Marketing Plan for an Herbal Shampoo to Be Launched in Pakistan

8/13/2019 Marketing Plan for an Herbal Shampoo to Be Launched in Pakistan

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Marketing Plan for an Herbal Shampoo to be launched in Pakistan

To become a household hair care name that is sought after by consumers to manage and

maintain their hair so that it is healthy, shine and easy to comb into today fashion style

Go Clean

Presenting to you a totally new formulation which works both on your and scalp from the

very first wash, washing away all the dandruff you are worried about so that u don‟t have to

hesitate, every time u go out

Corporate Vision

We shall achieve growth by continuously offering unique products and services that would give

customers utmost satisfaction and thereby be a role model”

The Concept of Sachets

•Whatever I make, I want the coolies and rickshaw pullers to use . I want my product affordable

to them”

• “Sachets are going to be the product of future”

• I will introduced the sachet concept as he felt liquid can be packed well in sachets.

Target Audience

• Lower Middle Class

• Semi Rural (Sec B2, C, D)

• Monthly household income of Rs 1500 – 3000

• Females and males in age group of 16 - plus

Promotion

• Trial and free samples

• Ad Strategy based on the powerful appeal of cinema among common masses



• Innovative radio ads based on popular cinema dialogues, unlike plain radio jingles of

competitors

• Popular cine stars endorsed Chik – Amala, Khushboo, Manorma and Charlie

• Radio used as a sole mass advertising medium

• Annual ads spend about Rs 2 Lacs

•Cinema is the most cherished means of family entertainment and cine stars have cult following

in Arunachal pardesh. Therefore the communication strategy was to leverage

Multinational companies sold products in big bottles and not in sachets and they sold only from

fancy stores.

• MNC did not look at the small kirana stores, nor did they look at the rural market.

• CHIK went to the rural areas of South India where people hardly used shampoo.

• Showed them how to use it, did live demonstration on a young

Competitors

• Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL),

• Procter & Gamble Company (P&G)

• Dabur

• Himalaya

• Colgate-Palmolive

Indian shampoo market, where sachet (7 ml) format accounts for 75 per cent of the total sales,

Chik has been bringing in 90 per cent of its sales in this format



Current Market Potential

The awareness to use personal care products made from herbs and other natural

ingredients is increasing. Many people prefer herbal product over synthetic chemical shampoo.

The product has been traditionally made by our ancestors and was widely used before the advent

of chemical / synthetics and is not a totally new product for Indian customers.

Since the herbal shampoo industry is not fully developed in the country and over periods

of time consumers have become aware of advantages of using shampoo made from herbals, there

are great future prospects for saffron Herbals

Unlike synthetic chemical shampoo there are absolutely no side effects from using herbal

shampoo and Herbal shampoos generally attracts the customers, especially the fair sex .Hence

there is growing demand for such an herbal product in urban and in semi urban areas.



Market Research

1. Hair Care Facts

• The frequency of shampoo usage is very low. Most consumers use shampoo only once or

twice in a week. In many cases, these products are used on special occasions such as weddings,

parties etc

• Some customers use shampoo only to address a specific problem such as dandruff or

when they need to condition their hair

• About 50% of consumers use ordinary toilet soaps to wash their hair

• About 15 % of consumers use toilet soaps as well as shampoo for cleaning their hair

• Brand loyalties in shampoo are not very strong. Consumers frequently look for a change,

particularly in fragrance

• Consumers attribute lathering to the act of cleaning

• Major expectations from the product are improvement in texture and manageability,

giving softness and bounce to hair, curing and avoiding damage to the hair

• An Indian needs more shampoo for a proper wash ( average 6 ml ) compared to 4 ml

needed in Western countries as most Indian women have long hair

• Most consumers do not use shampoo daily



• Regular users would need smaller quantity of shampoo per bath. Hair tend to collect

more dust due to dusty environment and oiling habits

• Southern market is predominantly a sachet market, accounting for 70 % of sachet

volumes

• In Contrast, shampoo bottles are more popular in the Northern markets

• About 50 % of the shampoo bottles are sold in the Northern region alone

• In the North, local brands such as Ayur have strong equities and these products being low

priced dilute sachet‟s USP of low price

2. Market Size

• Size of shampoo market - 30 Cr

• Anti - Dandruff Shampoo - 20 % of above

• Sachet Sales - 70 % of above

3. Shampoo Awareness

• Urban areas - 90 %, accounting for 80 % of shampoo sold in the country

• Rural areas - 80 %, accounting for 20 % of shampoo sold in the country

4. Usage and Penetration

• Per Capita consumption of Shampoo in India - 13 ml

• All India Shampoo - 14 %

• Urban - 40 %

• Rural - 10 %

5. Growth

• Average Growth over the last few yrs - > 20 %



• Expected Average growth over the next few yrs - 25 %

6. Market size of Herbal Shampoo

• Only 13% of total shamp

Opportunity and Issue Analysis

Saffron . is aware that India has a very large population and Indians have more hair than natives

of any other country. The consumption of synthetic shampoos is quite high in urban and semi

urban areas and the company‟s objective is to transform this demand of synthetic shampoos into

the demand for herbal shampoos. However, there is always a threat from the existing niche

players in the market, imitative future launches and substitutes. The key issues facing Alyaa

Herbals are:

i. Should it target only urban and sub urban areas or also include the rural areas?

ii. Should it go for collaborating with some companies for producing bottles, transportation

or do all the things on its own?

iii. What should be the time to time strategies so as to gain a competitive advantage over

others

Objectives

Alyaa Herbals decided on the following specific objectives:

• Earn an Annual Rate of Return on Investment of 20 percent after taxes over the next five

years.

