The market is a place where buyers and Sellers Exchange Things .

In lay man terms "It is a place where buyers and sellers exchange goods/Service for some value in return such as Money" . So the Market is same everywhere . But , The difference is in the consumer behaviour . There will be different buyers in each market. This is because of different factors which Influence them. So the same way there is a difference between Rural and Urban Market. The factors are so many to define. There is a difference in all the marketing Variables. That is where most of the companies approach with different Marketing Mix and Strategies to Rural Market. The strategies differs from the urban to rural market. The companies which have understood the phenomena of rural market have succeeded in the market, For Ex: HUL, ITC, Colgate, Rajdoot Motorcycle. These companies have done a perfect home work and Implemented in terms of effort and Operations. These companies approach shows that there is a difference between Rural and Urban Market. The Differences can be Infrastructure, Economy, Lifestyle, Socio- Cultural Background, Availability or reach,Habits, Competition, Consumer Behaviour. Infrastructure: The facilities like Electricity, Internet, Roads and Buildings, Educational Institutions, Financial Institutions, Communication and Organised Market , Other Facilities differs in urban and Rural market. In urban everything gets implemented soon and Availability is also there. Where as in rural market everything takes a good amount of time. Economy: Here the Economy means, The earning Capacity in a rural Market. The cost of Living always depends upon their way of earning. So, the Income levels are unreliable, as Most of them are depended upon the seasons and Agriculture. So the Income levels cannot be a fixed one. Lifestyle: The Lifestyle , that is living pattern of both the markets differ a lot. This can be important factor which influences the companies to think of when they approach rural market. Socio- Cultural Background: Due to the illiteracy level, and Culture adaptability from long time the rural market always gets differ than the urban market. The superstition and other belief as well as the way of thinking towards products and goods differ in these two markets. Availability or Reach: Due to the areas which are diverted Geographically and Heterogeneous market the reach is very difficult. The logistics for rural market is a tough task than to reach the Urban Market. Habits: The daily routine of the people makes them to cultivate different habits.

Apart from due to the awareness is low in Media terms there will be a difference in the habits. Competition: The competition in the market for brands and Companies always differ . As in rural markets it is always the channel Partner and Retailer plays a vital role. But where as in Urban Market Brand Plays a great role. Consumer Behaviour: Last but not least, The consumer behaviour is the task for the task for the companies . The mindset of the rural consumer is completely different from Urban Consumer. The Mindset of the consumer is different . For Ex: In urban market , to buy Electronic Item the customer thinks of Brand and Its updated feature. where as in rural market he thinks of in so many ways , such as money, Durability, Buying Capacity and so on. So these mindset makes a difference in both markets.

Urban and rural communities have historically had different demographics, interests and opportunities. While the communications boom of the late 20th century, most notably the advent of the Internet, is blurring the lines somewhat, there are still broad differences. These differences often necessitate varied marketing strategies for companies wishing to sell to both markets.
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Demographics
The demographics of rural America have been changing in recent years. Some resort or recreation areas have seen an influx of new residents whose tastes and demographic profiles may be quite different from their neighbors'. However, generally speaking, rural residents still tend to be more homogenous than their urban counterparts and tend to share cultural and religious values. They are more likely to be blue collar than white collar, and tend to make less money on average. An ad campaign aimed at a rural market would therefore necessarily be different from one aimed at an urban market. A rural car dealership, for example, might stress affordability and a trusted brand over green technology or new design features, which might have more appeal at an urban dealership.

Access
Rural areas are by definition remote from city centers; they therefore, do not enjoy the same easy access to major shopping venues that city dwellers enjoy. A marketing plan targeting rural consumers might rely on Internet sales or a partnership with stores already serving the rural area. Its message would be less likely divided into different versions for different consumer subgroups. A marketing campaign aimed at urban consumers might need to be broken into subsets to appeal to the many diverse groups within the

marketing area. It would also need to be more unusual or aggressive to stand out from the sea of ads competing for urban consumers' attention.

