Edutainment can play a catalytic role in conveying intended message to rural people for better understanding

Why rural marketing is considered a challenge? 
Experts keep talking about the blurring lines between the rural and urban boundaries but they still face troubles implementing similar campaigns in these two areas. The evidence has proven that rural marketing needs additional helping hands to pull the weight of the campaign to achieve the same level of effectiveness.

The reason behind this can be summarized as following:-

• Lower literacy level in rural areas
• Lack of education among working class
• Conventional cultural and lifestyle preferences
• Absence of proper channels of distribution
• Dearth of established marketing channels

This creates a need for creative and improved versions of the campaigns, this is fulfilled by options such as one to one marketing or edutainment or use of folk art.
One to one marketing, we are all aware comes in many shapes and sizes and so does folk art, the new and shiny name in the list is – EDUTAINMENT.

What is Edutainment? 
It is a blend of educational and recreational materials such as videos, songs, games etc. The purpose of the content is to educate while entertaining the target audience which ensures better understanding and lasting memories. The primary motive however, remains to pass along important information but the use of recreational mediums is done.

There are various examples of edutainment such as:-
Nukkad Natak

A scripted skit which is played out on a platform other than a professional stage with the sole intention of passing along an important message.

Bioscope

An old age movie camera with attractive interiors that shares a concept similar with slideshows but done in a much more entertaining manner.

Puppet show

Puppet show catches not just every child’s but also most adult’s eyes in the first attempt, it also is one of the most entertaining ways to pass on information which otherwise might seem bland.
Participatory games
People may not want to listen, watch or see but they generally are drawn towards games and if they come with a promise of reward, they feel the force of the gravitational pull.

Advantages of Edutainment

• Easiest way to engage an audience which is not participating in usual circumstances as entertainment taps into their emotions and provokes a response which is good for marketing.
• Once the audience is engaging in the process, the connection between them and the brand is established.
• The effectiveness of the medium is not affected by the education or literacy of the target audience.
• Retention of information is increased when it is delivered clubbed with entertainment so it leaves a lasting impression.

These advantages transform into solutions for the problems faced in rural areas and thus Edutainment can play a catalytic role in conveying intended message to rural people for better understanding. The fact that it fits the requirements of a marketer who is looking to crack the code of rural marketing.

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Regional mediums can be aligned for better results in rural marketing

India is a secular state with vast regional differences and that means that the type of audience will differ from place to place. The difference is not solely based on the change of vernacular but is rooted deep in the cultural and ethical differences that arise out of this change. The biggest example can be seen in comparison of North and South India- the cities in North are known to materiality driven whereas the south stands out for its simplicity.

What does this mean for your business?

Regional differences do not always lead to difference in basic needs of the customers; however, it does mean that their perception of that need might be varying. Therefore, the need of innovation in marketing strategy is required. The challenge that a marketer faces in this circumstances is that while the brand building activities should be consistent over time, they should also be flexible to incorporate such regional differences.

What is the solution?

“Regionalization and localization of marketing strategies”
After the mitigation of the fancy vocabulary, it simply means to adopt different marketing strategies for different regions, contrary to the globalization approach where a uniform approach is chosen. The theory advocates for division of the market into smaller segments based on regional differences, these might be states, cities or provinces. This adds the much needed spice to the marketing mix of an organization which is operating in different regions simultaneously.

Why promote regionalization?

It is essential that this approach should not be confused with price differentiation approach which is not being talked about here. It merely directs the choice of marketing strategy and focuses on the aptness of such choice in the respective segment so classified. Some evidence that speaks in defense of the theory are given below:-

• The needs of the customers can be taken care of beyond their differences and thus customer satisfaction can be achieved.
• Regionalization ensures effectiveness and efficiency of the promotion techniques.
• A good brand image is established and loyal customers can be retained

How can regionalization be done without making extra efforts?

There are many aspects to regionalization and localization of marketing strategies but the simplest one is use of regional mediums to enhance the effect of national ones. The logic behind this choice is rather flawless, majority of people will always prefer their mother tongue and familiar environment. After all, nothing attracts more than comfort and ease. There are about 22 languages as per the Indian constitution, other than Hindi and English, 11 other languages come into the category of prominent. This data only helps point out the need of use of regional mediums to make regional campaigns more successful.
This selection should be made at the time of formulating the regional strategy and designing the campaign, communication with the target audience should be made in a language that they generally converse in and through a medium they are used to. For example, an English newspaper is a very effective for advertising in New Delhi but choosing the same medium in Orissa might prove to be useless. Even though these decision seem very easy, they can turn around your dead end regional marketing campaigns and blow a new life into them.
As per the marketing and advertising needs of your business, at times, you need to stop thinking global and start thinking regional.

