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Tag: rural business

  • The Future of Rural Retail: Key Trends and Opportunities

    This article has been contributed by Prasanna Kumar C, CEO, Vilcart.

    Rural retail is observing a transformation due to technological advancements and because of this, there is a change in consumer behavior and growth in economics. Urban retail was at the forefront, but now even rural areas are going with the momentum. 

    Digital Transformation: The E-commerce Revolution

    One of the most profound changes in rural retail is the emergence of e-commerce. Earlier rural areas had no proper internet connection, which made the reach of online retailers limited. However, improvements have overcome the problems; technology-driven development such as the increased usage of smartphones has opened new platforms for rural consumers with respect to online shopping. According to a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), internet users in India have crossed the 800 million mark, with rural India having more internet users than urban. By 2025, the number of internet users in rural regions is projected to exceed 504 million, while urban areas will have more than 390 million users.

    This change has increased the availability of products and services to rural customers that were previously out of reach. For local companies, e-commerce provides an opportunity to expand the marketplace beyond geographical constraints. New emerging and existing retail industries in India have already begun their delivery services even to the smallest remote areas. Still, this also places traditional brick-and-mortar stores in a less favorable position with respect to their new competitors that are based on the Internet.

    Mobile Technology Role

    The advancement of 4G/5G mobile technology has played the role of a game changer in the rural retail industry. Today, through multiple mobile applications and platforms, retailers can reach their customers in rural areas. Nowadays, rural retailers are also adapting to the latest technology for seamless transactions and providing mobile-friendly platforms to consumers for availing of products. Thereby building loyalty, gaining trust, and engaging with customers. 

    In rural India, Kirana stores in every village aim to provide quality products at affordable prices, serving as staple sources for consumers to procure their daily needs. Many retailers have begun catering to the increasing demands of rural communities, more focussing on accessibility and affordability.

    Sustainability and Ethical Consumerism

    Sustainability is fast emerging as one of the core trends in rural retail as consumers, especially the younger generation, are becoming increasingly conscious about the environment and social implications behind their purchases. Rural areas have close proximity to nature and constitute an agricultural economy, making them more sensitive to climate change and resource depletion.

    Retailers have become an important market for sustainable practices such as plastic waste reduction, local sourcing, and organic goods. This has paved the way for rural entrepreneurship to establish sustainable businesses like organic collectives of farming or handmade eco-friendly crafts.

    Moreover, ethical consumerism is increasing, and what was once the intent of rural consumers to buy more fair trade and locally produced items has become a demand. Rurall producers can benefit in this sense since higher demand for ethically produced goods is probable. Sustainable supply chains can strengthen the reputation of larger retailers and possibly support loyalty in the minds of rural consumers.

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    Agri-business and Retail Integration:

    The integration of retail and agribusiness holds a lot in store for the rural areas where agriculture is currently the leader in most industries. Farmers and agricultural producers are increasingly seeking D2C channels, which allow them to directly sell their produce, avoiding middlemen and enjoying the better profits they realize through such channels.

    Retailers are countering this by designing platforms that link farmers directly with the consumer. Few retail industries in India, have created an avenue, where consumers could buy fresh produce from local farms right at their tables. This benefits the farmers while giving the consumer fresh, quality produce at very competitive prices.

    Agricultural retail is also advancing with technology, as many farmers now rely on e-commerce for agricultural inputs. Farmers can purchase fertilizers, seeds, and pesticides online, where they can compare products based on price, chemical composition, and usage instructions. This allows them to select the most suitable products at affordable prices. Thereby increasing the market growth and rural farmers can become more technology-driven and demand more structured ways to manage their businesses.

    Infrastructure and Supply Chain Innovations:

    Infrastructure is always a big challenge in rural retail, especially with respect to logistics and management of the supply chain. Normally, rural areas face issues that can cause problems are poor network connectivity, lack of transportation facilities, poor electricity. These challenges are, however, being taken head-on by innovations in supply chain technologies. With the help of the government few industries are implementing remote deliveries to the consumers. The government is supporting by providing infrastructure development throughout the rural areas including the creation of dedicated rural transport networks, which would greatly improve the supply chains.

