It was full of surprises for the Marketing Students of ITM Chennai when they visited a small scenic village near Mahabalipuram as part of an experiential learning. The subject is Rural Marketing. 

The students visited houses, one after another, and settled for in-depth interviews, focus groups and deliberations. Questions-direct or indirect – were on their income, livelihood, consumptions, savings, education, assets, socio-economic classifications & mapping and many more questions to understand consumer behaviour. 

On that day the village was really made into a learning ground for students to understand the concepts in practice. The boys and girls put all theories they learned on testing.

In an interview a house wife said… Her husband is a graduate but works as a mason for Rs 600 a day, he never gets work regularly and his earnings may never cross Rs 8000 a month. But the wife earns more than Rs 20000 from cattle she got under a Self help group financing. They have switched over from Complan to Pedia sure for their children quite recently…! They always insist on branded products whether biscuits or atta..! Ashirwad is the brand for atta contrary to our thinking that they will go for their own grinding of wheat to make atta….! They have switched over from Colgate to Dabur tooth paste stressing their resolve for nature. Any FMCG, they insist for a brand. They want their Children to be engineers. 

Students did an audit of a retail outlet in that village. They numbered the SKUs, analyzed the stock turnover, studied the re order level, length and breadth of products and brands. Again, a lady just 10th passed who runs the shop  came with surprising ideas about how she manages the outlet, some of her ideas and practices match with these MBA students’ text book learnings on retailing within the class room. 

A graduate is a mason here, a 10th standard passed women is an entrepreneur, earning more than her husband but there is no ego clash which the students were in a position to realize, Women power, entrepreneurship, harmony in family, aspirations for their future generations, branding, loyalty, living and consuming the natural way, price is not the determining factor but value, quality and utility, awesome brand and product penetration….  

The students had a firsthand experience on all the above and at the end one student’s comment made us to recall our Mahatma.  “India does not live in its towns but in its villages”