The Hindu Business Line : The unexploited rural market

THE Indian marketeer has come a long way from the 1960s and the 1970s, when supply could never effectively reach demand and shortages and scarcity prevailed all over the country.

Today, even in the remote towns and villages it is astounding to find many branded consumer goods, whether in the paan shop, the kirana shop, or sales counters run from home. The reach has widened to such an extent that companies like ITC have special programmes and strategies for capturing rural India. However, there is a very significant omission.

While the organised salesmen of the various MNCs and other companies are quick at identifying the number and names of the retail outlets that they need to monitor and service regularly, they sometimes neglect the opportunities that stare them in the face. Marketing managers are sometimes unaware of what exists as untapped opportunity outside the normal routine of business. For instance, the vast potential of domestic pilgrim sites goes unnoticed. Though these sites abound in small kiosks, the brands sold there are neither adequate in number nor variety or regularity. And even these kiosks run on their own steam with little or no marketing push from the marketing brains of the country.

It is a mystery why even the most popular sites such as Vaishnodevi shrine, the Saibaba town of Shirdi, Siddhi Vinayak temple in Mumbai, the Shingnapur town of Shanidev, the famous Krishna-bhumi of Mathura and Brindavan, and Tirupati do not have a proper marketing plan in place. In fact, one has to hunt for certain branded items at such places since availability is at premium.

By contrast you will find McDonalds, Baristas and Nirulas within a few kilometres of one another in the Capital. This is more so if one looks at certain religious sites which attract hoards of pious men and women on certain days of the week or certain times of the year only.

One pilgrim centre Khalgam, about 20 km from Daman, does not even sell refreshment of any kind, not even water, or any medical supplies whatsoever for the hordes of tourists who walk barefooted for four hours to reach the pilgrim site. On an average, this small little place draws a crowd of 20,000-30,000 people every Tuesday and Saturday and 50,000 people during the month of Shravan.

There must be at least 10,000 such Khalgam's in the country, each of which could be a marketeer's dream. Yet it would be surprising if these sites were even documented.

Flashes in the pan are what these places are called, and therefore do not warrant the marketing attention they actually deserve.

If one were to hazard a guess, Khalgam alone could churn out a staggering business of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh each week. And this without any advertorial push. Imagine what the turnover would be if this place received adequate marketing attention. The answer to such mobile religious sites is reaching mobile supplies to meet this demand.

During my tenure at Procter & Gamble 24 years ago, (at that time it was Richardson Hindustan Ltd) I remember being asked by the regional sales manager to organise a camp for the week-long Dussera festival in the Kulu valley. I recall that the entire stock of Vicks at that time could not even last the seven days of the event. If one regional sales manager had the perspicacity to capture this religious site, why hasn't an organised attempt been made to document the size of the demand and develop strategies to meet the same. Increasing off-take through advertising costs money, while enhancing the reach by strengthening the distribution network and catching the religious consumer are golden opportunities.

(The author is Development Commissioner, Government of Daman, Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The views expressed are personal.)

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
The unexploited rural market

Why not mobiles for Rural India?

Great Budget expectations — Buoyant mood, congenial setting

Industry in 2004: Manufacturing momentum quickens

Bravo, US Congress!

Sugar turns bitter-sweet

Enter, the market bell is rung

Insurance: Recovering from tsunami's wrath