    Empowerment of rural women:

    Women play a significant part in rural areas, hence acting as the backbone of the developing retail ecosystem. From small to high business platforms, women’s empowerment programs, including microfinance projects and skill development training programs, have encouraged more women to pursue entrepreneurship. Women are entering the field of business. Many women entrepreneurs in rural India are taking the initiative to build a strong and effective retail sector, thereby being involved in the production and selling of goods. This empowerment trend is likely to continue with more women participating in the retail trade either by forming businesses or becoming the critical constituent of supply chains. This not only upsurges economic activities locally but also brings forth gender equality in rural areas. 

    The rural retail sector does promise a great future, yet has several challenges like:

    • Infrastructural development in remote areas, and financial stability because a large number of rural consumers do not have access to banking due to lack of connectivity.
    • However, despite having reduced the gap, the digital divide still influences the extensions of e-commerce into some rural regions. Education and digital literacy also play an important role in helping rural populations participate properly and fully in the digital economy.

    Rural retailing will be bright in the near future because of digital transformation, sustainability, and localized retailing, will pave the way for new opportunities for business as well as for consumers. As technology bridges the gap between the cities and the countryside and, in turn, improves infrastructures, rural markets will increasingly form a constituent part of the overall global ecosystem of retail. In these rural markets, embracing technology and innovation to their full extent, retailers in the future shall thrive.

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  • Barriers Faced by Rural Businesses | Different Ways to Sell the Products Made by Villagers

    The article is contributed by Mr. Mahesh Choudhary, Founder & Chairman, Saraswati Global.

    Selling a product is not an easier task. It is an art to convince people to buy their products. While selling the products the buyer has to face barriers, must know about the strategies to sell, and the most significant is to know the differences between selling a product in a rural market and in a global market.

    What is the global market? The goods and services and labor can move freely across the globe. To establish good marketing in the global market a good knowledge of business must be the expertise of the person. Being a good business person we must know how to get consumers hooked with the products. Although it is difficult for all to sell their products and make it a well-known brand. But for villagers it is a demanding practice for them. There are a lot of barriers which they have to face before and during selling their products.

    The Barriers Villagers Face in Selling Their Products

    Reach/Access

    Access is one of the major barriers for the Villagers. It is difficult for the small entrepreneur to reach the consumers, give the information and Sell their products. With the limited electricity and little access to mass media, it is a challenge to reach consumers.

    Transportation

    Rural business people face a lot of lags due to lack of support and services. One of them is transportation. Transportation helps in movement of goods and services which ensure access according to customers, and act as a link between the producers and consumers. Transportation challenge factors include, lack of road maintenance, hike in fuel prices and vehicle services.

    Capital

    Capital, the most mandatory for business, acts as a barrier. The investment, capital amount, and money are significant for the commencement of business. But for rural entrepreneurs, it is the first barrier that they have to face to execute any business idea. Insufficient profit to cover overhead expenses can result from a lack of capital.

    Technology

    Entrepreneurs in urban cities generally use technological methods two manufacture their goods, because it cuts cost and time and gives a complete finish to the goods. But lack of proper knowledge in rural entrepreneurs affects the growth of their entrepreneurship. So they are completely based on labour work and handmade products, which take a lot of time to manufacture.

    Digitalisation

    Along with the lack of technology knowledge, rural entrepreneurs also don’t have a proper understanding of digitalisation which is hitting the global market vigorously. But improper knowledge of digitalisation adversely affects their entrepreneurship development.

    Competition

    One of the key successes to be a good entrepreneur is to beat the competitors in the market. This is the toughest key for the rural entrepreneurs to face existing competitors for their establishment. The existing competitors have good quality of resources and rural competitors lack them.

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    Lack of knowledge creates excessive fuss for rural entrepreneurs. Selling their manufactured products is a challenging task for them. So how can they deal with these? To tackle them rural entrepreneurs need support from NGOs and government as they can help them to promote rural enterprise.

