RURAL MARKETING-

CONSUMER

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BUYING
BEHAVIOR
Rajendran ananda krishnan
TOPICS TO BE COVERED
 Rural Consumer : Consumer buying behavior models,
Factors affecting consumer behavior, Social Factors,
Technological Factors, Economic Factors, Political
Factors

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 Characteristics of Rural Consumer – Age and Stages of
the Life Cycle, Occupation and Income, Economic
Circumstances, Lifestyle, Personality and Brand Belief,
Information Search and pre purchase Evaluation, Rise of
Consumerism
 Consumer Buying Process, Opinion Leadership Process,
Diffusion of Innovation, Brand Loyalty
MODEL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Consumer
Psychology Buying
Marketing stimuli Other stimuli Decision

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Motivation Process
Product Economic
Price Technological Perception
Problem
Distribution Political Learning Recognition
Communication Cultural Memory
Information
search
Consumer
characteristics Evaluation of
Purchase decision alternatives
Cultural
Purchase
Product choice Social decision
Brand choice
Dealer choice,
Personal
Post
Purchase amount,
purchase
Purchase timing,
decision
Payment method
CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR MODELS
Consumer decision making varies with the type of buying decision.
Complex and expensive purchases are likely to involve more
buyer deliberations and more participants. Henry Assael
distinguished four types of consumer buying behavior based on
the degree of buyer involvement and the degree of differences

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among brands.

Complex buying behavior – Consumers engage in complex

buying behavior when they are highly involved in a purchase and
aware of significant differences among brands.This is usually the
case when the product is expensive, bought infrequently, risky
and highly self-expressive. The marketer needs to differentiate
the brand‟s features, use print media to describe the brand‟s
benefits and motivate store sales personnel and the buyer‟s
acquaintances to influence the final brand choice.
For eg. Automobile, two-wheeler, consumer durable.
 High Low
involvement Involvement
Significant Complex Buying Variety-seeking buying
differences behavior behavior
between Eg. Automobile,Two- Eg. Chocolates,
brands wheeler, consumer cookies
Few durables
differences
Dissonance-reducing Habitual buying behavior
between

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buying behavior Eg. Salt
brands
Eg. Carpet
Dissonance-reducing buying behavior – Sometimes the consumer is
highly involved in a purchase but sees little difference in the brands. The
high involvement is based on the fact that the purchase is expensive,
infrequent and risky. For example, carpet buying.
After the purchase, the consumer might experience dissonance that stems
from noticing certain disquieting features of the carpet or hearing favorable
things about other carpets. Thus marketing communication should aim at
supplying beliefs and evaluations that help the consumer feel good about
his or her brand choice.
Habitual Buying Behavior – Many products are bought
under conditions of low consumer involvement and the
absence of significant brand differences. Consider
salt.Consumers have little involvement in the product
category . They go to the store and reach for the brand.If
they keep reaching for the same brand, it is out of habit, not
strong brand loyalty.It happens with most low-cost,
frequently purchased products.Marketers find it effective to

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use ad repetition, price and sales promotion to stimulate
product trial.

Variety-seeking buying behavior – Some buying situations

are characterised by low consumer involvement but
significant brand differences. Here consumers often do a lot
of brand switching. Think about cookies. The consumer may
reach for another brand out of boredom or a wish for a
different taste. The marketer will try to encourage habitual
buying behavior by dominating the shelf space, avoiding out
of stock conditions, sponsoring frequent reminder
advertising, offering lower prices, deals, coupons and free
samples.
FACTORS AFFECTING BUYING BEHAVIOR

Motivation
Reference Perception

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Groups, Social Learning
Family, factors, Psychological Memory
Roles and Cultural Factors
Status factors

Marketing Age and Stage in

Personal the Life Cycle,
Mix
factors Occupation and
Product
Price Economic
Place Circumstances,
Promotion Personality,
Lifestyle
FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR –
CULTURAL FACTORS
 Customs are socially acceptable norms that have been
in practice over a long period of time. Rural India, being
until now largely isolated from new practices and

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customs, tends to follow the customs of its traditional
society. In urban India, however, in the due course of
time, many of the customs have changed and continue
to change, a change that is accelerated when a new
generation adopts new value systems and practices in
order to fit into perceived modernity.
 Regional influences can be defined as a set of
attributes exhibited in clothing, preference for certain
types of cereals, food preparations etc.For eg.
Tamilians prefer to cook their native idli with sambhar.
 Traditions are long standing beliefs that are
believed to be true in nature and are often practised
in a ritualistic manner, without knowing the origin or
questioning the need to do so.
 For eg. A tradition that after washing/shampooing
the hair, it should not be left open is based on a

