbeen possible only

by the foolproof distribution system

· Profit

Profit policies may require that sales goals be specified that will provide Parle asufficiently largesales volume or profit as percentage of sales may be specified which callsfor low marketing

costs.



RURAL MANGEMENT

20

As the biscuits of Parle are well known, they don¶t have to spend much onadvertisements. So,the profit margins are increasing substantially. Initially, they followedpenetration policy of

pricing. And it worked. Still, the price is too low to be affordable by thecommon man.

But, now they are planning to increase the prices of the biscuits, to increase theirprofits even

more. This pricing policy refers to as Skimming theC

ream.

· Customer Relations

Parle¶s relationship with its customers may be indicated with a question

Should the firm have a policy that customer is always right?

Parle, also like other company¶s feel that consumers are the most important aspect.Theconsumers are always right because they are the sources through which a companycomes to

know about its performance. Same is the case with Parle.

They follow the feedback by the consumers and do as they want. They consider theconsumers

views as of prime importance. Because, if the consumers are satisfied no one canstop the growthof Parle.

· Promotion

The pattern of Parle¶s advertisement may reveal the promotion policies. It alwaysfollows a policy of tasteful advertising at all times. Sales promotion may be restricted to trade shows or to

industrial publications or to some other advertising media.

There are different promotion techniques like free samples, scholarships, etc.

· Credit Policies

In order to stimulate sales, customer should be provided with credit. However, anappropriatecredit policy is essential to be successful in granting credit. This is a useful policyas it attracts the

consumers and the retailers. And also increases their confidence in the brand.

The credit can be given by the company to the whole sellers or retailers. And in turn they willgive credit to consumer.



RURAL MANGEMENT

21

SURVEY IN RUR AL AREA ± VADGAON

To enhance the project, a survey to gain primary data was being performed by me. Idid the

survey of retailers in Vadgaon, near by Pune.After retaining the information from theParle

Company itself, it made me curious to find outthe demand of Parle biscuits in the near by village.

Ihad collected the information from the various retailshops present in that area. About 15

retailers, I have approached. The questionnaireformat was produced as below: -

OBJECTIVES OF SURVEY: -

· The basic objective of the survey was to understand the concept of rural marketingclearly bymeans of Parle biscuits demand analysis.

· To find out the consumer behaviour in relation to the biscuits of Parle.· To find out the competitor¶s, local brands and imitation brands.

· To find out its effect on sales of Parle.

Methodology

The survey worked got started by preparation of the Survey form (Questionnaire).The questions are related to the demand analysis of the Parle products.

The survey was being conducted by the method of interviewing the sample size of 15retailers at random. These retailers included the General stores and the Kiryana

Stores available there. The Questionnaire is given in the Annexure.

Findings: -

· Surprisingly, all the 15 retailers have Parle biscuits available with them. Notall the brands butmost of them. All the retailers have in common PARLE G, MONACO, MARIE and

KRACKJACK.· About 9 retailers have with them the other brands of PARLE as well alongwith the above four,

such as HIND n SEEK, FUNCENTRE, MILK SHAKTI, andCHEESELINGS.

· All the retailers were satisfied with the demand of Parle. They said that Parleis the most selling biscuits amongst all. And the brands of Parle are known verywell to the people

(consumers).They don¶t ask for biscuits, but just ask for³PAR LE´.

· But, 4 retailers which are the smaller ones got some less demand as comparedto others.

· Due to Britannia¶s TIGER, the sale of PARLE G is being affected. But still people retain to theParle brands.

· Due to competition, the Parle¶s demand is being decreased to 15-20%.This was said by 6

retailers.

· But the rest 9 retailers said that the sales have been decreased only by 7-10%.



RURAL MANGEMENT

22

· Only 3 retailers said that the imitation brands take away the Parle¶s sales. Theimitation brandsare PAYAL G, PAREL G, PRIYA G, PARAL G, etc. That too to alimited extent.

· And the rest 12 retailers were very sure about the Parle¶s brand as they had noimitation brands

with them. So there is no chance of fake sale.

· All the retailers have no complaint about the Parle among the consumers.

· 2 retailers have the complaint that the brands like HIDE n SEEK andFUNCENTRE don¶t havemuch demand because people are not known to thesebrands as much.

Suggestions:

· Some of the retailers, that are 3 of them, should not buy the imitation brandsas this is a wrongthing done to the consumers as well as to the Company.

· So, 2 retailers who have less demand of some products should make the brandknown to the people by giving them informed about the new brands whichcome up.

· The retailers who have the imitation brands available with them should makethe consumersaware about the fakeness of it.

· And also, the retailers who buy the imitations should stop buying.

· All the retailers should have all the products of Parle.



RURAL MANGEMENT

23

BIBLOGR APHY

1.

www.parle.org 2. www.parleagro.org

3. www.parleworld.org

4. www.parleproducts.com

5. www.wikipedia.com

35187512 Rural Marketing End Term Project

Documents

Transcript of 35187512 Rural Marketing End Term Project