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RURAL MARKETING RESEARCH

Rural Market Research

• The systematic design , collection, analysis and


reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific
marketing situation facing by the company in rural
market.

• “The systematic planning, gathering, recording and


analyzing data about problems related to marketing
of goods and services.”

-American Marketing Asso.

2
Marketing Research Process
1. Defining problems
2. Determining the research budget
3. Choosing Research design
4. Determining sampling method and size
5. Selecting appropriate data analysis tools
6. Preparing the research proposal
7. Organizing field work
8. Analysing and reporting findings
Defining Problems
Research Problem- information needed by managers and
specifying the area of enquiry.
Various components of problem definition
 Management objective : To increase the market share of televisions
from the current rate of 20% to 23%.
 Management problem : Whether the new model that
it is proposing to introduce will be a success?
 Research problem : What are the perceptions of consumers requiring a
new model?
 Decision criteria : The company will introduce the model if 70% of the
consumer responses are favourable.
 Hypothesis : Consumers favouring the new model are equal to or more
than 70%.
Determining the Research Budget
 The principle guiding the budgeting decision is “Conduct
marketing research only when the expected value of
perfect information is greater than the cost of obtaining
it.”
 As such, the budget decision involves two steps:
1. Specifying the approximate value of information.
2. Determining the maximum amount that can be spent.
Designing the Research
Research approach are designed based on the
purpose, nature, and source of data:
 Purpose: Exploratory, Descriptive, and casual
 Nature of data: Quantitative and Qualitative
 Source of Data: Primary and Secondary
Purpose: Exploratory, Descriptive, and casual

 A company is interested in marketing its products in the rural market


for the first time. The marketing manger is interested in knowing
whether rural markets are attractive. He prefers a small-scale survey, a
sort of pilot study to assess the attractiveness of the rural market.

 If the results are positive, he will order for a descriptive research, a


large scale survey to assess the market potential and identify the
strategic options.

 In the final stage, he may undertake experimental research to test


market his product in a few select villages to predict the success of the
product. If the result is positive, he will implement his marketing plan
for the entire rural market.
 In rural markets, the research is more exploratory in nature as
many companies are looking for information to make entry
decisions.

 FMCG companies that have already spread their wings in rural


areas such as HUL, Godrej, Colgate, LG, Philips and others are
interested in assessing consumer preferences, consumer
behavior and brand loyalty. Hence, they require descriptive and
analytical studies.

 Agri-input companies selling seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and


farm equipment will be interested in going from the laboratory
to the field and conducting real-life experimental studies to
know how well their product works and how will it be received
by the farmers.
Nature: Quantitative vs Qualitative
 Quantitative research is numerically oriented. It requires
respondents to give specific answers that are measurable. For eg.
BSNL might ask its customers to rate its overall service as
excellent, good, poor or very poor. Such scaling techniques cannot
be used in rural areas as the respondents are less educated.

 In qualitative research, there are no fixed set of questions but


instead, a topic guide is used to explore various issues in-depth.
The discussion between the interviewer and the respondent is
largely determined by the respondent‟s own thoughts and feelings.
For eg. HUL personnel may stop a consumer who has purchased LUX
and ask him or her why he or she has chosen the soap.
Qualitative Research can be done by:
 Observation

 Interviews

 Group Discussion
 Focus groups
 Participatory Research methods
 Industry, commerce and trade associations– FICCI, CII,
ASSOCHAM
 Marketing research agencies and associations
– Rural Relations, MART, Anugrah Madison, Sampark, Rural
marketing Association of India
 Companies – Colgate, HUL, ITC, Rallis India
 NGO‟s – RASS: Rashtriya Seva Samiti (AP), Rural Innovations
Network (Chennai), CARE (New Delhi)
 Government Agencies – NCAER, RBI, Ministry for Rural
Development, Mandal Revenue Offices, Panchayats.
 Educational Institutions – Institutes like NIRD- National
Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj(AP), and IRMA
(Gujarat)

