The fundamental to sustain in the Market is to better understanding of your customers requirement and nature. If these things are handled well, then the company can sustain for a long time in the market. There is a need for the marketers to understand their customers well. And if we talk about Rural India then it is really a tough task for the companies to understand their purchasing behavior.

The companies which have tried in the market have faced lot of problems. The companies got succeeded in the market because they have understood the fundamental of rural market. They have catered the exact product for their needs. But there are some companies which have faced a tough task to sustain in the market. For Ex: The rural consumers accepted washing machine but rejected Dish washers, they have liked the taste of Maggi Noodles but rejected Kellogg's Corn flakes . Hence it is really tough to understand the rural consumer. There are some factors which influence the rural consumer while they buy something.

Factors

• Social Activities
• Cultural Background
• Family Size
• Influence of Opinion Leader
• Status in the area
• Purchasing Power

1.Social Activities: Rural consumer always believe that whatever he buys it should be good, by which he will have a name in the society. They should have a standard than their neighbors. They are conservative and take long time to buy something. It is not easy to influence them. They always believe that it is better to discuss with others before purchase something.

2.Cultural Background: They are very conservative; believe in Traditions, customs, and old rules. Because of all these it is really tough to understand them. They are superstition and before buying any product they check with their elders. If it is in their culture and Traditions then they go for the product.

3.Family Size: The families in rural are market are joint ones. Till now they live in joint families. They check with the family members and discuss everything before buying any product. It is important to check the size of the family, depending upon this they can go for the product. The family member's discussion influences the purchasing decision. Here the money does not play any role; they go with their decision only.

4.Influence of opinion leaders: Rural consumers believe to take advice from the opinion leaders before buying any product. Opinion leaders are those people who are well educated, go to towns frequently to buy products, School teachers, Head masters, President of the village, youth leader etc. They feel that their opinion leaders will have more idea about the product then others. They influence more on the decision of opinion leaders only.
Whatever be the decision of the leader they try to realize on it then they move on to that.

5.Status in the area: Most of the people in rural market buy products according to their status in that area. For Ex: People in the villages of Andhra Pradesh buy products by looking at their status, If he is the president of the village then he buys all the branded and costlier products. Hence depending upon the role and status in the society they like to buy the product. Sometimes to make a show off they buy highly priced and branded products even if it is not in need.

6.Purchasing Power: To buy any product the main factor we look at is the economy nature of the consumer. In rural India most of them are depended upon the agriculture, which is a seasonal demand business. Depending upon the yield only they go for any product. They look at all the factors before buying any product. They look the product features and believe that for low price it should come for long term usage. Hence it is one of the important factors that companies should take into account before going in the market.
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7.Advice of Retailer: Depending upon the relationship with the retailer most of the consumers take their advice and follow it. They believe he is offering them the right choice. They believe he is in the market and knows well, that is the reason they go for the advice of the retailer. If at all he is the new customer also he buys the product depending upon his experience at the retail shop.

Apart from all the above, there are some other factors in common. The mood of the consumer is good then he buys the product, if he wants to take risk then he will go for it. Hence depending upon the attitude, mood, risk nature, Demo of products they buy the product. Hence if the companies can take care of the above factors then they can sustain in the market for a long time.

About Author / Additional Info:
An MBA from GITAM University, India

Reference: Mr. Balaram Dogra & Mr. Karminder Ghuman