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belief in some parts of rural India that this gives an
opportunity for evil spirits to enter. Shampoo ads
showing the bounce in the woman‟s hair after a
wash may communicate a message quite different
from what was intended.
FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Rural Taste Subject Urban Taste

Bold and Primary Colors Liked Shades of Colors, Light

Colors Hues

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Cinema, Nautanki, Entertainment Theme Parks, Internet,
Dangals, Melas Travel

Synthetics, Colourful Clothes Denim, Cottons,

Designer

Red – Happiness, Color Relevance Red – Danger

Auspicious. Green - Green - Safety
Prosperity
SOCIAL FACTORS
 Touching feet
 Hair should not be left open after washing.
 Housing in rural areas based on caste and in urban

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areas based on Socio economic class.
 Influenced by NGOs, Opinion Leaders, Aanganwadi
workers, SHG members.
 Joint Family in rural areas and Nuclear Family in
urban areas.
 Role and Status of Sarpanch, retired military
personnel, priests, teachers, medical practioners.
 Product choice features
 Very Social in Rural Areas
PRODUCTS AND STATUS SYMBOLS
Rural Urban

Social/Political status Educational Degree

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Tractor/Jeep/Car Car

Large Pucca House with courtyard House Locality

Children‟s city education / jobs Children‟s school / college

Land Airconditioning

Telephone Club membership

Pilgrimage Holiday Abroad

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS
 Rural India is beginning to experience the impact of
technology, leading to major changes that are
transforming the countryside. Opportunities, products,

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services, knowledge, information are all exploding.
 Introduced with the purpose and need to create an
instant network for good governance,
telecommunications has transformed rural India in so
many other ways that is of interest to marketers. STD
booths and PCOs have emerged as the new community
centre in the villages for the exchange of news and
views for every age group and therefore an important
place fro marketers to display brand communication
messages.
ECONOMIC FACTORS
 The entire economic environment of rural India
shows a much improved prosperity due to repeated

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benevolent monsoons, new and improved
techniques, higher quality of inputs and increasing
awareness and education on agriculture.
 Banking is reaching out to the doorstep of more and
more farmers. Finance is now more readily
available and so is credit.
POLITICAL FACTORS
 Schemes launched by Government has led to the
development of rural areas.

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 The Government of India is empowering the
Panchayati Raj and other village institutions by
making available developmental funds. This has
resulted in major purchases of equipment and
materials needed for infrastructure development.
 30% compulsory representation of women in local
bodies is leading to their empowerment,
encouraging women in rural India to explore income
generation and entrepreneurial activities.
FUNDAMENTALS OF RURAL CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR

 Demonstrations, Targeting Opinion Leaders,

Employing Trained Sales Persons

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 Lack of Strong Brand Consciousness

 Generally ask for the product and not the brand.

 Indian consumers, on an average, try about six

brands of same package goods product in one
year, compared to two for Americans.
LIFESTYLE OF RURAL CONSUMER
 Rural Consumer is very religious – Dabur
developed a religious calendars and gave

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Hanuman Chalisa along with their products. Ganga
made of milk and holy water of Ganga. Govinda as
a Brand Ambassador.
 Rural Consumers prefer to work Hard themselves –
Machines to be sold on the basis of benefits offered
and not on the basis of comfort and convenience.
 Strong Family ties and respect for Family Values

 Likes to play Cards and Hangs out at Choupal.

RURAL SHOPPING HABITS : CONSUMER
INSIGHTS
 Preference for small or medium Package –
Britannia‟s Tiger Biscuits, Cavinkare‟s Chik

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Shampoo, and small Coke for Rs. 5.
 Role of Retailer

 Role of Opinion Leaders for durables – Opinion

Leaders like Sarpanch, village elders and educated
Youth of the village.
CONSUMPTION BY AGE AND STAGES OF THE LIFE CYCLE
Age Life-Cycle stage Urban Rural

Below 12 Child Video games, Chocolates, Toys, ice candy,

beverages, health drinks daliya

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13-19 Teenage Cell phones, motor cycles, Bicycle, television,
Internet cinema

20-40 Young Car, Personal Computer, Motorcycle,

branded clothing, alcohol, telephone, LPG,
stores/malls tailored/unbranded
clothes, local liquor,
haat