• Achieve sales of about 20 million bottles (100 percent capacity utilization) in the first

year of operation.

• Achieve 30 percent consolidated growth in next two years.

• Achieve the position of being a reliable and widely used herbal shampoo.



Marketing strategy

Product:

i. Brand Name: safron

ii. Punch Line: Quality Divine.

iii. Quality: A very effective hair-strengthening and moisturizing shampoo, with refreshing

herbal extracts, specially formulated to prevent hair loss and fight Dandruff. Hypoallergenic. No

harmful chemicals

iv. Key Ingredients: Fenugreek (for hair-strengthening and nourishing) and Neem(for killing

germs) Extracts with Shikakai Granules(anti- Dandruff properties and mint(for Freshness).

v. Safety: Completely Non- harmful. Safe to use on artificially colored or permed hair. Safe

for daily use. Suitable for any person above 5 years of age.

vi. Packing and Packaging:

• Packed in 7ml sachet, 35 ml, 100 ml and 200 ml plastic bottles.

• The 50 ml bottles will be the trial packs, which will be discontinued in the 3rd year of

operation

• Pictures of the key ingredients will be displayed on the pack.

• Safety lock will be on the cap of the bottle to ensure the customer of non-adulteration.

vii. Labeling: Labeling will include the following:



• Brief description of Quality

• Directions for use

• Key ingredients

• Safety Features

• Price, Quantity, Company‟s name, company‟s logo etc. • Barcode

Target Market: Targeted to the following:

• Every person above 5 years of age.

• High income, upper middle and middle class of rural areas

• Pricing:

i. Pricing Strategy: Penetrative and Competitive pricing – low price to attract more

customers in comparison to the competitors.

ii. Suggested Retail price:

Quantity (in ml) Price (in Rs.)

7 2.5

35 17

100 68

200 120

iii. Price Flexibility: Prices are Flexible to the market conditions and to the cost of

manufacturing and also to the prices of competitive products.



Place:

1.Channel of distribution: Manufactured product will move through the following channel

This channel of distribution has been adopted as the company is new to the country and

distributing the product by ourselves may result in excessive cost to the company. So to avoid

this problem the company will collaborate with a distributor (to be selected through the process

of tender filling) and as the market is very large it has to go through the dealers, to ensure proper

distribution.

ii. Inventory Management: Production will be done on batch basis and when one batch will

be under process and the raw material for the next batch is being fed, the raw material for the

second consecutive batch will be procured. This will result in low storage cost and sufficient raw

material for manufacturing

iii. Warehousing: The manufactured product will be stored in the company‟s warehouse near

its plant before dispatching it to the distributor.

iv. Distribution Centers: Eight Distribution Centers in:

a. North



b. North East

c. North West

d. South

e. South East

f. South West

g. East

h. West

v. Transportation: Company will collaborate with a transportation Company (to be selected

through the process of tender filling) to transport its goods from the plant to the warehouse and

to the distributor‟s place.

• Promotion:

Promotion Strategy: Following strategies will be used to promote the product:

• Push and Pull Strategies – Push Strategy: we will be using push strategy to concentrate

some of our marketing efforts on promoting our product to retailers to convince them to stock the

product. A combination of promotional mix strategies will be used in this aimed at the retailer

including personal selling, and direct mail, pushing the product onto the retailer.

Pull Strategy: we will also be using pull strategy to promote our product amongst the target

market to create demand. Consumers will pull the product through the distribution channel

forcing the wholesaler and retailer to stock it. This will be done through providing the customers

with money off coupons or special offers.

AIDA strategy – The third strategy to promote our product will be the implementation of AIDA

model which is

Attention Interest Desire Action



This can be illustrated briefly as grabbing the attention of the customer, then holding his interest,

then making the product desirable to him and finally making him to purchase the product.

AIDA is an acronym for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. This strategy can be made

successful through effective advertisement, distribution of free samples etc.

ii. Advertising: To create awareness about the product in the minds of the customers and to

provoke their buying actions. Advertising will be done through the following mediums:

i. T.V. spots

ii. Magazines

iii. Billboards

iv. Product packaging and inserts

v. Posters and Flyers

vi. In – store displays

vii. Distribution of free samples

iii. Public Relations and Publicity: To be done through-

i. Exclusives

ii. Community involvement

iii. Opinion pieces

iv. Feature stories

v. Social responsibility Activities

iv. Personal Selling: Personal selling will be done only in Supermarkets and big stores,

where a representative of the company will be made available to tell the customers and also help

them about the benefits and the uses of the product and also what differentiates our product from

others available products



5. People

The employees and the consumers are very important for the product‟s development. They

represent the image of the brand; it is for that the services have to be optimum. The employees

and more particularly the commercial people and the hostesses should be trained in order to

know the product and to can sell it properly. Moreover, in the other hand, the clients are

important because they passed a message to the potential clients. To allow this, the hostesses at

the beginning and the employees after have to explain the quality, the taste of the product.

