TARGETING AND POSITIONING IN RURAL MARKETS

Targeting

involves evaluating each market segments attractiveness and selecting any one or more segments to enter.
Evaluation

of segments, Selection of segments, Coverage of segments.

 Profitability

of the segment, Attractiveness of the segment, Growth rate of the segment, Companys objective, Limitations of the segment.

 Selection

of segment can be made by rating the alternative segments on a predetermined scale in respect of 5 aspects given above. The segment may be ranked based on the scores obtained and be considered for selection. Those with the high scores will be accepted and the others will be kept aside for future consideration.

Organization

has 3 alternative coverage strategies to suit their segmentation approaches. They are:
Undifferentiated

marketing

strategy. Differentiated marketing strategy. Concentrated marketing strategy.

 Positioning

is the act of finding place in the minds of the consumers and locating the brand therein. The companies have to plan the positions that give their products the necessary advantage in the target markets.

Identifying the differences of the offer with the competitors offer, Selecting the differences that have greater competitive advantage, Communicating such advantage effectively to the target audience.

 The

marketing offer may be differentiated along the following lines:

Product

differentiation Service differentiation People and image.

 When

the company identifies several differences it can evaluate them with the help of following criteria:
Attractiveness,
Distinctiveness, Primitiveness,

Affordability,
Communicable.

 Once

the company has chosen the difference it has to choose an appropriate marketing strategy. High tech positions may be communicated by futuristic products, classy ads in elite journals and large showrooms with good atmosphere.

 Profitability

of the segment

HULs Lifebuoy has targeted mainly the major segment of rural area i.e. the working segment from the age group of 20 50. Thus this age group comprises majority of the rural population. Hence, this segment is 100% profit Promising.

 Attractiveness

of the segment:

In rural India, health is of paramount importance, because indisposition is very directly related to loss of income. People in rural area are mostly into agricultural activities or its allied activities. Hence, they have to play with mud on daily basis. If the farmer is well protected then the country is well protected. Hence, this segment is quite attractive.

Growth:
Since

70% of Indias population lives in rural area, this sector is definitely gong to grow. Also the age group that Lifebuoy had targeted is large enough to capture the entire market. Hence, the growth can be seen in the area.

 Companys
Companys

objectives:

objective is to make Lifebuoy synonymous to soap in the entire country. Its objective is to make Lifebuoy the most trusted soap of India. Unilever's mission is to add Vitality to life. We meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.

 Limitations:
The

major limitation of lifebuoy is that, it has targeted only one segment of the rural market. The age group of 0-20 and 50-70 remains untapped. The opinion leader i.e. the doctor is also not so appealing to the rural people. Hence their opinion leader fails to promote the product

HUL

for Lifebuoy has targeted only one major segment of the rural market i.e. the working class.

 Concentrated

marketing strategy is used by

Lifebuoy. Lifebuoy is targeted only to 1 segment i.e. the working class. Their opinion leader targets to the working class of the rural market. Therefore this strategy has provided Lifebuoy a kind of brand loyalty form the working class of the rural market.

 Profitability

of the segment BlueStars HealthPlus has targeted 2 segment of rural area i.e. the working segment from the age group of 20 50 and also the age group from 2-12 i.e. the infant and children segment. Targeting both the segment will definitely give higher profit to the company. Hence, this segment is 100% profit promising.

 Attractiveness

of the segment:

In rural India, mostly people work in agricultural or allied areas. Hence, the work in mud through out the day. Therefore, health becomes an important issue for them. Another major issue for them is monetary issue. Being poor they cant spend much money on their health. Hence offering them the health soap in a small budget remains the attractiveness of this segment.

Growth: Since 70% of Indias population lives in rural area, this sector is definitely going to grow. Also healthplus has targeted 2 major sector of the rural area. Unintentionally it also targets the teenager segment i.e. the age group from 12-20. Hence, the growth can be seen in the area.

Companys
Companys

objectives:

objective is to make Healthplus synonymous to soap in the entire country. Its objective is to make Healthplus the most trusted soap of India. To enhance the wealth generating capability of the enterprise in a rural environment.

Limitations:
The

major limitation of is that the working class will also use the same soap as the infants do. Hence due to their orthodox thinking they might use a different soap for kids or for adults. Therefore this can break the market.

 Results

were as follows. ( out of 100)

for Kids for working class for teenagers for both working class and kids.

20% 30% 10% 40%

said only said only said only said only

Rank Segment 1st Both working & kids.

2nd 3rd 4th Only Working class. Only Kids Only teenagers

 According

to survey rural people want it for both the class. Hence undifferentiated marketing strategies are used. This soap is being targeted to both segements i.e. the working class and the infants together. Hence only one marketing strategies will be used for marketing of Healthplus.

Lifebuoy The soap has same elements that are suitable A research has been made about the Product environment in the rural area so as to make this to the urban areas. Differentiation Therefore the soap more effective. effectiveness is low. It has come up with various schemes such as It has its own outlet in the rural areas. It has made special tie ups with the seller too. discount offers. Service At the initial stage the In the initial stage selling of product will be Differentiation commission based. soaps were distributed Hence the seller tries to sell more of healthplus even through the doctors soaps. who are their opinion leaders. Lifebuoy has positioned Healthplus has positioned the soap only into the mainly the working class. minds and hearts of 1 person i.e. the LADY OF That is the working THE HOUSE. adults. Since mother takes care of the infant as well as People and They have positioned the Image. their husband, positioning this soap into her soap into their minds and mind and heart will automatically position the hearts by cultivating soap into the minds and hearts of the entire opinion leaders i.e. the family. doctors.

HealthPlus

HealthPlus
Attractiveness Since the lady of the house takes care of both the infant and husband she will prefer to have health Plus soap. Communication With our previous survey, we also made a survey on their favorite film star and the results are Jaya Bacchan 40% Amitab Bacchan 30% Sharmila tagore 20% Jitendra 10%
Hence, our brand ambassador will be Jaya Bachaan, and our ads will star the Bachaan Parivar.

Lifebuoy
The Opinion leaders play an important role to attract people to the soap. Their soap is communicated through their opinion leader i.e. the doctor.

End Of Presentation, Thank-you. Dharak Mehta : CEO : BlueStar Mouli Mistry : Finance Manager : BlueStar Pooja Mehta : P.R. Manager : BlueStar Nishit Mehta : Logistic Manager : BlueStar Hiren Mehta : Sales Manager : BlueStar Nishit Mehta : Marketing Manager : BlueStar Ankit Mistry : Marketing Manager : BlueStar