    NGOs can help entrepreneurs by counselling them. By consulting rural entrepreneurs we can get to know resources and the requirements they need for the procedural activities. NGOs can help with their sources by providing them with enough resources to use for their activities.

    Government can help by providing a capital amount to small rural entrepreneurs. So that they could afford the requirements they need. Rural consumers nor rural entrepreneurs are able to operate smartphones which ultimately affects rural entrepreneurs. A counselling program can help them to train in it. Government can also arrange a counselling program to train them in every aspect of entrepreneurship. This can also lead them to digital and technological literacy.

    Lack of support and services can cause no profit in selling the products in the global market.

    Let’s find out the different ways where we can sell the product made by the Villagers.

    Ways to Sell Products Made by Villagers

    Personal Selling

    Face-to-face interaction selling is the best method for the rural marketer. Consumers search for reliable marketers. Here the customers can trust completely because they buy the products with their personal checks. This can lead to gaining trust and the buyers can also become regular consumers.

    Fairs and Exhibitions

    Fairs and exhibitions are like the part of the rural people. This is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to launch and sell their products. A Lot of people come for entertainment. Through the different entertainment selling methods, consumers can easily attract to watch. With this method sometimes they also get convinced to buy them.

    E-COMMERCE

    E-commerce is on the rise as the trend of online shopping has become a trend in the last few years. E-Commerce is the marketplace where anybody can sell and buy their products. The online platform is not restricted to urban or rural people. Amazon, Flipkart, Etsy, craftvilla, etc are one of the E-Commerce platforms for buying and selling goods and services.

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    Social Media

    Along with e-commerce social media such as Instagram and Facebook are the best marketplace to create, sell and grow a brand. People mostly spend their time on social media. Since these platforms would have a wider reach to consumers.

    Channel Sales

    By channel sales, we know that it is the process of distribution of products to the market. It means the person can sell the product through the collaboration of another company.

  • How To Do Marketing In Remote Areas? | Rural Marketing

    The emergence of Rural and Remote areas into marketing is untapped potential and so there’s an emphasis on the need to explore them. Marketers over the past few decades, with innovative approaches, have attempted to understand and give opportunities to rural markets. Rural marketing is an evolving concept, and as a part of any economy, has untapped potential; marketers have realized the opportunity recently.

    The rural population has shown a trend of moving to a state of gradual urbanization in terms of exposure, habits, lifestyles, and lastly, consumption patterns of goods and services. Rural per capita consumption expenditure grew by 11.5 percent while the urban expenditure grew by 9.6 percent.

    What is Rural Marketing?
    4A Model To Rural Marketing
    Strategies To Run A Business In Remote/ Rural Areas

    What is Rural Marketing?

    Rural marketing is a process of developing, pricing, promoting, and distributing rural specific goods and services leading to the desired exchange with rural customers to satisfy their needs and wants, and also to achieve organizational objectives. The concept of Rural Marketing in India Economy has always played an influential role in the lives of people. In India, leaving out a few metropolitan cities, all the districts and industrial townships are connected with rural markets.

    Market in remote areas
    Rural Marketing 

    The rural market in India generates bigger revenues in the country as the rural regions comprise of the maximum consumers in this country. The rural market in the Indian economy generates almost more than half of the country’s income. Rural marketing in the Indian economy can be classified under two broad categories. These are:

    Rural Marketing in India Economy covers two broad sections
    1. Selling of agricultural products in the urban areas
    2. Selling of manufactured products in the rural regions

    There’s a simple 4A model to streamline rural business is total customer-oriented. And if implemented, then your own rural business could skyrocket. The 4A’s are Affordability, Availability, Awareness, and Acceptability.

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    4A Model To Rural Marketing

    There’s a simple 4A model to streamline rural business is totally customer-oriented. And if implemented, then your own rural business could skyrocket. The 4A’s are Affordability, Availability, Awareness, and Acceptability.

    1. Affordability

    The design of the product should match the needs of the customer. The Customer should not think that they cannot buy it, which means it should be in their buying capacity.

    2. Availability

    The greatest problem in the rural market is to reach the customer or retailer. It’s the logistics way to make the product available there.

