Sonavdi,

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Rural Marketing

• Sonavdi,
• Satara District,
• Maharastra

Group no9 Swati Naik(36) Aishwarya
Anandanathan(16) Miloni Patel(35) Sukhmani
Singh(45)
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Telecom services

• With saturation in the urban market, growth in
  Indian mobile market will be driven by an
  increased focus on the rural market
• As of March 2007, mobile subscribers in rural
  India accounted just 20 of the Indian mobile
  subscriber base.
• Enormous opportunities are emerging for the low
  cost handset manufacturers along with low
  tariffs, infrastructure development for mobile
  communication.
• Rural India will account for around 35-38 of the
  total mobile handset sales by 2010.

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IDEA

• Has a customer base of over 17 million.
• Current Schemes and Value Added Services
  (FLEXIBLE, INNOVATIVE, MOTIVATED BY CONSUMER
  NEEDS)
• Promotional Strategy (An Idea can change your
• life!)
• Idea as an instrument of democracy, bringing
  power to the people.
• Social messaging to reach the hearts and minds of
  rural India.
• Very political activist in its theme to strike
  a chord with rural audiences
• Abhishek Bachchan- presented as a humble public
  servant, an agent of change.
•  

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Airtel

• It has 22 per cent market share.
• Current Schemes and Value Added Services (A WIDE
  RANGE TO CATER TO ALL DEMOGRAPHICS)

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BSNL

• Currently operates in 22 circles.
• Around 10 million subscribers
• 4th in terms of market share- Airtel, Vodafone,
  Idea and then comes CellOne
• Current Schemes and Value Added Services (VERY
  BASIC, NO FRILLS)

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The Current SituationOur Observations
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Village statistics

• Village Name Sonavdi
• District Sitara
• Maharashtra
• Population 1339
• Main Occupation Farming
• Sex ratio 85
• Income Ranging from 1000 to 10,000
• Family Size 4 to 6
• Education Minimum 10th Pass

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Media Habits

• Print Sakaal and Pudhari are the 2 newspapers
  provided and only 1 to 2 of the total
  population read newspapers.
• Radio Does not exist in the village.
• TV 80 to 100 of the villagers have their own
  Television sets. Maximum Viewership is of
  Doordarshan which is 75 (Regional language
  only).

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Issues faced by customers

• Affordability
• The packages at which the connections of these
  telecoms are provided is seen as a problem by the
  villagers due to less income.
•  
• Connectivity
• Airtel although in majority, the network
  connection has gone very poor now, therefore
  resulting in the purchase of more of Idea
  Connections, which provides full coverage in the
  entire village.
• Conveyance
• Need to go till Gajawdi, a nearby village, or to
  Sitara to get a recharge done.
• Incase of post-paid connections, for the billing
  they have to go to Parvi a nearby village.

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Issues faced by service providers

• Airtel
• Airtel had the best connectivity so far, but has
  lost out to Idea
• Medium to low brand recall
• There is no connect with the consumer, through
  the advertising

• IDEA
• IDEA is perceived to have the best connectivity
• The social welfare approach employed by the
  advertising has established an emotional connect
  with the customers

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Issues faced by service providers

• BSNL
• Most cost effective
• Loses out on a large portion of the target
  audience due to connectivity issues
• Low brand recall

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Village SarpanchBaburao Jaisingh Kharande
80 of the population in our village own cell
phonesbut no special schemes for rural areas
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Women like me would also like to own a cell
phone...pan parvadat nahin
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Range and cost is what matters mostadvertising
doesnt really affect our choices
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I spend barely 30 Rs. In two monthsI hardly
make outgoing calls
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Parli Village

• Satish Bobade I sell vouchers worth 2000-3000
  everyday..mostly IDEA10 Rs. Vouchers sell the
  most..
• I buy SIM cards for 20 Rs., and sell them adding
  a small marginsame is the case for top-up cards

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IDEA Branding was most prevalent in the bazaar
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We dont consider other service providers, only
IDEA works here
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SWOT Telecom sector

• Strengths
• About 80 of rural people use cell phones
• People are open to new schemes and offers
• Weaknesses
• Limited reach of media. TV and print limited to
  regional. Radio is non-existant.
• Lack of Innovative branding at Melas/bazaars
• Recharge coupons are available only in Satara
• Connectivity
• Opportunities
• There is wide scope for outdoor branding
• On ground activities
• Panchayat can be contacted for information
• Kare, Aambde, Raigard, Aare Dare Toshegarh
  surrounding villages with populations of over
  2000
• Women as a potential target group
• Threats
• Lack of outgoing calls/messages
• Customer is highly price sensitive

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Recommendations

• DIRECT MARKETING
• On-ground activities
• At Grass root level
• Limited media exposure in the village has led to
  reduced brand visibility amongst its target.
• On-ground activities such as visiting homes by
  the sales men of the company, and making them
  aware of the brand.
• Also, the cricket matches that are held on a
  regular basis at the village could be sponsored
  by these telecom services.
•  
• Branding in Melas
• Taking advantage of Melas such as Devachi Yatra
  Japli that happens on a yearly basis, and
  villagers across Sitara District come together.
  This can provide as a branding platform for the
  brand.
•  
•  

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• Contact Gram Sabha
• The companies should contact the Gram Sabha with
  details of his telecom services which he can then
  further convey to the villagers.
•  
• Kiosks
• Service providers should have kiosks in
  villages to promote their service.

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Marketing Promotions

• More Service Providers
• Sales have reduced due to lack of service
  providers within a village.
• Increasing availability of service providers in
  each village would help improve sales. Network
  connectivity, boosters need to be put in.
•  
• Cheaper Schemes
• Introducing cheaper schemes specifically for the
  rural areas only.
• Outdoor Advertising
• Hoardings in front of shops to increase
  visibility of the brand.
• TV Advertising
• As Doordarshan enjoys maiximum viewership, the
  telecom services should use Doordarshan as a
  platform by showcasing their ads on it to reach
  out to maximum consumers in the rural areas.
•  

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Marketing Promotions

• Crossing the Language Barrier
• Ads should reach the TG in their language. For
  the same, the regular telecom service
  advertisements should be dubbed in regional
  languages.
• Tie-ups with Cell phone manufacturers
• Service providers should tie up with cell phone
  manufacturers such as Nokia. Low- end
  phones/models with simcards should be given out
  through contests and luckydraws to induce
  usership.
• Positioning line
• Advertising should focus on the connectivity
  aspect as their USP. Eg Airtels first campaign.
  

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