special address at the economic times masterclass on rural marketing. december 16, 2015
TRANSCRIPT
Technology Transformation:Impact & Implications
Prakash Bagri
@prbagri
What I hope to cover…
• Understanding Technology– Why? Relevant?
• Implications for Rural Marketplace
– And marketers
• Some experiences & thoughts
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• 25 years ago
• 15 years ago
• Today
• Rural India is one market
• The Rural consumer seeks to ape the urban consumer
• To succeed, a cheaper product at a lower price-point will do the trick
• We need to develop scalable models
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Myths then… and now
Myths then… and now• Rural India is one market
– ~10K urban agglomerates & 600K villages
– Different & how!
• The Rural consumer seeks to ape the urban consumer– S/he has a solid mind of her own.
– And a world-view beyond their urban brethren
• To succeed, a cheaper product at a lower price-point will do the trick– Within two year, 1 out of 3 smartphones sold will be in rural
• We need to develop scalable models– Scalability is a myth. Where lies the trick?
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WHAT DROVE THIS CHANGE?
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The Malabar Fisherman, 1997
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The Digital Provide: Information (technology), market performance and welfare in the South Indian fisheries sector”, by Robert Jensen. Quarterly Journal of Economics, August 2007
Fishermen's profits 8% ↑, Consumer prices 4%↓ Payback 2 months!“Information makes markets work, and markets improve welfare”
Not just price discovery, but price determination
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What changed?
• The hierarchy of adoption does not hold, any
longer
– No trickle down effect, adoption almost instantaneous
• Rural consumers don’t blindly ape urban
– Form unique usage models, and might even be trend
setters
• Their opinion leaders are changing
– Physical presence is no longer a prerogative
• Their field of reference is changing
– “The world is my oyster”
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WHAT DROVE THIS CHANGE?
I will come back to it..
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UNDERSTANDING
TECHNOLOGY
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Technology’s Transformational Impact
Technology = τέχνη, λογία
techne: activities, skills, art
People, materials, equipment, processes, tools
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Technology’s Transformational Impact
“Created creates creator!” PJ Bonhiem (1935)
An active, not passive force! An enabler
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Technology and Moore’s Law
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Nielson’s & Edholm’s Law
The Great Disruptor!
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Internet’s Disruptive Force
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Information, Reach, Convenience & Economics
From I= HW x SW
Proliferation of Devices
Computing Growth Drivers
1960-2020 (Device/ MM Users)Source: Morgan Stanley Mobile Internet Report (12/09)
Avalanche of Applications
Mobile Application Download &
Revenue Forecast 2010-14Source: Gartner
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From I= HW x SW to 𝒊=𝟏𝒏 𝒉𝒘𝒊 𝒔𝒘𝒊
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The App-ification of the World!
Democratization of Innovation
• Knowledge
• Creation
• Funding
• Incubation
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The Implications
• Technology: An active force
• The domain of technology expands
• Increasing access, leading to ubiquity
• A network of connections on which innovation
will continue to build
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RURAL MARKETS
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What changed?
• The hierarchy of adoption does not hold, any longer– No trickle down effect, adoption almost instantaneous
• Rural consumers don’t blindly ape urban– Form unique usage models, and might even be trend
setters
• Their opinion leaders are changing– Physical presence is no longer a prerogative
• Their field of reference is changing– “The world is my oyster”
The models to reach and engage need to adopt to the technologies of the future
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Perspectives on Rural Markets
• Just like Markets ≠ ΣConsumers,
• Rural Markets =
ΣConsumers + ΣBusinesses + ΣEntrepreneurs +
ΣCommunities + ΣObservers +⋯
• Rural Markets = B2C + B2B + G2C + C2C
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Scalability: The Holy Grail
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Don’t get caught in the search of scalability. It’s elusive.There will be multiple models. Seek replicability
Perspectives on Rural Markets
• Rural Consumers = Poor Consumers?
– Paisa packets and sachets
• Rural Consumers ≠ Poor Consumers?
• Seek value. Always did.
– Value then was availability
– Today it is much more.
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Rural Consumers Leapfrog Technologies
• PCs to Laptops
• Landline to mobile
• Feature phone to smartphone
• Compact to Sedan to SUV
• SMS to MMS to OTT Apps (WhatsApp)
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“Less is More”
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IMPLICATIONS
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The Changing Paradigms
• Products & Services
• Platforms
• Partnerships & Communities
• “Profits”: the three dimensions
What remains the same:
Problem Solving
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The rural consumer will make bigger
leaps moving forward….
…… technology will be a bigger
driver
We need to ensure that they don’t
leapfrog our proposition!
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