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“Understanding the Importance of Lead Generation and the Impact of Unattended Leads at the dealer level for marketing campaign optimization “

In the time we are living in, information is money and money is power. The same can be applied to a business, lead generation has become one of the most important parts of marketing.

What is lead generation?

Technically, lead generation is the initiation of consumer interest or inquiry into products or services of a business. Basically, a lead is a person or organization who has shown their interest in the product or services provided by the company in any way. So, lead generation, simplistically speaking is the process of creating such leads by attracting people towards the products or the services. Lead generation, however is a long process and can be categorized as follows:-

  The process of lead generation

Traditionally, this is the process of Lead generation but there is one step missing from the picture. Can you guess what?
Follow Up to be conducted after the process

Why is Follow up important?

The process described above seems like the complete solution to lead generation necessity of an organization and incorporated every step from identifying avenues for generation to executing leads that qualify. In spite of the obvious fullness of the circle, the climax does not deal with one very important aspect – Unattended Leads.Leads that were generated but not dealt with during the process.
The secret behind managing the efficiency of any process is to concentrate on reasons for failure, doesn’t matter how small. A campaign can be a huge success but still face the problem of some unattended leads, which might seem doable at the time but for long term, it is another story altogether. In the rapid economy of this era, unattended leads turn cold in no matter of time and may result in ultimate loss of revenue due to negligence. As per a study done by Harvard Business Review, almost 71 percent of leads are not followed up on, making the organization suffer in opportunity costs.
If the process of lead generation has to be optimized, the matter of unattended leads should be made part and parcel of the procedure.

How unattended leads can be followed up?

There are various ways of generating leads, one of which is executing campaigns at dealer level. Involving them by distributing leads and placing responsibility to identify new ones. In spite of the traditional viewpoint, this can also be the difficult. The constant problem of motivation and control arises in lead generation at dealer level. This can result into greater unattended leads at dealer level which can turn the investment in the campaign, a less profitable one.
The best way to increase return on investment is to deal with unattended leads at dealer level with efficiency. Monitoring and Supervision of unattended leads at dealer level can be useful as:-

• If unattended leads are taken care of at dealer level, loss of opportunity costs can be saved by the organization.
• Unattended leads, if identified in time can be nurtured to create future customers
• Dealers have the advantage of inherent networking channels that can be used to effectively generate leads. Therefore, if they are followed upon to prevent them from turning cold, it can potentially be very profitable for the organization.

Therefore, the way to ensure optimization of return on investment, unattended leads should be taken care at dealer level which should further be monitored at organization level for campaign optimization and ROI control.

Story telling is an effective tool for rural marketing campaign

Once upon a time, in a land far away there lived a marketer who wanted to help companies build their brands. He and his team were determined to create a channel of assistance to make this possible. However, he soon hit a roadblock named rural marketing which was considered a challenge and agencies faced their own share of troubles to make it work, So did this marketer. They wanted people to pay attention but they also wanted to ensure they kept listening long after. After years of hard work, the marketer and his team decided to try a new way of engaging the audience which was also entertaining. He was weary about the expenses, efforts and time that would go into creating this tool and the uncertainty that would follow its usage. Despite all of these problems, the marketer kept his hope and kept on going.

People wondered if this new way would work but the marketer was determined to make the tool effective and efficient to prove its worth to others.

What was the way? Did it work?

If there is even a slight curiosity in your mind right now or you have been reading this article up till this point, you have experienced that it works. The tool is called- “Story Telling”.

Storytelling is narrating an event or a product with the help of words or images, often conveyed in an attractive manner. Curiosity can be sparked with the help of a vivid imagination to assist in designing a successful campaign. Nowadays, there are numerous methods and channels used to pursue sales and they frequently are bashed by the audience for various reasons such as lack of personal touch or being repetitive in nature. This creates a gap for fresh and innovative ideas that can bring the numbers without facing so much criticism. The audience is no longer seeking smart sales call, there needs to be a personal connection with them to expect loyalty and support from them.