    3. Awareness

    The Awareness program should be in such a manner that it should reach the customers’ mindset. The only way of reaching the customer is through the commercials on media like TV, Radio, and banners.

    4. Acceptability

    The customer should think that they can buy the product by putting extra money on that. They should feel that the product is designed as per their needs and it should deliver a great solution to the customer.

    How To build business in Rural markets? By Maanav Yashroy

    Remote areas are a goldmine for any business person for a long time and who are obviously willing to take the risk. Such business not only increases your income among the rural folk but it’s clearly visible that there has been an improvement in consumer purchasing power, and therefore there is a demand for products and services. Although it’s never easy to establish the market in a remote area.  You will face challenges such as underdeveloped infrastructure systems and a lack of proper distribution channels among others.

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    Here are ways in which you can overcome these challenges and run a successful business in remote areas

    Strategies To Run A Business In Remote/ Rural Areas

    1. Conduct Market Research

    This is the most important factor in a business in a remote area. You need to understand the target customer base for your product. Get to know the income levels of the communities residing, the purchasing power of the basic family in that community, their needs, and how much they would be willing to spend for that product. This will not only help you identify your prospective customers but their characteristics too, such as age groups and social class among else. Also, have a look at what grants you could get in a rural area.

    Promote small business in remote areas
    Promote small business in remote areas

    2. Gain the Trust of the Local Community

    Urban businesses are usually profit-centered and there’s no need for extra hard work like what’s needed in remote businesses because they are community-centered. If you want to achieve long-term success in a rural area, then you need to earn the trust of the people around you. Establish a long-term relationship by providing consistent, efficient, reliable, and cost-effective products. And if the community is satisfied with your services then, you will be able to retain existing customers and attract prospective ones.

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    3. Develop Appropriate Distribution Channels

    The success of any business totally depends on the product or service reaching the intended customer base. It i often difficult to access them. What you can do is, you can develop a multilayer distribution channel where you have sub-distributors at different points. You can also have a delivery van to take the product to the customers’ doorsteps. To ensure you have excellent communication with your retailers and always ensure, the product is always available to the customers.

    Distribution channels through supply chains
    Distribution channels through supply chains

    4. Use Rural Marketing Strategies

    Businesses in remote areas need marketing strategies tailored to rural areas. One of the best marketing strategies for rural area business is to identify and develop rural talent into the business. They are always in a better position to understand the mindset of their people and then you can work with them easily. Locals are also likely to embrace business that gives opportunities to their own community. There is no better strategy for a remote business than training and promoting a local up among the ranks. You can also use the services of local influencers and opinion leaders to market the business.

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    5. Proper Inventory Management

    Inventory management will help the business have a clear vision of how best they can cater to the needs of their customers, where they are doing and where they need to improve, and whether their marketing strategies are working or not. This sort of inventory helps keep a regular update of which products are moving and which ones are slow, and how the different categories of customers are responding to the different products.

    How to market and build a business in rural araes?
    How to market and build a business in rural araes?

    6. Have a Corporate Social Responsibility

    Corporate social responsibility is a way of your business, to give back to the community. To gain strength, participate in the development of communal infrastructure and facilities such as the construction of dispensaries, environmental conservation efforts, and giving scholarships to needy students. You can also organize workshops for the unemployed rural youth or uneducated youth to equip them with job skills even if they won’t be absorbed by the business. This will go a long way in helping the business integrate into the community and gain acceptance everywhere.

    Farm Market in rural areas: MANDI
    Farm Market in rural areas: MANDI

    The concept of rural marketing in India is often been found to forms ambiguity in the mind of people who think rural marketing is all about agricultural marketing. However, rural marketing determines the carrying out of business activities bringing in the flow of goods from urban sectors to the rural regions of the country as well as the marketing of various products manufactured by the non-agricultural workers from rural to urban areas.

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    The rural market in India is not a separate entity in itself and it is highly influenced by the sociological and behavioral factors operating in the country.

    If you analyze, it’s quite easy to market your rural business and it becomes super easy if you perceive a customer-oriented approach.