6. Process

We have seen that the selling process is vital in the decision making process. In the shops, the

selling is making by the advice. The clients like to feel reassured in front of making process. So

we conclude that one time per three months, commercials and hostesses will give advices to the

consumers in order to make him more confident the product.

7. Physical evidence

The environment should be very clear, clean and attractive because the decision making process

takes into account these elements. Moreover, in the shelves, the products should be stored

correctly in order to attract the consumers. We have to ask to the staff that we need light in order

to bring out the colors of the product. initiative which would cost near about Rs 5 lac

Slogan

It is more than a shampoo …

…Rejuvenating hair

Reason for choosing slogan:



The slogan It is more than a shampoo … indicates that the safroon is mere a tea but is

something more than that giving more values and benefits than any other tea in the market.

In the next line …Rejuvenating hair here we exactly try to explain in one line what it is other

than just a shampoo . Rejuvenating tells that its develop youthfulness upon regular consumption

by slowing down the aging process of body.

Rejuvenating hair clearly tells that it helps to revive the hair and clean the hair from inside

with help of its medicinal properties extracted from various herbs which are ingredients of this

shamppo

SWOT ANALYSIS OF SAFFRON

Strength:

• International packaging

• Affordable and reasonable price

• Have our own packaging plant

Weaknesses:

• Heavy capital will be required for promotion

• Consumers are brand loyal toward competitor‟s product so we have to convince them.

Opportunities:

• Increase usage

• Can introduce flavored shamppo

• People are switching from synthetic to hebal shampoo

Threats

• Competitors can come up with herbal shampoo and sachets



Short Term Goals: Improve market presence by 20%

Short-Term Objectives

1) Aggressive Marketing Strategy

SAFRON can take advantage of the positive press on the health benefits of SAFRON to boost

the sales . The company can use recent studies on the health benefits of SAFRON as the basis

of its press releases and advertising campaigns.

2) Improve Packaging – Currently, the SAFRON will available in two sizes:

the 5ml - and 10 ml. SAFRON other packaging sizes to ensure that consumers will have other

choices and SAFRON will be easily and readily available to consumers.

3) Improve Shelf Presence – SAFRON can make a deal with retailers ensure retail shelf space

and prominent positioning for SAFRON . “Although an average shopper may not notice what

brands are positioned in prominent places on shelves or how much room is allotted to each

manufacturer, …shelf space and positioning as make or break factors in introducing new

products”

Long-Term Goals: World Number One ready-to-use SAFRON

Long-Term Objectives:



4) Product Innovation – Safron must continue its innovative research and development strategy

to come up with new products. SAFRON has extensive research facilities on product

improvement. The company can use its resources and professional expertise to come up with

new flavors that will suit the continuous demand for healthy ready-to-use SAFRON .

Support marketing activities

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION PLAN

Budgeting and financial considerations

After focussing over the budgeting two questions arise. First question is what should be the

communication cost and second is what should be the media mix or the proportion of allocating

budget in different tools of Integrated Marketing Communication.

Communication mix

All the allocation is based on the idea that dare to think out of box and make Safron - a world. So

the budget would be allocated on the basis of IMC objectives which are always in line with the

marketing objectives. So the budget allocation goes like this:

a. ADVERTISING 0.5 CRORE

b. DIRECT MARKETING 0.5 CRORE

c. SALES PROMOTION 0.25 CRORE

d. PUBLIC RELATIONS 0.25 CRORE

e. SPONSORSHIP 1 CRORE

f. PERSONAL SELLING 1 CRORE

g. INTERNET MARKETING 0.5 CRORE

h. EXECUTION AND CAMPAIGNS 0.5 CRORE



ADVERTISING

First of all marketing research wil be undertaken. Pre-advertisement perception of customers

and then post-advertisement perception can be evaluated correctly. Also research will show the

actual demands from potential customers and the points were the Safron is lacking-.

For best advertising the main element of advertisement i.e. message research is also done which

would be afterwards transferred to the advertising agency, who are

a. Ogilvy and Mater

b. J WalterThompson India

c. FCB-Ulka Advertising ltd.

d. Contract advertising India Ltd.

The main element of decision main advertising are what should be the production cost of

production companies, what would be the site cost? What would be the agency commission/ fee?

And what would be the travel expenses?

Advertising channels will include TV (national & international), newspapers (local, national and

international), website banners,

The central theme of every TV ad would be luxurious life under the canopy of with highlighted

scenaries and Safron services at effective description.

Newspapers like Times of India in genera and magazines in particular would be used for print

ads. They include outlook traveler, Safroniare india, SAFRON, FHRIA magazine, etc.

