Rural Marketing, Media Planning and Consumer Protection

According to 2011 census, rural population was 68.8 percent of the total population of India. The rural population is scattered across 6 lakh villages. Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India, is the nodal agency for rural development in India. It co-ordinates, implements and funds schemes which aim at ensuring that the fruits of economic development reach the villages and the common man. Marketing is the most important function for the success of any business organisation. Therefore, marketers have learnt new techniques and have become more creative. In India, rural consumers’ behaviour is not always rational on account of their illiteracy, ignorance, and poverty. While buying goods and services, they are influenced mostly by personal, traditional and psychological factors. In addition, their behaviour is also guided by those needs which are not satisfied as yet. On account of these drawbacks, they suffer heavily and this situation can be remedied only through education and awareness. The present age is the age of advertisements and their impact on consumer education and behaviour is profound. Advertisements guide the consumers in selection of goods and services, which they use in their daily life. Though the outlook of rural consumers is still largely traditional yet advertisements and aggressive marketing in recent years have affected their buying behaviour considerably. The present book highlights the characteristics of rural consumers in India, their buying behaviour and problems. It has also examined the barriers in rural consumer education and the steps taken by public authorities to promote awareness among rural consumers.