Cherry picking markets in countryside for best results

Source: Economic Times. Link Sent by Sundeep Sheri

Belgaum contributes 69% districts’ total market
Belgaum in Sixth place On sheer market size

There are 75-odd districts in the country like Maharashtra’s Kolhapur and Satara, Karnataka’s Belgaum and Kerala’s Thrissur with a very attractive mix of quality rural market coupled with big enough rural population to warrant a focussed rural marketing initiative in these districts.

These 75 quality rural districts contribute around a fifth (19%) of total rural market in India and a tenth of the total Indian (urban+rural) market. What’s more important for marketers is that in these 75- odd districts, the rural market contribution as a per cent of the total district’s market is high, according to ET exclusive insights from the 2008 edition of RK Swamy BBDO Guide to Market Planning.

Among the top 10 markets here:
Satara’s rural areas contribute a whopping 81% of the districts’ total market. The comparable figure is 79% for Kottayam, 72% for Kollam and Ahmadnagar, 69% for Belgaum, 62% for Kolhapur, 61% for Thrissur, 49% for Thiruvanar, 40% for Ernakulam and 26% for Pune. As
many as five districts from Kerala figure in the top 10 quality rural markets.

The guide evaluates not only the absolute market potential (Market Potentila Value; MPV), which in certain geographies can be high, but also the per capita potential (Market Intensity Index; MII), which can be another important determining variable for intelligent market planning. The guide covered 515 districts (out of a total of 593) in 21 states and three union territories. A total of 24 parameters—like income, ownership of house, durables and cars, formal employment, bank credit et al—were chosen for urban and rural areas to assess MPV and MII.

On sheer market size alone, West Bengal’s Medinipur district is the top rural market in the country. South 24 Paragnas (WB), Barddhaman WB), Anmadnagar (Maharashtra), Murshidabad (WB), Belgaum (Karnataka), North 24 Paragnas (WB), Pune (Maharashtra), East Godavari (Andhra Pradesh) and Kolhapur (Maharashtra) make the top 10 here.
Says Gowri Arun, co-author of the RK Swamy BBDO.