The best domains of Safrons (websites) are targeted and the banners of Safron - are executed

with continuation of worlds leading search engine “GOOGLE”.



International personalities are also involved to endorse our Safron. Most famous Indian

celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Amitab Bachan,

Sales promotion

How to increase sales. . They have to sponsor contests at national level and simultaneously

brochures plus informative material deliver to potential customers. Trade shows and exhibits will

also help. Maintaining good relationship with the once visited customers and recording their bio-

data will increase the chances of more customers in the next time. Customers who will get

satisfied with each prospect of the Safron - will act as a good word of mouth so would our

purpose accomplished.

Direct Marketing

Direct marketing will be the highest priority in IMC plan as it has been found by research that

huge population of India has either no knowledge or has wrong knowledge herbal shampoo . So

a well designed web site will provide all facts about Safron operated Safron particularly Safron -

. Each and every aspect of Safron - will be available at single click and I am cent percent sure

that after launching this (IMC) campaign the footfall will defiantly increase..

Since I have allocated 0.5 crore rupees for direct marketing. It involves cost of banners and

advertisements on the other websites which will give hostile invitation to the customers.

www.-Safron.co.in.

Public relations

This communication tool is most expensive incase of crises. For example the detection of pesto

chemicals . So to retain the loyal customers in such case is really difficult so is maintaining too

tedious.

Same is the case with Safron and PR are nothing but what people carry in their mind

(positioning). PR can be maintained by showing good relationship with neighboring environment

and media as well. Govt. policies and procedures should be followed properly. Employee



relations as well as corporate relations should go hand to hand. Similarly marketing public

relations would be of great value for increasing sales.

All the publications be it reports, brochures, magazine or press kit help in maintaining good PR.

Special events and company sponsorship (discussed separately) also ad value to the goodwill of

product . Meetings plus social events will be used to promote PR relations in absence of strong

HR department.

After planning a good PR campaign its execution should be properly managed

Publicity

It is any reference obtained without paying for it say time over a TV channel or a write up on the

web for the services rendered by the Safron -. Its advantages are the credibility factor and good

publicity as well. In the area of below poverty-line living people, a good and healthy school

would be opened as a part of companies CSR

Promotional event for saffron launching:

During one weekend in a big in famous village we will organize a big event. In the street, there

will be hostesses with special clothes (king and queen clothes) who will distribute samples and

cups with tea to offer the product to passer-by. They will distribute flyers

There will be a show about the theme of green with flags of our brand. The artists will be

dressed in clothes that are particular to that rural area and hold a speech about royalty. After

the show, they will hand ut flyers the people can fill in so as to win the weekend trip to see a

cricket match At the end of the event, it will have a drawing of lots. The winner will receive the

present (tea boxes) via post way For the child, there will be inflatable game in castle shape to

jump. The staff will keep an eye on the children while the parents take part in the competition-In the street there will be a lot of decoration of the brand image

Advertisement

At the beginning, the strategy is to focus on the Internet, the radio and on daily local newspaper

to reach a lot of customers. These media are noticed by a large target group which will help the



firm to be known. After six months or one year, we will begin a campaign on television, in

magazines and on airports.

1. Marketing Objective

To offer consumer best health advantage through saffron .

To establish as market leader in herbal shampoo

To enable saffron to satisfy, fulfill the consumer‟s personality & lifestyle

To increase saffron popularity as an icon in Herbal shampoo product.

The different managers should know the sales and marketing objectives of the firm in order to

achieve these objectives.

We are going to use the method SMART:

·Specific: The objectives have to be clear. For example, in each shop, the company of “saffron ”

must achieve the selling objectives. The turnover to reach will not be the same in the different

shop because we make the selling objectives according to size of the shop, the frequentation, the

type of the clients.

Measurable: The company has to follow the different targets in the sales outlets and if each shop

allowed to reach the objectives. To measure the sales we can calculate the sales by day in order

to understand how the client bought the product. With these data we can improve the strategy

and the sales. The commercials can ask to the supermarket to put the product in a different way

or to make more promotion.

Achievable: The targets have to be realist. At the beginning the turnover would grow slowly and

after the promotion, it would have a faster expansion. If we reach to win clients from our main

competitor (in a first time) and from the others tea brand (in a second time), the sales would



grow increasingly. The firm should have a long term‟s vision and should be reactive in front of

decisions or problems which can occur.

Relevant: the objectives have to be founded on fact and not on suppositions. The firm has to

respect its general strategy and its image. The firm should take into consideration the sales of its

competitors in order to be based on relevant objectives.

Timed targeted: each objective should have a deadline. It can allow measuring the different sales

of the day, of the week, of the month, according to these data, the firm can change the bjectives

or makes promotion to reach these objectives.

The objectives for the first year:

4 % of the market share of Hindustan Unilever & P&G , the main competitor.

2 % of the others shampoo competitors.

