Rural areas, the challenging market<\/p>\n
Whoever said that rural markets are small and unattractive?
\nAbout 70 percent of Indonesians live in rural areas. It is true
\nthat their spending power is not much for each individual, but
\ntogether, these individuals bear a large sum of money, even an
\nabundance.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Polling Center conducted a survey which showed
\nthat 41 percent of the rural community spends Rp 1,000 to Rp
\n5,000 per day. Say we take an average spending of Rp 3,000, then
\n41 percent of the rural community spends a total of Rp 500
\nbillion every day. A market as much as Rp 500 billion is
\ncertainly not a minor one.<\/p>\n
This already huge market is surely growing, because of the
\npolitical atmosphere, which is currently bonding itself with
\nrural areas. As we know, the government has passed Law No. 22 and
\nLaw No. 25, each regulating Regional Autonomy and Central-
\nRegional Budget Balancing, and will be effective starting next
\nyear. These laws transfer larger authority to the regions to be
\nself-managed and self-administrative.<\/p>\n
In addition, the laws also regulate the income distribution
\nbetween central and regional areas, where the bigger portion of
\nfunding is awarded to the regional areas, not vice versa, which
\nis different to what it used to be. So, if larger authority and
\nfunding portion exist regionally, then the logical thing is that
\nrural areas, which were once discriminated against, are now
\nbeginning to be "touched". This is further supported by the fact
\nthat the new government is relatively pro to the rural
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
Aside from its high potential, the rural market also reveals a
\nchallenge, since competitors are few to be found. Moreover, the
\ntarget market contained in this rural market is relatively
\ndistinctive, which is different from urban consumers, who are
\ncomplex and heterogeneous. Because of those various issues, we
\nwill be making a big mistake if we are not quick in changing our
\nglasses and our old paradigm. This is the right time to prepare
\nourselves to enter the rural market, before our competitors do so
\nahead of us.<\/p>\n
To enter the rural market is not an easy task. Why? Because
\nrural consumers are 180 percent different from urban consumers.
\nTo enter, and to be the winner of the rural market, whether you
\nlike it or not, you have to familiarize yourself with their
\npsychographic condition: perception, lifestyle, behavior and
\npreference, as well as their norms and beliefs. This cannot be
\ndone if we take urban consumers as our guideline. Various
\nspecialized tactics and strategies, which should be "customized",
\nhave to be utilized to attract rural consumers.<\/p>\n
The tactical step of PT Bintang Toejoe (BT) shows its success
\nstory in entering the rural market, which is interesting to
\nexamine. Almost all BT products are targeted to low-to-middle
\nclass consumers, price becoming the point of differentiation that
\nis crucial to the consumers. Because of that, cheap prices are
\nthe main weapon for BT to win in the rural market.<\/p>\n
However, cheap prices for BT does not mean that its brands
\ndeliver low quality. How is this possible? The way to do this is
\nto eliminate "context" but to put emphasis on the "content". Take
\nExtra Joss, one of its reliable products, as an example. Extra
\nJoss is sold at a price approximately a quarter of its
\ncompetitors' prices. But sticking to a very low price does not
\nnecessarily mean that Extra Joss offers low quality. In contrast,
\nBT guarantees that the quality and content of Extra Joss are no
\ndifferent with those of competitors. Then why is it so cheap?
\nBecause Extra Joss uses sachet packaging, not bottles, which
\ndefinitely cost more. It is true that sachet packaging does not
\noffer much prestige compared to bottling, but bear in mind that
\nrural consumers do not need to be prestigious.<\/p>\n
Beside the "cheap price, good quality" strategy, BT is also
\nusing an appropriate communicative approach suitable to the
\ncharacteristics of its target market. Its branding, for instance,
\nwas done in a direct and friendly manner with the rural
\ncommunity. So is the style of its TV commercials, which uses
\nidioms friendly to the ears of the rural community in its daily
\nlife.<\/p>\n
BT's strategy certainly represents only one variance of so
\nmany other strategies, which are adopted in tapping the rural
\nmarket. To enter and to win in this particular market, you have
\nto build your own strategy. You have to explore and develop the
\nstrategy that matches the customer preference of the rural
\ncommunity. To do this, there is one thing you must fulfill: you
\nmust know the exact wants of this rural community, as well as its
\nown values.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rural-areas-the-challenging-market-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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