Benefits of Story Telling in rural areas:-

1.Shaping the known

A story gives a face to an event and similarly it gives shape to the unformed information that has to pass along as a message. When raw data is passed as a story, it converts itself into meaningful ideas which leads to communications and opinions.

2.The thing about stories

A story is more predictable to give better options and avoid wastage of resources and it predicts the same with rightful precision. To jump hop on the main focal point, it is a proven fact that taking a cab will be later than a normal rickshaw and likewise. Basically, storytelling increases open and close rates as it targets the heart, not the brain.

3.Communication and sharing

Stories lead to more sharing as audiences find it easier and more fun to share stories rather than sharing videos or ads. This causes communication to kick start around these stories which ultimately help the brand find deeper reach and better sharing.

4.Connection through the stories

Storytelling is known to bring out a stronger emotional reaction to stories rather than ads etc. They touch the cords they are supposed to touch so that people start feeling closer to the brand. This is how a loyal customer base starts growing, it relates to the audience to form a bridge between the product or service and the brand.

May The Story Always Be With You

Top 5 myths about Rural Marketing Busted

Often, rural markets have presented a challenge, the lack of understanding has added to the grief and led to the birth of many fables. The thing about fables is even though everyone is aware of their non-reliable nature, they tend to stick around long enough to cause damage. To achieve perfection is improbable in marketing but it is important to strive for it anyhow and therefore the reality behind these tales should be discovered before tagging them as mantra for success.

Let the debunking begin…

1.Rural people can be fooled easily

The universal truth is that there is no fooling the customer, long-term results cannot be achieved by conning the field. While it might be true that it is difficult for people to identify a brand or even understand its value, these same people perform cost-benefit regularly. So, maybe selling a fake product is easier in rural area as they have nothing original to compare it to but at the same time, it is not easy to manipulate the customers.

2.The urban drive

It is the same concept as it is with the town, people think that small towns follow big towns and the same way small towns think rural areas follow them. There is no ambiguity about this trajectory but it rather stems out from the need pyramid. However, the concept also threatens the very belief of following. Does acceptance of change only root from coveting the luxury? No, it does not. Even though It remains true that there is a pattern here but assuming that rural people want and need whatever they feel the people in urban life uses, is not entirely true. People still need to be told why they should use it and the answer cannot be because people in the cities are.

3.Rural India is one market

The biggest mistake a marketer can make is to underestimate the versatility in a market which will render its strategies inefficient. The assumption of evenness in customer preferences and habits is often made but the truth is that rural India is as good as a chapter heading. The content is usually divided with sub-headings and categorizations, the same Rural India is dividend geographically and demographically. Planning should be done likewise.

4.Choice of method or technique

These decisions should never be solely based on word of mouth, the only things that start to matter is hard facts. For example, television is considered good source of marketing but in reality approximately 40 % families have access to it. Folk is considered a way to assist in marketing, which is true for few areas while untrue for others. The same can be said for various such examples and they all are cautionary tales.

5.Product & Money matters

A lot of marketers believe that only products can be sold in rural market whose prices are low, which is the worst myth for a business. The basic point remains the same, if the product fulfills customer’s needs or desires, price becomes secondary. Delivering value has become very valuable.

Do not make a mistake because you were believing on myths.

Understanding Rural Consumer Psyche Is Very Important For Devising Rural Marketing Campaign

What does marketing campaign mean?

The marketing campaign is a set of activities specifically designed to promote a product or a service through the use of several media channels, the scope of such campaigns go beyond advertising and spreads through other alternatives such as word of mouth.
Simplistically speaking, the end results of such campaigns have to be better sales, increased revenues and enhanced brand awareness and visibility. However, the process cannot be simplified the same way, a lot of planning goes into devising a successful campaign to forge required outcomes.

The most basic elements

Every plan needs a careful curation of prerequisites to ensure its smooth functioning, the same goes for a marketing campaign. It remains the same when the prefix rural is added to it, a Rural Marketing Campaign requires preparation more than an urban one.
Why?
Since, contrary to popular opinion, rural people are more complicated than urban ones as they perceive needs differently. Marketers usually come from an urban background themselves and this makes it difficult for them to predict buying behavior of rural customers which makes understanding it all the more important for devising rural marketing campaigns.
As Jonathan Lister said, “Speak to your audience in their language about what’s in their heart” and in order to do so you need to comprehend the psyche of the rural consumers. Technically, Consumer behavior of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services,
experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society.