We expect to hit 25% of Hindustan Unilever & P&G because it is our main competitor by

converting their royal customers. With the strategy, the promotion 7 novelty of our brand we can

expect to attain lots of customers. We look forward to hit 8% of other competitors To reach this

objective we will make a lot of promotion in order to attract new clients, because we know that

the population like and

Ingredients:

Alovera , shikakai

Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate solution

Citric Acid

Cocamide DEA

Cocamidopropyl betaine

Fragrance, Dye, Preservative



Product Strategies

The specific strategies, which can be employed to develop or modify the products to targets the

rural market, can be classified as follows:

1. Small unit packing: Given the low per capita income & purchasing habits of the rural

consumers, small unit packages stand a good chance of acceptance in rural market. Single serve

packets or sachets are enormously popular in India. They allow consumers to buy only what they

need, experiment with new products, & conserve cash at the same time. This method has been

tested by products life shampoos, pickles, biscuits, Vicks cough drops in single tablets, tooth

paste, etc. Small packing stands a good chance of acceptance in rural markets. The advantage is

that the price is low and the rural consumer can easily afford it. Also the saffron Rs. 1.00 pack

has more sales as compared to the large pack. This is because it is very affordable for the lower

income group with the deepest market reach making easy access to the end user satisfying him.

The small unit packing will definitely attract a large number of rural consumers.

2. New product designs: Keeping in view the rural life style the manufacturer and the

marketing men can think in terms of new product designs. The rural product usage environment

is tough because of rough handling, rough roads & frequent power fluctuations. Thus, all these

environmental factors will be considered while developing the products meant for rural

audience.

3. Sturdy products: Sturdiness of a product is an important factor for rural consumers. The

product will be sturdy enough to stand rough handling, transportation & storage



Pricing strategies

1. Low cost/ cheap products: This follows from the product strategy. The price can be kept low

by low unit packaging‟s, shampoo sachets, this is a common strategy widely adopted by many

manufacturing and marketing concerns.

2. Refill packs / Reusable packaging: In urban areas most of the shapoo segments are available.

The containers can be put to multipurpose uses. Such measures can a significant impact in the

rural market.

For example, the rural people can efficiently reuse the plastic bottle of shampoo .

4. Large volume-low margins (Rapid or slow penetration strategy): safrron have to focus on

generating large volumes & not big profit margins on individual products. price their product at a

level which can lead to good volumes,

6. Low volume-low price strategy: This strategy of reducing prices by reducing the package

size in order to make it appear more affordable, is delivering very good results for a large

number of FMCG product categories, in the rural markets of India. In categories where

maintaining the price point is extremely critical, this strategy is delivering very good results.

7. Ensuring price compliance: Rural retailers, most of the times, charges more than the MRP.

We will ensure price compliance either through promotional campaigns, as was done by Coca

Cola, or by ensuring the availability of products at the retail outlets directly.



Distribution Strategy

Many companies view the rural markets as great opportunity for expanding their sales but find

distribution as a major problem. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to transplant strategies

which work successfully in urban markets onto rural markets, namely, extensive retailing and

sustained pull generation through mass media advertising.

The road blocks to reach the rural customers are:

Lack of adequate transport facilities.

Large distances between villages.

Lack of pucca roads connecting villages to nearest townships.

Lack of proper retail outlets

Lack of mass media infrastructure.

The marketers were of the opinion that the villagers would come to nearby towns and buy the

products that they want. What has been found is that if we have to serve the rural consumer wewill have to take our products to him through the channels that he is using and some innovative

ways of getting to him

The following distribution strategies formulated for the rural category.

1. Coverage of villages with 2000 and above population: Ideally, coverage of villages with up

to 2000 and above population could be the break-even point for a distribution setup. By doing so

the percentage of villages covered comes to only 10% of all the villages, but the rural populationcovered will be substantial, to the extent of about 40 to 45 percent. With a distribution network

in about 55,000 villages, which have a population of 2000 persons & above each, one can cover

about 25 crores rural consumers. This strategy is good to begin with & then subsequently,

villages with lesser populations can be added.



2. Segmentation: the number of villages in India is huge & it is not viable to contact & serve all

villages directly. Therefore, companies or distributors can carefully examine the market potential

of different villages & target the villages that can be served in a financially viable manner

through an organized distribution effort.

3. Use of co-operative societies: There are over 3 lacks co-operative societies operating in

rural areas for different purposes like marketing cooperatives, farmer‟s service cooperatives and

other multipurpose cooperatives. These cooperatives have an arrangement for centralized

procurement and distribution through their respective state level federation. Such state level

federation can be motivated to procure and distribute consumables items and low value durable

items to the members to the society for serving to the rural consumers. Many of the societies

extend credit to the members for purchases.

4. Utilization of public distributory system: The PDS in the state is fairly well organized. The

revamped PDS places more emphasis on reaching remote rural areas like the hills and tribal‟s.

The purpose of PDS is to make saffron shampoo to the consumers at a reasonable price

5. Utilization of multipurpose distribution centers by petroleum/oil companies: In order to

cater to the rural areas the petroleum/oil companies have evolved a concept of multipurpose

distribution centers in rural areas. In addition to petrol/diesel, lubricants, these outlets also stockconsumables agricultural inputs like fertilizers, pesticides and seeds. It is estimated that there are

about 40 such outlets in operation in the state . The rural consumer who has tractors, oil-engine

pump sets and mopeds frequent these outlets for their requirement. These outlets can be

profitably utilized for selling consumables and durable items also.

