Rural Marketing-D Pradhan

Rural Marketing
(Faculty: Prof. Debasis Pradhan)

Course Outline

1. Background

In India the rural economy contributes nearly half of the country’s GDP and the size of the rural market in durables and FMCG is bigger than its urban counterpart. In recent times Rural Marketing has emerged as an important internal sub-division within marketing discipline particularly in the context of a large rural economy like India. But questions like “Is there any difference between rural marketing and mainstream marketing?” have not been answered satisfactorily. Through the course, the participants will be introduced to a more holistic perspective of rural marketing which includes not only urban-to-rural marketing, but also touches issues of intra-rural marketing and rural-to-urban marketing. The developmental angle to rural marketing is also addressed.

2. Objectives

The course is likely to accomplish one or more of the following objectives:

· To provide an overview of rural markets and emerging perspectives of rural marketing.
· To debate the emerging managerial initiatives and relevant frameworks in rural marketing.
· To share the experiences of institutions engaged in rural marketing in the form of case studies.

3. Content and Session Schedule

The pedagogy would emphasise insights into the pool of knowledge in rural marketing with particular emphasis on practical situation through lectures and case discussions. The participants will be expected to be actively involved in the learning process. There will be some new cases which will be added to the existing list provided here.

4. Project

The assignments included in the course would be aimed at reinforcing the classroom learning and sharpen analytical skills. The assignments will be carried out in-groups consisting of 3 to 4 students. The assignments details will be circulated separately.

5. Session Schedule

Session	Topics/ Sub-topics	Reading Material/ Reference
1-2	Introduction	- Rural Marketing in Development Paradigm (p.1) - Rural Market : A Snap Shot FICCI Conference (p.19) - Rural Marketing : The Task Environment ( p.31)
3-5	BOP Marketing	-Serving the World’s Poor Profitably (p.42) - Development as Social Transformation(p.54)
6-7	Rural Marketing : Rural Urban interface	-Farm sector : Alternative Models (p.68) -Market Development for Non-farm products (p.71) -Marketing and NGOs (p.99)
		Cases : Sarvodaya Samiti – Marketing Honey & ITC e-chuopal
8-11	Rural Marketing : Urban Rural interface	-Rural Marketing – Framework for Managerial Action - Market Planning (p.113) - Product Adaptation(p.115) - Reconfiguring Distribution(p.125) - Rural Promotion (p.147)
		Cases : Project Shakti & SAS Motors Ltd.
12	Rural Marketing : Intra-Rural Economy	-Rural Non-Agriculture Market(p.156) -Marketing- A Challenge(p.167)
		Case let : Shedding New Light on the Marketplace(p.172)
13-14	Understanding Rural Consumer	-Understanding Rural Buyer Behaviour (p.175) -PRA(p.178) - Rural Market Research
15	Rural Marketing – Strategic Issues and New opportunities	-Strategic Issues(p.201) -India warms to Organic Food(p.206) -Rural Tourism (p.211)

Out of the remaining 5 sessions, 2 sessions will be devoted to the exams and tests and 3 sessions for the interim and final project presentation. This tentative course plan may undergo change during the course work keeping in mind the suitability of the course and student profile.

6. Evaluation

The performance of the students will be evaluated on the basis of quiz, end-term examinations and assignment. The weightage of each of the components is indicated below:

CP : 10%

Quizzes/Case Presentations : 30 % each

Project : 20%

End-term : 40%

7. Recommended Books

a. Rural Marketing (2003), by T P Goplalaswamy, Second Edition , Excel Books.
b. The Rural Marketing Book (2006), by Pradeep Kashyap & Siddhartha Raut, Biztantra Publications.
c. Rural Marketing (2002), by Sanal Kumar , Sage Publications

This course outline has been prepared by Asst. Prof. Debasis Pradhan, XLRI, Jamshedpur with the help of Prof. Amitava Chattopadhyaya of INSEAD, France, Asst. Prof. Rajesh Aithal of IIM, Lucknow and with the guidance of Prof. L. K. Vaswani of KSRM, Bhubaneswar.

Study Materials: