Rural Marketing: Challenges and Opportunities - Softcover

Kumar, Dinesh; Gupta, Punam

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9386062763 ISBN 13: 9789386062765

Publisher: SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd, 2017

Synopsis

With 700 million prospective consumers including about 40 per cent of the country middle-income group, the sheer size of India rural market itself speaks of its huge This new textbook discusses how the application of traditional marketing theories transforms when the 'fourth sector', or the emergence of social business, comes into play. Drawing from latest research, Rural Marketing: Challenges and Opportunities closely analyses two crucial components of the rural market - marketing to rural areas and empowering the 'bottom-of-pyramid' (BoP) markets to create successful business ventures. Written as per the prescribed curriculum of rural management and rural marketing courses offered by the major universities in India, this book goes beyond discussing just the strategies to sell products to village economies. Infused with numerous real-life case studies of companies that have ventured into the field, this book will prove to be an extremely useful resource in understanding the uniqueness, dynamics and challenges of marketing in rural areas. Key Features: Rich pedagogy including opening and closing case studies, mini case studies, engaging chapter-end exercises and project assignments Inclusion of references to recent research data, important journal articles and videos for classroom teaching Comprehensive overview of the future of rural marketing through BoP approach, social enterprises and use of big data

About this title

Review:

Agricultural research has so far concentrated on the supply side. But while a number of research institutes contribute to the science of agricultural production, what happens to the output thereafter has been neglected. Yet, rural marketing is an extremely important area which can benefit from marketing theory and practice to reduce waste and increase efficiency of distribution of farm produce. This is the first book that talks about rural marketing not only in terms of supply of manufactured products to villages but also in terms of reforming and empowering villages through efficiency in agricultural distribution and marketing. The coverage, both in the text and in the huge number of cases, is amazing. I have no hesitation in saying that this is the best book on the subject and will be of immense use for agricultural and rural management institutes.  (Vinod Mittal Chairman, Dolphin (PG) College of Science and Agriculture, Chandigarh)

Marketers since the first decade of the liberalization of the Indian economy have realized the importance of rural markets for growth. This renewed interest on rural markets has led to a number of books on the subject. Most of them create an impression that rural consumers are waiting for the marketers to arrive and to sell them goods. Whereas, the fact is that these markets need to be carefully nurtured before they yield any success. There has always been a need for a book that would provide a holistic and realistic view of the subject and not reduce it to the marketing of ‘soaps and shampoos’ to them. This book takes a fresh look at the subject and provides a rounded view by incorporating the developmental aspects of rural marketing and providing cases of enlightened rural marketing.  (Pratik Modi Associate Professor of Marketing Institute of Rural Management, Anand)

About the Author:

Dinesh Kumar, PhD, is Professor of Marketing at Chandigarh. He has been associated with well-known management schools such as Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH); Fore School of Management; Amity Global Business School, Mohali; University Business School, Panjab University, Chandigarh and others as visiting faculty member. After finishing his MBA from Panjab University, Dr Kumar gained a wide experience in sales, marketing and rural distribution for over 15 years. He switched to teaching in 1995 on receiving a teaching fellowship from Norway. He has taught at leading business schools and written extensively on sustainable development, environment and social marketing. In 2015, he presented a paper at Queen Mary University of London (co-authored with Punam Gupta). He is the author of Marketing Channels (2012), Consumer Behaviour (2015) and The Connected Consumer (2016).

Punam Gupta, PhD, is Associate Professor at Dev Samaj College for Women, Chandigarh, where she has been working since 1980. She did her PhD research in English literature. She was awarded gold medal during her BA Hons (English) and again for obtaining the first position in Panjab University in MA (English). Dr Gupta has written many research papers and participated in seminars on issues such as gender sensitization, green economics, environment studies, value education, media and society. She also participated in UGC SAM Workshop on Capacity Building for Women Managers in Higher Education. She was the co-author of the paper on Social Marketing and Behaviour Change, presented at Queen Mary University of London in 2015. She has also recently published a book on English grammar for Indian students.

About this edition

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 9386062763
• ISBN 13: 9789386062765
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 536