6. Distribution up to feeder markets/mandi towns: Keeping in view the hierarchy of markets

for the rural consumers, the feeder markets and mandi towns offer excellent scope for

distribution. The rural customers visit these towns at regular intervals not only for selling the

agricultural produce but also for purchasing cloth, jewelry, hardware, radios, torch cells and

other durables and consumer products. From the feeder markets and mandi towns the stockiest or

wholesaler can arrange for distribution to the village shops in the interior places. This



distribution can be done by mopeds, cycles, bullock-carts, camelbacks etc. depending upon the

township.

7. Shandies/Haaths/Jathras/Melas: These are places where the rural consumers congregate as a

rule. While shandies/heaths are held a particular day every week, Jathras and melas are held once

or twice a year for longer durations. They are normally timed with religious festivals. Such

places attract large number of itinerant merchants. Only temporary shops come up selling goods

of all kinds. It can be beneficial for companies to organize sales of their product at such places.

Promotion can be taken, as there will be ready captive audience. For convincing the

manufacturing and marketing man with regard to the importance of these places from rural

marketing point of view a visit to such places is necessary. It is estimated that over 100 are held

in the state and the estimated attendance is about million rural consumers. Biggest fair „Pushkar

Mela‟ is estimated to attract over 10 million people. There are 50 such big rural fairs held in

various parts of state , which attract urbanite also like „Mankanavillaku‟ „Periya Kirthigai‟

9. Joint distribution by Non-competing Companies: As the cost of distributing the products

in the rural market through distribution vans can be unviable for a single company, different

non-competing companies can come together to jointly operate distribution vans for the rural

market. This will enable them to share the cost of operating the van & on account of the sharing

of the cost by four or five companies; the entire operation can become financially viable for all

the players. We will coabrate with TATA and other non non competing companies

10. Personal Selling Network: It is very successful distribution channel being developed by

companies like HUL. It adds a personal touch to the marketing, as the salesmen are the resident

of the village or community itself, making it easier to sell the product & maximise sales for the

company. We will also follow the concept



THE OLD SETUP

The historically available people & places for distribution include: - Whole seller, Retailer, Vans,

Weekly Haats, and Bazaars & Shadies.

1. Wholesalers

The Indian wholesaler is principally a Galla – Kirana (food-grain) merchant who sustains the

belief that business is speculative rather than distributive in character.

He is a trader / commodity merchant rather than a distributor and therefore tends to support a

brand during boom and withdraw support during slump.

The reason for this speculative character and dormant role of wholesalers are:-

Indian market was largely sellers market. There was no need for active sales growth.

Companies laid more emphasis or retailers in urban areas, who are very large in

number. As a result of retail based distribution was weakened.

Rural markets were neglected by many. The occurrence of retail outlets was low.

Therefore many companies were dependent on whole salers.

The current need is to activate and develop wholesaler of the adjoining market as a

distributor of products to rural retail outlets and build his loyalties to the company.

2. Retailers

There are different kinds of retailers.

Shops within the village

Shops located on the main road and not exactly within the village

Kasba market or the tahsil market.



Village retailers have traditionally been among the most mobile of rural residents.

I. CREDIBILITY: -

He enjoys the confidence of the villagers.

His views are accepted and followed by the rural people whose awareness and

media exposure levels are low.

(- The urban retailer is not trusted.

- He is seen as a businessman with profit motto.

- His view points are evaluated with other sources of information.)

II. INFLUENCE LEADER: -

His role as influence leader is indisputable. From tender twig of neem to

washing powder retailer testimony has been vital part of the product adoption

process.

The role of urban retailer is weak.

The urban consumers have numerous sources of information.

Although retailer‟s opinion is sought it may not be 100% believed and

followed.

III. BRAND PROMOTER : -

In rural market retailers remains the deciding factor to sell particular brand.

Retailers helps in identification and selection of brands, there is less influence

of shelf displays and point of purchase promotion.

Presence of spurious brands is an ample testimony to this view.

(- The urban retailer has a limited role as a brand promoter.

- He cannot directly, recommend the brand saffron .



- He is to intelligently drive home his recommendations, as

urban consumers do not trust him completely.

- It is through shelf displays and incentive offers that he has to push the

brands.)

3. Vans

Mobile vans long since, have an important place in distribution and promotion of the

products in villages.

4. Weekly Haats, Bazaars, Shandies

The haats are the oldest outlets to purchase household goods and for trade. These markets are

very well organized with shopkeepers having pre-assigned spaces for them to sell their

wares. A typical market is in an open field with ample space for displaying all sorts of goods.

Its location changes every week. These markets have different names in different regions.

But they are strikingly similar in what they sell. It is reported that there are, in all, about

47,000 haats held throughout the country.

Media Vehicles

Through the rural markets offer big attractions to the marketers, one of the most important

questions frequently asked is “How do we reach the large rural population through different

media and methods?