Culture
Rural and urban America have many cultural characteristics in common, yet some differences apply. An ad featuring a popular country music star would be more favorably received in rural markets, as an ad featuring jazz would likely be well-received in an urban market. An ad using words like "dependable," "traditional" and "values" might resonate best with rural consumers, while words such as "innovative," "fresh" and "new" might have more appeal to an urban consumer. Marketing that blends in with the cultural norms of each community is more likely to result in sales.

Methods
Consumers who live in a rural area where change is slow to take place may respond best to one-on-one marketing done by salespeople who take the time to establish themselves in the community and earn trust. However, the same personal, get-to-know-you approach might be viewed with suspicion in an urban setting, especially if a no-nonsense, factual selling technique is the norm. It's wise to take note of the sales techniques that are already working, when drawing up a location-specific marketing campaign.

Consumer Behaviour: The key is the research. Marketing over the last two decades has made significant progress in terms of segmentation, positioning and targeting of the product. In this progress is included the core aspect of consumer behaviour. The study of such behaviour is a necessity for any company in any business, regarding this it is interesting the analysis of consumer behaviour in purchasing technological products. There are several cases of companies not only in the technology field, leading market research in order to understand how they can maintain the loyalty of existing customers and attract new ones, but not everyone can have positive results. A remarkable example of success is Apple Inc. which with its revolutionary and aesthetically refined products managed to have a tremendous positive feedback from consumers and is able to maintain a strong and lasting relationship.

Consumer Behaviour : Marketing Research and MarketingMix Marketing Research In creating a product and an advertising campaign is essential to consider the target market. It is crucial to know what are the habits of the consumer, their needs when purchasing a specific product and what are the benefits of such purchase. So it is vital to understand how to attract consumers' attention and get a complete picture of the situation. It is possible to do that by following five basic steps/questions to know the customer. It is important to know: Who buys? How do they buy? When do they buy? Where do they buy? Why do they buy? Marketers must use research to gain total understanding of the situation that they have to face. With this tool they can deduce the consumer response to specific stimuli. The research is the basis from which to understand the market conditions; without adequate research is likely to fail in the launch of the product and consequently a loss of image quality of the brand (Kotler et al. 1999). There are some cases of colossal failures by large companies that did not produce a valid search and found themselves in difficulties such as McDonald's. In 1985, the famous fast-food chain in the creation of the famous Big Mac appeared in the Indian market without taking into account a crucial factor, in India people do not eat beef for religious reasons. McDonald's has lost a large market share and the image has obviously been compromised because there has been no research on the culture and the hypothetical consumers were offended by that product (Willan 2011). So research is vital to identify the potential customer, in this respect Professor Peter Drucker says, "make what you can sell and not sell what you can make" (Willan 2011), the concept of research is implicit in the phrase. It is clear at this point that marketersmust consider a diverse range of aspects of the relationship between product and consumer.

Marketing Mix - Apples case study During research marketers need to identify the consumer in order to know with certainty what kind of product offer. The buyer is exposed to stimuli that are also known as the marketing mix and can be identified with the four Ps: product, price, place and promotion (Blythe 2008). Apple Inc. is an example of a successful marketing mix, this company has a positive feedback by the consumers because they know how to deal with them, Apple Inc. knows exactly what the consumer wants and its success is given by a powerful research. Product The first thing to take into account about the marketing mix is the product. Basically the product is anything tangible or not, may be a service, a physical good, a place, a product is anything that satisfies a need (Blythe 2008). Apple gives to their customers a wide range of products that covers many field in technology for example they have different kinds of laptop with different size and power, also they invented the iPod which now is not only an mp3 player but is a status symbol of our era (MarketingTeacher.com), in addition in the last four years they have created a brand-new market for smart-phones and tablet-pc, this is called by the Apples CEO Steve Jobs the post-pc era (Jobs 2011). According to Apples product portfolio (OnlineMba.com 2010, see appendix) most of the profits come from iPhone and in less than a year iPad has generated revenues almost as high as those from laptops. Price The price is the amount of money the consumer pays for the product or service. The price in our modern market should be competitive, this means that it should not be so high but there are exceptions (Blythe 2008). The price of Apples products is not low compared to other brands but there is a reason for this. Apple is a premium brand, it dominates the market and this company knows that even though the price in some countries is quite high they will have customers anyway (MarketingTeacher.com). Generally their products are a union between technology and liberal arts so they do not just sell products but they sell art (Jobs 2011). Place

