Posted on : 2023-04-23 05:00:59
Article : Good morning, Monday Management Solution for TASK 238- Unilever took the rural marketing concept to a new level in many countries with different activities names.
TASK part reading will make this part a better connect. In India with its Shakti initiative, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) pioneered the concept of training local women as rural sales agents who sell Unilever products door to door in their communities. As of 2015, the initiative had grown to 70,000 sales agents serving 165,000 Indian villages, and HUL had equipped them with smartphone apps to help them manage inventory and other aspects of their business. The company has created variations in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and other countries.
In Pakistan, Unilever took the concept to a new level, training hundreds of village women as beauticians, working out of their homes. During a three-month program, the women, called Guddi Bajis, or “good sisters,” learn to apply makeup, shampoo hair, and provide other beauty services, as well as how to sell Unilever products to their customers. They charge for their services and earn commissions on those sales as well as points toward incentives such as salon tables or mirrors. The Guddi Bajis provides that access and become brand ambassadors for Unilever products. The initiative also provides incomes for women who have few opportunities to make money and cannot freely travel outside of their homes. The market potential is significant 4.5 million women in 5,000 villages.
In Philippines Distributing goods to the rural mom-and-pop (known as sari-sari stores) operations would be complicated and expensive, so about few years ago, Unilever landed on an idea to recruit some of the larger stores to do double duty as sub-distributors. At one such store in southeast of Manila, the owner had purchased two motorized tricycles to make deliveries. In another, the store was a distribution point for sari-sari shopkeepers from a nearby island.
Owners of the superstores, as they are called, get discounts on Unilever products, while the sari-sari stores get better access to more Unilever brands. The superstores also serve as venues for activations, called fiestas, which combine product demonstrations and giveaways with games and entertainment. Unilever organizes about 500 fiestas a year, and sales of highlighted brands typically jump 30-80% during fiesta weeks. This initiative has doubled the coverage of rural markets for Unilever in Philippines there by reducing the distribution costs.
The blue star on the sign outside a shop in a Thai village was more than a decoration. It signalled to customers that they would be entering a “store with star quality.” That means they’d not only find attractive displays and a wide assortment of Unilever products, but extra services such as community washing machines and “food corners” for breakfast or snacks.
Unilever Thailand launched what it calls the Platinum store initiative to bring an urban shopping experience to rural customers an alternative to typical rural stores with limited offerings. Unilever helps design the layouts, develops promotions, and brings in partner companies for services such as ATMs. The stores must meet certain requirements, including assuring high-visibility displays for Unilever products. The initiative has helped Unilever fend off rivals such as 7-Eleven, which has been expanding rapidly in urban areas.
In 2011 in India HUL exploited the practice in a pilot promotion for its Active Wheel detergent in some of India’s poorest and most rural areas. People were asked to call a number that cut off after two rings, so it cost them nothing. An automatic free call back provided some comic dialogue from Bollywood star Salman Khan and ads for Wheel. In four months, HUL got 16 million calls and Wheel sales tripled in the region.
End point- FMCG companies should always be on lookout for more avenues to reach the rural markets as their key new markets. Their adoptability to the rural locals’ social cultures would bring in more innovative marketing ideas for better markets positive acceptance of the company’s products. “So, such of these salient points are foundations of marketing for the present gen evolution. Circle cannot be reinvented it can evolve to better market utility and growth.”
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