Mass Media Local Media Personalized Media

Radio Haats, Melas, Fairs Direct Communication

Cinema Wall Paintings Dealers

Press Hoardings Sales Persons

TV Leaflets Researchers



Video Vans

Folk Media

Animal Parade

Transit Media

Formal media

It includes Press and print, TV, Cinema, Radio, and Point of purchase and Outdoor

advertisement. Reach of formal media is low in rural households (Print: 18%, TV: 27%, Cinema:

30%, and Radio: 37%) and therefore the marketer has to consider the following points:

Newspapers and magazines:

English newspapers and magazines have negligible circulation in rural areas. However local

language newspapers and magazines are becoming popular among educated facilities in rural

areas. Examples: Newspapers: Eenadu in A.P., Dina Thanthi in Tamil Nadu, Punjab Kesari

in the North, Loksatta in Maharashtra and Tamil magazine Kumudam are very popular in

rural areas.

Television:

It has made a great impact and large audience has been exposed to this medium. HLL has

been using TV to communicate with the rural masses. Lifebuoy, Lux, Nihar oil etc are some

of the products advertised via television. Regional TV channels have become very popularespecially in regional states. Examples: SUN TV is very popular even in rural areas In

Arunachal pardesh.

Radio:



Radio reaches large population in rural areas at a relatively low cost. Example: Colgate, Jyoti

Labs, Zandu Balm, Zuari industries are some of the companies using radio communication

programme. There are specific programmes for farmers like Farm and Home/Krishi Darshan in

regional languages. The farmers have a habit of listening to regional news/agricultural news in

the morning and the late evening. The advertisement has to be released during this time to get

maximum coverage in rural areas. Another advantage is that the radio commercial can be

prepared at short notice to meet the changing needs of the rural folk. Example: Release of a

pesticide ad at the time of outbreak of a pest or disease in crops.

Cinema:

About 65% of the earnings from cinema are from rural markets. Film viewing habits is high

in certain states like Arunachal Pradesh. Village theatres do roaring business during festivals

by having four shows per day. The monthly charge for showing an ad film is within Rs.500.

Local distributor or dealer who has good contacts with cinema houses in villages can easily

monitor this activity. Examples: Films on products like Vicks, Lifebuoy and SPIC fertilizers

are shown in rural cinema halls. Apart from films, Ad slides can also be screened in village

theatres.

Outdoor advertisements:

This form of media, which includes signboards, wall painting, hoarding, tree boards, bus

boards, dealer boards, product display boards etc, is cost effective in rural areas. Symbols,

pictures and colours should be used in POPs meant for rural markets so that they can easily

identify the products. Generally rural people prefer bright colours and the marketer should

Utilize such cues.

Point of purchase: Display of hangings, festoons and product packs in the shops will catch the attention of

prospective buyers. However a clutter of such POP materials of competing companies will

not have the desired effect and is to be avoided..

Wall paintings:



It is an effective and economical medium for communication in rural areas, since it stays there

for a long time depending upon the weather conditions. The cost of painting one square foot area

is just Rs.10. Retailers welcome painting of their shops so that the shop will look better. Walls

of farm houses, shops and schools are ideal places for painting and the company need not have to

pay any rent for the same. The walls have to be painted at least one or two feet from ground

level. It is better to take permission of the owner. Very often the owner takes responsibility for

taking care of the wall painting. Painting to be avoided during election time and rainy season.

The matter should be in the form of pictures, slogans for catching the attention of people.

Companies marketing TV, fans, branded coffee/tea, toothpaste, pesticides, fertilizers etc. use

wall painting as promotion medium in rural areas.

Tree boards:

These are painted boards of about two square feet in dimension having the picture or name or

slogan of the product painted on it. The cost of such a painted board is about Rs.80. These boards

are fixed to the trees on both sides of the village road at a height of about 10 feet from ground

level. These boards attract the attention of slow moving vehicles like cycles, bullock carts and

tractors and people walking on the road. Considering the poor condition of roads, even the buses

move at slow speed through village road. Fertilizer and pesticide companies in rural areas

extensively use tree boards. These are low priced promotion items and can be used by consumer

goods companies too.

Informal/Rural specific media

These media with effective reach and personalized communication will help in realizing the

promotional objectives. Companies to suit the specific requirements of rural communication



are using a variety of such media effectively and some of the more important media and

methods are given below.

Farm-to-Farm/House-to-House visit:

Rural people prefer face-to-face communication and farm visits facilitate two-waycommunication. The advantage is that the sales person can understand the needs and wants of

the rural customer by directly discussing with him and answer his queries on products and

services. Potential customers in the village are identified and the company‟s/distributor‟s

representative makes farm-to-farm visits and highlight the benefits of the products. The

person carries with him literature in local language and also samples of shampoo . The

person does not sell the product but only promotes the use of the product. Very often the

local dealer also joins the representative in making farm-to-farm visits. The dealer clarifies

the terms and conditions of sale and also makes independent follow up visits for securing

orders.