The place is the location where consumers purchases the product and where they can receive support, it is also called distribution channel (Blythe 2008). As the Apples CEO said during the last keynote held in San Francisco in 2011 one of the reason of this success is the powerful network of retail they have around the world (Jobs 2011). Apples retails are everywhere, the major cities in the world usually have at least three big stores where they can receive customers and, most important, customers can test the product before the purchase and receive support (MarketingTeacher.com). Promotion The promotion is the set of rules for advertising a product, for example a product can be advertised by PR, personal selling, also different kinds of advertising are used such as digital marketing adverts, television, billboards and so on (Blythe 2008). Of course for Apple this is very important, in the last six years the brandawareness has significantly increased because they are able to create powerful and funny adverts where they explain how their product works. Also they offer different kinds of discounts for students and professionals (MarketingTeacher.com). Factors affecting the consumer buying process The process of purchase is influenced by other aspects related to the customer in a more closely way, these are : cultural, social, personal and psychological. The culture in which theconsumer lives and grows is the starting point from where the needs arise and will also shape the behaviour. It is also necessary to take into account demographic factors such as sub-cultures and groups of people. Then, the marketer must be able to identify changes in the consumer culture in order to keep updated on new needs and behaviours. With regard to social factors can be referred to social groups to which the consumer belongs, an important social group is the family of the consumer (Kotler et al. 1999). In this environment is outlined the DNA of the potential buyer. Other social factors are the role and status held by the consumer in the society, in fact in the purchase of a product is often influenced by the groups to which it belongs. With regard to personal factors is indispensable to consider characteristics such as age, job, economic circumstances, life-style and the personality of the buyer. Finally, a more difficult issue to study and understand is the psychological aspect of the purchase. Marketers must identify the reason for

this purchase, the marketer asks why consumers should buy a particular product and of course you ask why he should buy his own (Kotler et al. 1999). The consumer buying process can be analysed by following five stages which are: problem/need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, post-purchase behaviour. Problem/need recognition In this stage the consumer is trying to find a solution to a problem or a need. Marketers work is to identify which is this problem and try to find a solution with their product (LearnMarketing.net). Information search Before the purchase the consumer does research about the product. He or she can have information from friends, neighbours but also from commercials. Obviously the mass media plays an important role in giving information about a product (LearnMarketing.net). Evaluating of alternatives After the research the consumer has different solution to satisfy its needs. He or she is now in the position to evaluate alternatives products to purchase. The consumer, in this stage, face the decision of which is the best solution to the problem. This is an important step because is when the consumer makes the choice about the product to buy (LearnMarketing.net). Purchase decision and post-purchase behaviour This is the stage where the consumer actually buy the product, he or she evaluates the brand which likes the most. Also the consumer calculate the risk of the purchase and this could lead to change his/her mind about it. In the post-purchase stage the buyer might think if its purchase is good, this feeling could be avoided by marketers by convincing the consumer that what he/she purchased is the best product on the market (LearnMarketing.net).

Conclusions In conclusion is evident that to create a competitive product to put into the market is vital to have a strong knowledge of the chosen consumer. The most powerful tool to understand the consumers behaviour is research, without an adequate one the possibilities to fail are several. If a firm point its attention on the research there are many chances to create a long lasting relationship with the customers and this could lead to brand-loyalty and substantial profits.