Significance of this knowledge

Following questions can be answered through this understanding:-

• What does the consumer want?
• When does the consumer buy?
• How often do they buy?
• What is the worth of the product to the consumer?
• Where do they get their information from?
• What qualities attract their loyalties?

The answers to these questions are the secret to the success of any marketing campaign, especially rural ones. Their decision is always based on more than just desire or amenity, they have seen lower economic growth and lesser opportunities over the year while living in a completely different cultural environment, which makes them more complex to an urban eye. Understanding of consumer behavior and psyche helps appreciate the factors that influence the purchasing decision of the consumers, factors such as:-

• Social status
• Economic factor
• Family and group influences
• Cultural factors
• Individual factors such as attitude, experience, the perception towards the cost, product worth, usability etc.
• Demonstration of the product or service

Clearly only one of the above is in control of the organization. However, there is a way to remedy that, by letting the last one depending on the above; the company creates an illusion of a relative air. This attracts the consumer and sparks the start of a relationship which may end in sales if stirred in the right direction through clever persuasion and delivery.
If the product or the brand is presented in a light that is similar to the needs of the consumer and fills boxes in their checklist, the marketing campaign can achieve its objectives easily. Knowledge of the items on the checklist comes from the understanding of consumer behavior and psyche.
Therefore, understanding rural consumer psyche is fundamental to a successful rural marketing campaign.

Puppet Show Is a Proven Medium for Rural Marketing Campaign Giving Meaningful Engagement With Rural Audience

The life that people have in this era basically involves work and worry, there are issues that need to be dealt with at house, office and self. This amplifies in rural areas, contrary to popular belief life is complicated when you live without the resources that promise to make your life more convenient.
This adds to the stress that rural marketers are already in, imagine trying to sell a product to people who are easily agitated and already grieving the economy. This way the challenge extends to easing the audience into the marketing process before actually being able to sell the product.
People are not ready to accept the age-old selling methods, to some extent they work but when creating a distinct name for a product or service that puts the brand in the headlines is considered, innovation is the key. Finding a way that not only makes the audiences want to stay but also listen and understand the features of the product.

Registration of the emotion and retention of the name is the key to succeeding through a rural marketing campaign but how to break the monotony of life and create magic is the real question.

What is the problem?

Making rural marketing campaign interesting enough to attract and hold audience’s interest.

What can be the solution?

Three words, plain and simple-

Entertainment, Entertainment and Entertainment.
If people want refreshment, give it to them and subtly combine your marketing objectives under the pretense of fun and rejuvenation.

One of the best ways to do that in rural areas is through, everyone’s favorite- Puppet shows.

A dramatic performance delivered by a puppeteer with dialogues and background music using human-looking dolls controlled through strings by the puppeteer.

The art of puppeteer has a long tradition in Rajasthan, but the puppets themselves are fairly simple creations.
Photograph showing such show from a fair while people capturing it on mobile video.

• Advantages of using puppet shows in rural marketing campaigns
• Attendance and participation of the audience in rural areas, puppet shows are considered an attractive option for entertainment and thus attracts a lot of crowds easily. This also attracts some unlikely candidates who shy away from other promotional activities. This is best suited to draw out women out of the houses with the whole family as it is not considered a business activity but rather fun one. This way a diverse audience can be accumulated which can be used while trying to market homely products or services.
  At the same time, the crowd brings the promise of participation as they often enjoy responding to a puppet rather than a foreign looking salesman.
• Keeping things interesting,
• The puppet show is designed to make the audience jump now and then, this dramatic value ups the excitement of the crowd. This energy brings a positive aura to the event and people wish to stay longer in such places.
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• Efficient branding activity
• The puppet show is designed to make the audience jump now and then, this dramatic value ups the excitement of the crowd. This energy brings a positive aura to the event and people wish to stay longer in such places.
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• Sharing and caring
• The thing about rural areas is that almost everyday people like to get together and share each other’s daily adventures. When a brand breaks through using a puppet show, it is sure to become the talk of the town during these discussions. This positive word of mouth and exposure goes a long way with the brand.
• Cost-benefit
• It goes without saying that in comparison to its impact, the cost is utilized in an effective manner. Even the return on investment remains nearly impossible to be devised, no one can deny the impact.