17-03-2014, 03:28 PM
The Rural Consumer
Rural Consumer.pptx (Size: 92.48 KB / Downloads: 16)
Consumer Buying Process
Buying roles consist of the following:
a. Initiator: A person who first suggests the idea of purchasing anything.
b. Influencer: A person who influences the purchase decisions
c. Decider: One who takes final purchase decision
d. Buyer: One who actually makes purchase
e. User: Person who uses the product
Purchase Decision Making Process for New Product
A rural consumer passes through the following stages while adoption of a product
a. Awareness: The consumer becomes aware of the new product/service, but does not have information
b. Interest: He seeks information
c. Evaluation: He evaluates the new products, compares with existing products
ADOPTER GROUPS
Innovation adoption depends on the willingness to try out new products/services/ideas
The adopter groups are as follows:
a. Innovators – venturesome and opinion leaders
b. Early adopters – are opinion leaders but carefully adopts
Opinion Leaders
Opinion leader is a person who is considered to be knowledgeable and is consulted by others and his advice is normally followed.
Opinion leaders are effective in influencing the buying behaviour due to following reasons:
a. Credibility
b. Positive and Negative Product Information
c. Information and Advice
d. Opinion leadership is category specific:
BRAND LOYALTY
A rural consumer is price sensitive due to low purchasing power and lack of awareness about the quality of the products available in the market. They continue to patronise a brand once they are satisfied with the product.
Rural Shopping Habits
A rural consumer visits different markets for buying products which are as follows:
a. Village Markets
- Panshops in small villages
- Grocery shops in large villages
b. Weekly Markets
c. Towns, taluk and district head quarters
Growing Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the purchase of goods and services in ever-greater amounts.
Consumerism has altered rural buying behavior in recent years.
With empowerment of rural people with education, employment, higher purchasing power, better media exposure, better connectivity with outside world, they provide a massive unexplored pool of consumers.
Positioning
Product Positioning refers to the position or image which a product enjoys in the present or potential customers. Positioning is based on Unique Selling Proposition (USP). It may be unique feature of the product or brand, market or competition which becomes the core idea that the product is placed in the market.