40-60 Middle Aged Luxury Car, Credit Cards, Tractors, Kissan

House, health insurance, Credit Card, postal
holiday trips savings, mela

Above 60 Old Clubs, theatre, parks Chaupal, Playing

Cards, pilgrimage.
OCCUPATION AND INCOME
 In the rural sector, a range of goods and services
beyond the very basic ones are bought by a

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consumer, influenced by the occupation and
income of the individual. Fishermen buy a boat and
large nets, whereas a farmer opts first for a tractor
and pump set.
 LIFESTYLE – COMPARISON OF RURAL AND
URBAN LIFESTYLE
Dimensions Urban Rural

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Demographic Convent Educated, Govt school, self-employed,
s salary earner, small large family, small/scattered
nuclear family, large population, ordinary spacious
dense population, houses
apartments
Activities Office jobs, internet Agriculture, physical sports,
surfing. Health club, gossip, playing cards,
shopping, clubs and cinema, religious
party congregation.
Interests Chinese, Continental Desi food, milk, bright colored
foods, designer clothes, clothes, jewellery, visiting
beauty salons, holiday towns, markets/melas
trips
INFORMATION SEARCH AND PRE-PURCHASE
EVALUATION
 The rural consumer primary seeks and gets his
information from opinion leaders and influencers, rather
than the media. However, this information search is

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fuelled by exhibitions and road shows, because of the
opportunity of personal interaction and leisurely pace of
absorbing and understanding the information and its
relevance.
 In the case of high involvement products, this
information search needs to be supplemented by an out
of village visit to a company outlet with an opportunity
for personal interaction. The need to demonstrate
individual accessories of the product and their
performance also becomes critical.
 The ultimate clincher is always the „touch and feel‟
experience. Anything less will not lead to a purchase.
STAGES IN BUYING DECISION PROCESS
Problem Recognition Problem Recognition – The buying process starts when
the buyer recognises a problem or need. The need can
b triggered by internal or external stimuli. In the former
case, one of the person‟s normal needs – hunger, thirst

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Information search rises to a threshold level and becomes a drive. In the
latter case, a need is aroused by external stimulus. A
person passing through a bakery and sees a freshly
baked cake which stimulates her hunger. Marketer
Evaluation of needs to identify the circumstances that trigger a
alternatives particular need.

Information search -
Two levels of involvement
Purchase decision with search. The milder search state is called
heightened attention. At this level person simply
becomes more receptive to information about
product.At the next level is active information
Post-purchase behavior search. The person looks for reading material,
phones friends and engages in other activities to
learn more about the product.
Urban
High-involvement product,
comfort, status, drive,
consumer‟s recognition for
need
First hand information from
TV, Internet, Newspaper Ads/
Consults a fellow owner
before dealer visit
Educated/aware understands,
analyses technical
specifications. At most looks
for test drive
Normally buyer makes final
decision. Family influences
color and looks,. Drives new
car home with family.
Buying Process Rural
Need Recognition High involvement product -
productivity drives consumer‟s
recognition for need.
Information search First hand information from a
fellow owner and nearby dealer
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at district town.
Evaluation of Lower education and
alternatives awareness. More importance to
fellow owner and illustration of
dealer. Consults opinion leader
like progressive farmers. Live
field demonstration.
Purchase decision Collective decision by buyer,
adult son, mechanic and
progressive village farmer.
CONTD.
Higher satisfaction Post-purchase Higher satisfaction,
or dissonance behavior lower dissonance.
because of greater Because risk-taking

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risk factor. is lower and
Higher risk taking expectation level is
ability, because of low. Low risk-taking
wanting ability becauselife-
experimentation. attached product,
After sales service lack of technical
no issue know how, low
confidence on after
sales service.
DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION
Diffusion of Innovations is a theory of how, why, and at what rate new
ideas and technology spread through cultures.
Elements of diffusion of innovations

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 Innovation
Rogers defines an innovation as "an idea, practice, or object that is
perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption" .
 Communication channels
A communication channel is "the means by which messages get from one
individual to another.”
 Time
"The innovation-decision period is the length of time required to pass
through the innovation-decision process" . Rate of adoption is the relative
speed with which an innovation is adopted by members of a social
system.
 Social system
"A social system is defined as a set of interrelated units that are engaged in
joint problem solving to accomplish a common goal“.
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CATEGORIES OF INNOVATIVENESS
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Thank