Neglecting Rural May Be A Costly Affair On Long Run for Marketers

One of the most important factors influencing the campaign and its success is the reach it can muster but when marketers place their reliance on specific regions and urban geographical limits, they often fail to comply with the future prospects of the brand. Since, every brand wants to eventually grow and expand, there is a constant need of innovation.

This is the moment when marketers should move their gaze to the real India, Rural India where they often tread lightly or avoid going completely. Few of the things stopping them are the lack of resource availability, transportation problems and lack of distributors and decreased efficiency.

However, are these reasons sufficient to ignore the vast market that is Rural India?

The answer is No, they aren’t, even though rural marketing can be challenging, the rewards are worth it.

Why is concentrating on Rural India important? 

The villages of India and small areas nearby are famously referred to as Rural India, let us see why ignoring Rural areas may prove to be a mistake made by the marketers:-
Growth and expansion

In order to expand, a brand needs to enter into new markets even though they might be out of its comfort zone. Once a market is captured, it is important to move into others to ensure growth and sustainability.

Population
70 percent of India is living in rural areas and small towns and the access to such a large audience is very important for a brand to grow and achieve better results. If such a large portion of the audience can be a very risky move as the brand’s visibility will always be restricted and exposure limited.

Future Possibilities 
The government of India through the union budget has ensured its focus on Rural India, allocation has been made to provide better infrastructure in rural areas such as better roads, electricity, irrigation facility, internet centres, digital platforms etc. Simultaneously, schemes have been introduced to protect the farmer’s interest and provide them with a stable income.

All these efforts lead to increase in standard of living of the people and also a gradual increase in their disposal income which makes them a potential customer.

Long term benefits 
One look at the statistics will let you know that the spike in rural growth and development has just started and surely will rise in the future. This means that soon rural India would become a more attractive market. If a marketer ignores it now, they would face problems finding an entry later on when the market starts booming.

Space for everyone
While urban markets allure everyone, they are not fit for few brands, at times products demand a more regional approach and different crowd. This is perfectly provided by the rural areas and small towns.

A smart marketer would understand that neglecting rural areas may cost them in long run and giving them their due credit right now will definitely benefit them. Rural India is the future of India.