Rural marketing & Neo-Bartering

As per the 2001 census, 72.2% of the population lives in about 638,000 villages, showing the magnitude of potential market. Rural marketing is an evolving concept, and as a part of any economy has untapped potential. A radical change in attitudes of marketers towards the vibrant and burgeoning rural markets is called for, so they can successfully impress on the  millions of  rural consumers spread over approximately six hundred thousand villages in rural India

Rural development and development of rural marketing are interdependent.

Improvement in infrastructure (roads, electricity, media) and reach, promise a bright future for those intending to go rural, this will also solve the major problem of emigration from rural areas in larger scenario.

Bigger companies are investing in rural sector as because of the saturation of the urban market and also because of corporate social responsibility to improve rural marketing system. 

 Eg.HUL ‘s Project Shakti, ITC E-Chaupal etc.

Rural marketing is not about Distributing small and medium sized packets through  poor roads, over long distances, into deep pockets of rural India, Sales force is being trained to win the confidence of opinion leaders, and that is what extension workers are trained for .

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently talked about his vision for rural India: "My vision of rural India is of a modern agrarian, industrial and services economy co-existing side by side, where people can live in well-equipped villages and commute easily to work, be it on the farm or in the non-farm economy.

To achieve this dream its crucial to understand and ameliorate rural market.

Some common strategies like small unit and low priced packing, new product designs, sturdy products, brand name, low cost/cheap products, avoid sophisticated packing, refill packs/reusable packaging, application of value engineering etc. can be applied to cater their special needs

Marketers need to to understand the psyche of the rural consumers ,the social dynamics and attitude variations within each village

Lots of MNCs are eyeing on this sector for their own benefit so Indian agricultural marketing system should be made much more competitive by infusing competition within the country and preventing the external system equation from interfering with the local markets in the larger interests of the nation.