Group meeting:

Group meetings of rural customers as well as prospects are an important part of interpersonal

media. The company is able to pass on the message regarding benefits of the products to a large

number of customers through such meetings. Group meeting of key customers can be conducted

by safrron. The bankers visit an identified village, get the village people in a common place and

explain the various schemes to the villagers. .

Opinion leaders:

Villagers place more emphasis on the experience of others who have used a

product/brand to make purchase decision. Opinion leader is a person who is considered to be

knowledgeable and is consulted by others and his advice is normally followed. Such opinion

leaders could be big landlords, bank official, panchayath-president, teachers, extension workers

etc. Examples: a) we use bankers as opinion leaders for our product.

The Melas:

Melas are of different types i.e. commodity fairs, cattle fairs and religious fairs and may be held

only for a day or may extend over a week. Many companies have come out with creative ideas

for participating in such melas. Examples: a I will promote it through melas. b)



The Haats:

Traditionally on certain days of week, both the sellers and buyers meet in the village to buy and

sell goods and services. These are the haats that are being held regularly in all rural areas. The

sellers arrive in the morning in the haat and remain till late in the evening. Next day they move to

another haat. The reason being that in villages the wages are paid on weekly basis and haat is

conducted on the day when the villages get their wages. For the marketer, the haat can be an

ideal platform for advertising and selling of goods. By participating in haats and melas, the

company can not only promote and sell the products but also understand the shared values,

beliefs and perceptions of rural customers that influence his buying behaviour.

Folk dances:

These are well-appreciated form of entertainment available to the village people. The folk

dance “Kuravan Kurathi” is popular in Arunachal pardesh. The troupe consists of dancers,

drummers and musicians and they move in a well-decorated van from one village to another

village singing and dancing. In a day the troupe covers about 8-10 villages. As soon as the

van reaches a village, film songs are played to attract the attention of the villages. This is

followed by folk dances. Mike announcement is made about the company‟s products and

leaflets are distributed. After the dance programme, queries, if any, about the products are

answered by the sales person. Folk dance programme costs about Rs.5000 per day and

therefore these programmes are conducted during the peak season in selected villages.

Audio Visual Publicity Vans (AVP Vans):



AV unit is one of the effective tools for rural communication. The van is a mobile promotion

station having facilities for screening films slides and mike publicity. The sales person makes a

brief talk about situation in the village, the products and the benefits. The ad film is screened

along with some popular film shots and this continues for about 30 minutes. At the end of the

film show, he distributes handbills and answers queries of the customers. The whole operation

takes about 1-2 hours depending upon the products under promotion, number of participants in

the meeting and time taken for question and answers. The vans move to the next village for the

second show. The cost of running a fully equipped AVP unit is about Rs.4000 per day and AVP

van operation has to be considered as an investment for business development in rural areas.

Example: Companies such as HLL, Colgate, and Phillips have made effective use of AVP vans

for popularizing their products in rural areas.

Product display contests:

Package is an integral part of the product. Its main purpose is to protect the product during

transit, to preserve the quality and to avoid any loss in quality and quantity. The main purpose of

this contest is to remind the customer to buy the product as soon as he enters the shop. Another

objective is to influence the dealer to stock the product and support the company in increasing

the sales. The display contest has to be announced well in advance and promotional materials to

be distributed to all the selected dealers in a geographical area. Prizes for best displays are

announced to motivate the dealers; the contest lasts for about a month. A well-planned product

display contest not only increases the involvement of dealers in the company‟s products but also

increases the sales during the contest period. This is used for promoting consumer goods such as

shampoos, soaps and toothpaste.

Field demonstration:

This is based on the extension principle “seeing is believing” and is one of the most effective

methods to show the superiority of the company‟s products to the customers. A progressive

farmer who is an opinion leader is selected and the demonstration is conducted in his field in the

presence of a group of farmers in the village. The farmers observe the results in the field and the

local dealer calls on them in their farms and persuades them to buy the particular brand of

pesticide or fertilizer. Examples: a) by applying shampoo on school boy a and showing the

rural markets.



Life-style marketing:

Each rural market segment has certain special features i.e. they share common life-style traits.

They include village sports, religious events, prominent personalities and role models. Examples:

Texduring summer festivals in villages and Consumer goods saffron sponsoring Kabaddi.

Choosing media vehicles

The choice of different media vehicles for any market is based on an analysis of the standard

features like: reach, frequency, cost & availability. Depending on the factor of reach &

frequency, the different media can be classified into the following categories. This categorization

can help the marketer to make a decision about which type of media would be more suitable to

the product & the organization.

(a) High reach High frequency

Jeep based advertising

Wall painting

Bus stand & bus panels

Haats

Hoardings

Postal branding

(b) Low reach High frequency

Co-operative notice board

Shop front painting

Tin plating – house

Dealer boards

Village boards

Well tiles

Calendars/labels

(c) High reach Low frequency

Van based advertising

Melas

Direct to home



Folklore group

Exhibitions/created events

(d) Low reach Low frequency

Tin painting – tree/shops

Leaflets

Posters & banners

Streamers

Danglers

Documents

Marketing Plan for an Herbal Shampoo to Be Launched in Pakistan