This book explains the theory and practice of rural marketing. The theory deals with profiles of rural consumers, techniques of rural marketing research, product pricing and distribution in rural areas, sales force management and promotion. It also deals with the economics of agriculture, especially agricultural finance. Carefully selected case studies illustrate how this theory works in practice.

Rural Marketing as a separate discipline in management teaching has emerged recently. The growing importance of the subject has been well realized by the marketers, policymakers and management interns. However, there is dearth of quality literature on the subject, comprehensive coverage of all the dimensions, aspects and managerial issues pertaining to rural marketing. In most of the management institutions, a half-baked knowledge of rural marketing is being imparted to the management interns while there is more emphasis on marketing perspective on harnessing the immense potential offered by rural areas through suitable marketing planning, product mix, pricing, distribution, promotional mix, branding and communication strategies. Present book is a serious attempt to bridge the need gap in the subject.

Rural Marketing-Environment, Problems And Strategies, Attempts To Rectify The Lacunae Of A Near Total Absence Of Any Comprehensive Text On Rural Marketing. This Is Despite The Fact That Almost Three-Fourths Of India S Population Is Rural And One-Third Of Its National Income Is Generated By The Rural Areas. In The Present Context Of The Downturn In The Economy, Many Companies Producing Consumables And Durables Are Being Sustained By Rural Demand Which Has Brought A Sharp Focus On Rural Markets. This Third Edition Has Been Thoroughly Revised In View Of The Above. Rural Marketing Provides An In-Depth Analysis Of The Environment, The Problems Associated With Rural Marketing And Also The Strategies That Can Be Successfully Adopted. This Book Offers An Interesting Reading For Academicians, Students And A New Class Of Forced Entrepreneurs Which Is Emerging As A Consequence Of The Present Economic Upheaval. It Also Offers An Interesting Reading For General Readers Who Are Curious To Know About The Vibrant Dynamics Of Rural India.

This highly practical and informative book provides unique insights into the essential features of rural markets in India, as well as challenges posed by the rural consumer. Retaining the managerial perspective of the first edition, this second edition has been thoroughly revised and expanded, and examines in more detail the concept of rural markets and rural marketing. It also contains numerous short cases throughout to illustrate how social and cultural habits influence rural consumer behaviour. The book contains comprehensive insights into: the nature and patterns of rural behaviour; a detailed profile of the rural market; the opportunities available in rural markets and new methods used to access the rural consumer; strategic decisions for new product development; promotion, distribution, communication, and channel servicing decisions; the importance of rural market institutions such as haats and melas; and, emerging channels to access rural market products.

With 700 million prospective consumers including about 40 per cent of the country middle-income group, the sheer size of India rural market itself speaks of its huge This new textbook discusses how the application of traditional marketing theories transforms when the ‘fourth sector’, or the emergence of social business, comes into play. Drawing from latest research, Rural Marketing: Challenges and Opportunities closely analyses two crucial components of the rural market—marketing to rural areas and empowering the ‘bottom-of-pyramid’ (BoP) markets to create successful business ventures. Written as per the prescribed curriculum of rural management and rural marketing courses offered by the major universities in India, this book goes beyond discussing just the strategies to sell products to village economies. Infused with numerous real-life case studies of companies that have ventured into the field, this book will prove to be an extremely useful resource in understanding the uniqueness, dynamics and challenges of marketing in rural areas. Key Features: · Rich pedagogy including opening and closing case studies, mini case studies, engaging chapter-end exercises and project assignments · Inclusion of references to recent research data, important journal articles and videos for classroom teaching · Comprehensive overview of the future of rural marketing through BoP approach, social enterprises and use of big data

This book focuses on empirical experiences related to market development, and specifically new markets with structurally different characteristics than mainstream markets. Europe, Brazil, China and the rather robust and complex African experiences are covered to provide a rich multidisciplinary and multi-level analysis of the dynamics of newly emerging markets. Rural Development and the Construction of New Markets analyses newly constructed markets as nested markets. Although they are specific market segments that are nested in the wider commodity markets for food, they have a different nature, different dynamics, a different redistribution of value added, different prices and different relations between producers and consumers. Nested markets embody distinction viz-a-viz the general markets in which they are embedded. A key aspect of nested markets is that these are constructed in and through social struggles, which in turn positions this book in relation to classic and new institutional economic analyses of markets. These markets emerge as steadily growing parts of the farmer populations are dedicating their time, energy and resources to the design and production of new goods and services that differ from conventional agricultural outputs. The speed and intensity with which this is taking place, and the products and services involved, vary considerably across the world. In large parts of the South, notably Africa, farmers are ‘structurally’ combining farming with other activities. By contrast, in Europe and large parts of Latin America farmers have taken steps to generate new products and services which exist alongside ongoing agricultural production. This book not only discusses the economic rationales and dynamics for these markets, but also their likely futures and the threats and opportunities they face.