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Source: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo_per_liv_in_rur_are-people-percentage-living-rural-areas

Total Indian Population Living in Rural Areas

IMC Strategies: Issues and Challenges in Reaching Out

And Retaining Customers in Rural

India

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Agenda

• What is IMC?

• Why Rural India???

• Challenges of IMC in Rural

India!

4

“IMC is the integrated management of all

communications to build positive and lasting

relationships with customers and other

stakeholders. It is a customer-centric, data-

driven approach to marketing and branding

that stresses communicating to consumers

through multiple forms of media and

technology”.

07/04/2023

Dr. Rob Westervelt, Professor- Northwestern University

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Agenda

• Why Rural India???

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"The future lies with those companies who see the poor as their customers."

C. K. Prahalad

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Statistics

Rendition-2011

• LIC sold 55% of its policies in rural India, Within

2001-02

• 50% Of two million BSNL mobile connections in

small towns/villages

• 42 million rural households (HHs) availing

banking

services in comparison to 27 million urban HHs

• Investment in formal savings instruments is 6.6

million HHs in rural and 6.7 million HHs in urban

IndiaContd…

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• More than 90% villages are electrified, though

only 44% rural homes have electric

connections.

• In 55 years post independence only, 40%

villages had been connected by road, in next

10

years another 30% were connected.

• Percentage of BPL families declined from 46%

to 27%

• Rural literacy level improved from 36% to 59%

• Bank Branches 32,000

Contd…..

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Agenda

• Challenges of IMC in Rural

India!

07/04/2023 Rendition-2011 10

IMC’s Challenges

Developing Inorganic Scale

Pricing/Disposable Income

Scaling Across Geographies

Distribution And Logistics

07/04/2023 Rendition-2011 11

Challenges

Payment collection

Social and cultural

challenges

Low literacy

rate

Seasonal Sales

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Spurious/Duplicate Products

Low Penetration Of Media Channels

High Initial Investment

Challenges

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And Many More-

• Small Retailers To Carry Out Stock Without

Adequate Credit Facility

• Wholesale And Network Dealer Problems

• Market Research Problems

• Price sensitivity, Low Brand-Awareness

• Highly Dispersed And Scantily Populated

Markets

• Banking And Credit Problems....

Epilogue/Conclusion

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Rural India- A “Blue-ocean” Of Opportunities

IMC A Potent Tool But….

Demons Of Diversity, Low Literacy Rate, High

Initial Investment, Price Sensitivity, Other

Socio-cultural Factors, Week Brand-

awareness Pose Major Threats

Answer To These Problems: Evolution Of IMC

In India

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Annexure:Books:

1) Gopal Swamy, T. P. 1997 Rural Marketing, Environment-

Problems and Strategies, Allahabad, Wheeler Publishing.

2) Badi R.V & Badi N.V. 2004 Rural Marketing, Mumbai,

Himalaya Publishing House  

Magazines, Journals and News Articles:

3) Prahalad C.K. and Allen Hammond, September 2002 Serving

the World's poor profitably, Harvard Business Review

4) Dobhal Shailesh, June 21, 2006 Marketing the BOP in India,

The Economic Times

5) At the Bottom of the Pyramid: Responsible Design for

Responsible Business, By Nirmal Sethia, Design Management

Review, June 1, 2005

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4) C.K. Prahalad & Stuart L. Hart January, 2002 (Issue 26, First

Quarter 2002) The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid,

Strategy+Business

5) Gupta Dipankar, February 2005, pp. 751-758 Whither the Indian

Village: Culture and Agriculture in 'Rural' India', Economic and

Political Weekly

6) Bali Monish, August 23, 2000 The rural market likes it strong,

The Economic Times, [Interview by An Awasthi]

7) Jha Neeraj, June 19, 2000 Gung-ho on rural marketing, The

Financial Express

8) Chothani Pritesh Y. & Sud Ritesh, May 26, 2010 Rural India:

Challenges and Opportunities, coolavenues.com

9) Katiyar Ruchi, June 15, 2010 Rural Marketing: Challenges in

Distribution and Channel Management, coolavenues.com 

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  Websites:

1) www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Rural-India.../482490523

2) http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?

articleid=4472

3) http://www.indianmba.com/faculty_column/fc1079/fc1079.html

4) http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/indiaatglance.html

5) http://www.multimediamarketing.com/mkc/

marketingcommunications/

6) http://www.pluggd.in/indian-rural-market-challenges-297/

7) http://www.samparkrural.co.in/infra

8) http://www.wdi.umich.edu/ResearchInitiatives/BasePyramid/

Resources/RegionsSouthAsia

9) http://www.usq.edu.au/course/material/mkt2001/imc_mix.htm

10)http://ubrander.wordpress.com/2006/09/05/what-is-imc/

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thank you

07/04/2023 19????Doubts????