Driving Inclusive Growth through Experiential Marketing: A Retail PerspectiveMarketing

Abstract

The Bottom of the Pyramid has, in recent times, drawn a huge amount of attention from corporate houses in India. The attention is well deserved considering the fact that the 46 million households in the bottom quintile (lowest 20% by income) account for 51 % of the total income. “Inclusive Marketing” seems to be the way forward with companies striving to develop innovative and feasible business models which involve the consumers as co-producers. In India, the huge rural population seems to be a burgeoning market waiting to be tapped. Companies like Godrej Agrovet through its Aadhaar stores, DCM Sriram through its Hariyali Bazaar, Mahindra and Mahindra through Mahindra Subh Labh, IOC through its Kisan Seva Kendra and others have set up operations to capture value in this market. In the process of generating profits from these markets, the firms are also contributing significantly to inclusive growth by generating employment and providing technical know-how through advisory services for farm process improvements to the consumers, a majority of whom have agriculture as their primary profession. The present study aims at identifying the key factors influencing these businesses and their relative importance. A case Study based approach coupled with primary research has been done to arrive at the conclusions. An analysis of the different prevalent formats has been done and based on the findings a framework has been proposed for the business of retail in rural India.

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