Rural to International : Blueprint for Marketing

The emerging field of rural marketing is witnessing rapid changes especially in India. With the focus shifting to unmet or poorly met ever increasing needs of rural consumers; there is a need to arrive at a clear understanding among practitioners and academicians. This paper takes a critical look at the role and domain of rural marketing in the 21st century. This paper redefines rural marketing domain by including an emerging exchange namely 'rural to international' (R^sub 2^I). Based on the current reality and emerging role of rural markets, a new rural marketing definition is proposed. The expanded marketing mix needed to achieve sustained success in rural markets is also delineated.