 Media organs – The Economic Times, The Financial Express,


Hindu Business Line, yojana, Kurukshetra, RMAI journals
and other periodicals

 Worldwide organizations – World Bank, IMF, IFAD (International


Fund for Agricultural Development), FAO and ILO (International
Labour Organisation)
 Census of India – Largest compilation of rural
demographic data
 NCAER (National Council for Applied Economic Research) –
Largest sample surveyor in the country, compiles data on
demographics, durables and non- durables.
 NSSO (National Sample Survey Organization) – Consumption and
expenditure-related data on major products and services.
 DRDA (District Rural Development Authority) – Compilation of
district-level data on government- aided projects.
 ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme) – Compilation of
village-level information mainly on health by anganwadi
workers.
 State/District Statistical Abstract
 Govt of India (goidirectory.nic.in)
 Differential and limited development of
infrastructure, geo-physical differences, variation
in literacy levels and differences in proximity to
towns have contributed to the heterogeneity in
the rural market place.
Sampling Method
For Qualitative Studies
 Purposive Sampling: Researches chooses sample
based on some specific purpose or who they think will
be appropriate to the study.
 Snowball Sampling: Researcher identifies one member
of some population of interest, speaks to him/her, and
ask that person to identify others in the population who
the researcher might speak to.
For Quantitative Studies
 Multistage Area Sampling: In which two or more level
of units are imbedded (one in the other) and at each
stage, a sample of corresponding units is selected.
 In some places, toothpaste and soap are
luxuries, whereas in some other places, it is
necessity.
 In Haryana and Punjab, hair dye has been
used on buffaloes, and washing machines have
been used for making lassi.
 In some parts of Rajasthan, utensils are
cleaned with ash and sand due to water
scarcity. A washing powder would face
competition from these alternatives that need
very little water.
 Hard water in most villages in Bikaner is the
reason for the low acceptance of soap.
A variable such as income cannot be used to
stratify rural samples. The reason is that
incomes are uncertain and unaccounted.
 In the urban context, the income category is
the primary criterion for grouping
consumers.
 Often, rural market research utilizes land
holding as an indicator of wealth and
income.
 The land holding has to be balanced with the
productivity and realizations from the crop
mix.
Village could be selected on the basis of :
 Population
 Proximity to highway or remote location
 Occupation profile
 Religion : Hindu-dominated or muslim-
dominated villages
 Tribal population : tribal or non-tribal.
Factor Large Small

Time available More Less

Accuracy High Low

Cost High Low

Population Heterogeneous Homogeneous


 The time-tested sophisticated tools fail to
evoke the required response in rural market.
 Likewise, detailed questions need to be
asked to simplify the inquiry and to pin down
the response.
 Rural consumers are comfortable with colors,
pictures and stories.
 Rural researchers make use of participatory
research methods.
 Secondary data sources
 Observation
 Interviews
 Diagrams
 Stories and portraits
 PRA is a Data collection technique in rural market that gets the
participants of the research process to be actively involved in the
research.

 PRA is a set of approaches to enable rural people to share, enhance


and analyse their knowledge of life and conditions, to plan and to
act.

 PRA involves local people and outsiders from different sectors and
disciplines.

 Outsiders facilitate local people in analysing information, practicing


critical self-awareness, taking responsibility and sharing knowledge
of life and conditions to plan and to act.

 Here role of moderator is very low who simply acts as


facilitator.
PRA Applications
 Social and Resource Map – The Social map identifies different community
profiles of the village and their social behavior. The Resource Map captures
various infrastructural and community resources, highlighting ownership and
access. This exercise identifies the various need gaps for each community.
 A Seasonality Diagram is used to gather information on income flows and
expenditure patterns for different communities and occupations. The
objective is to gain insights into the variation in purchase and consumption
behaviors.
 A Need Assessment Map can be developed for any introductory product
and serves to identify issues associated with access, acceptability or
affordability. It also brings forth need gaps and helps assess perceived
need of the product amongst the community.
 A Daily Activity Clock captures economic and social activity in daily life.
This helps identify time windows for communicating with the community and
potential consumers
PRA tools
 Market access or mobility map

 Chapati Diagram (pie-chart)

