(This article is in response to a mail sent my one of the readers asking our views on how a B-School can be marketed in Rural India. I am  presenting here my views of not only what I feel are relevant ways of reaching out to the rural population but also what I think is a curriculum which would appeal to them most.)

Education as a sector is the largest in India according to an IDFC report I read recently. So the potential it holds is undoubtedly immense. I would here like to present some thoughts that come top of my mind regarding Business education targeted towards rural Indians.

Target Lucrativeness – The best description as I read somewhere of the sector is that it is over-regulated and under-governed – enough to scare many new investors away. The older government institutes hold a lot of asymmetric advantage. So I think one way ahead is definitely with new focussed institutions. My focussed I mean to say that the IIM’s of the world can be fought best by many small David’s rather than trying to launch one Goliath and take them head on. So if one’s are targeting the rural sector I think that’s a very good place to start. The rural youth are very focussed and hungry to make it big. Also in terms of focussed attention they have received very little yet.

Medium - The best way to reach rural folks is through the traditional media. I feel the internet will not be as effective as the penetration levels are abysmally low. Also it makes sense if one can probably think of targeting specific places and visiting the places with their team to tell the potential students about their programs and how they can benefit from them. I personally believe it would be highly effective. Why? In today’s perplexing world with so much happening people want to be 100% sure before they invest time or money anywhere. So they grope for information. When they go to shops they ask the shopkeepers for the best solution for their requirements. If someone can bridge the gap by making the journey and telling them about their offering – at least they would have done an awesome job of marketing themselves.

Network Effect – As important in the urban context, this takes on a whole new meaning in the rural setup. The initial marketing efforts are as important as delivering a winning product the first time. So suppose you do visit some area and manage to convince a few students to join your programs, it is essential that you follow that up with an excellent education to this batch. If this simple fact is taken care of the ripple that this will create would be enough to take the Brand to the next level. News of “our village boy” joining that college and making it big will soon reach the village and the college would have been “sold” perfectly to your targeted audience. Network effect plays a huge role in the Education Sector I feel.

Tweaking the product - Designing curriculum in a way which they can relate to would be of great service to the rural students. If you run an institute targeted at rural India and tomorrow you approach banks/ FMCG companies to recruit your students, you can showcase how market-ready your students are. Given the fact that companies today are “Bottom of the Pyramid” – obsessed and the rural students understand the customers there best – it’s a superb value proposition you can offer. Also I see the next wave of growth for banks globally coming from micro-finance and loans for SME’s. And given that focus – any bank would want theirr rural arms to be run by someone who knows the people there well and can bring in the faith factor so essential for such initiatives.

A final word - If you are planning to start a college which wants to help aspiring rural Indians carve a better tomorrow for themselves – Please deliver on whatever you promise. Recent media reports of how some institutes are misreporting stuff is really disturbing. Just open the page of these colleges on Wikipedia and you read a lot of disturbing facts. These hurt not only the poor students who choose these institutes but is also extremely detrimental to your brand in the long run.

As always ayes and brickbats are welcome. Just write in to themarketers.iimc@gmail.com.

Tweet This Post