 Process map

 Wealth map
Daily Activity Clock
Key Principles :
 Participation and Empowerment – Relies heavily on
participation by the communities, as partners to the
research team and sources of information.
 Flexibility – Makes use of different techniques for
collecting information.
 Teamwork – It is best conducted by a local team with
a few outsiders present.
 Optimal ignorance – It avoids unnecessary details,
and irrelevant data.
 Systematic – Alternative methods have been
developed to ensure the validity and reliability of the
findings.
 Inclusiveness – Method allows researcher to involve
different people.
 Time deadlines – Insufficient time is allowed for
the team to relax and mingle with the local
people, to listen to them and to learn about the
more sensitive issues under consideration.
 Credibility – Individuals unfamiliar with
participatory research methods may raise
questions about the credibility of the PRA
findings.
 Hijacking – PRA agenda will be externally driven.
This results in legitimacy problems.
 Disappointment – Unnecessary local
expectations may be raised. Local communities
may view it as a wasteful exercise.
The type of analysis and the choice of analysis
technique depend on the following factors :
 Purpose of research
 Type of data – quantitative or qualitative
 Number of variables being examined – one or
more
 Type of measurement scale used – interval,
nominal, ordinal
 Number of samples to be compared – one or more
 Nature of samples – dependent or independent
 Size of the sample – small or large
The elements of a research proposal are :
 Executive Summary / abstract
 Background / introduction
 Objectives and hypothesis
 Methodology
 Time schedule
 Research staff and equipment
 Cost estimates – recurring and non-recurring
 Appendices
 Preparation of data collection plan that specifies :
1. Number of supervisors
2. Number of field investigators
3. Period of data collection and schedule
4. Budget
 Organization of research effort
1. Selecting investigators and supervisors
2. Training the staff
3. Allocating work
4. Briefing the investigators
5. Compensating the staff for the work turned out
 Controlling :
1. Supervising the data collection with respect to time and
cost
2. Checking the data for validation
3. Carrying out corrections, if any, or repeating the data
collection wherever necessary
 Familiar with local language.
 Desirable to invest time in building a rapport.
 Purpose and benefits of research must be explained.
 Respondent should be made part of the research project.
 Respondent should be made to feel important.
 Respondent should be made to feel he is leading the interview.
 The investigator must talk about general topics.
 Occasional physical contact
 Sensitive issues related to community should be handled carefully.
 Male researcher should always approach women respondent through her
husband or any other family member.
 Rural people can handle only limited information at a time.
 Difficult to interact with rural people on one to one basis.
 Avoid being overfriendly.
 Always carry food/water to avoid health problems.
 Title page
 Table of contents
 Executive summary
 Introduction
 Methodology
 Findings
 Limitations
 Conclusions and recommendations
 Appendices
 Bibliography
 Dice – Dice are wooden or plastic piece with 6 faces with
varying number of holes or dots ranging from 1 to 6. A face
value of 1 is the lowest and a face value of 6 is the
highest.
 Carrom coins – Fifteen coins are given to the respondents
and they are asked to distribute them among the brands
under study in order of their preferences – more coins for
the most preferred brand.
 Playing Cards – The face cards with K,Q,J,10 and 9
represent a descending order in terms of values. As such,
they are assigned ranks from 1 to 5 in that order.
 3-Point Rating Scale – Researchers interested in
conventional scales may use three-point scales (agree,
neutral, disagree), especially when the respondents are
school educated.
Locations for conducting research

 Retail shop / STD Booth

 Tea stall

 Playground

 Chaupal

 Haat
Questions should be simple and direct.

Eg. Would you consider using a mobile phone? (direct)

Questions should be self-explanatory.

Questions should not be ambiguous.

Eg. Do you like the mobile phone? (not clear)

Are you satisfied with the performance of the mobile phone?


(clear)

 Questions should have a logical flow, moving from general to


specific and from macro to micro.
 Questions should be in the local language. The accuracy of translations
should be checked by persons from the same region.
Scaling tool for Rural Quantitative
Research
 Satisfaction Scale: images of faces with varied expressions.
Highest scale reflected with happy face, lowest with sad face.

 Agreement Scale: Capture agreement – disagreement of


respondent on 5 point rating.

 Ranking Ladder: A small bamboo ladder with the


same number of rungs as the number of items to be
compared. A higher rung implies higher rank.
Colour Rating Association

Dark Green 5 Represents a good crop or


hariyali and hence represents
prosperity. It is considered to
be the best.
Light Green 4 Represents a Not very good
crop
Yellow 3 Represents Dry sand or a dry
field
Orange 2 Represents Setting sun and the
end of the day

Red 1 Represents danger


Limitations
 Low literacy levels.
 Local language communication.
 Poor media exposure, low product and brand awareness
 Scattered and remote villages, inaccessible roads.
 Social taboos (difficulty in interacting with women respondents)
 Rule out revalidation of data (telephone and physical
validation not possible)
 Interview timing (men go to the fields in the morning and come
back only in the evening)
Aspect Urban Rural
Respondents Literate, brand aware, individuals Semiliterate or illiterate, brand unaware.
respond individually. Generally group responses are available.

Time Willing to respond. Have time Hesitant, but devotes time.


pressures. Spare little time for
researchers.
Accessibility Easy to access, though many Tough to access; geographical distances
suffer from research fatigue. are barriers. Don‟t speak to outsiders.

Secondary data Internal data, syndicate research, Very few sources and less data.
sources published media.

Primary data Large number of middle men, Fewer number of all categories.
sources experts, sales force and
consumers.

Sampling Respondents form relatively Heterogeneous groups. Income and


homogeneous groups. Income can landholding to be carefully applied.
be a criterion.

Data collection Individual focused, use of Participatory approaches. Require


sophisticated instrument. simplified instruments.

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