MATUNGA, OCTOBER 16, 2010: Don Bosco Action India, the network of the Development Offices, organized a two-day Capacity Building Workshop on October 13 and October 14, at Don Bosco Provincial House, Mumbai. The theme for the workshop was Rural Marketing, and twenty participants from the various development offices attended this workshop. Setting the premise of the workshop, Fr. Savio Silveira, National Convener of DB Action India, welcomed all the participants and spoke about the importance of right attitudes in the field of development work.
The aim of the workshop was to equip the participants with the necessary ideas and tools to introduce the concept of structured marketing and innovative strategies in their respective programmes. Dr. Mala Shrivastava, professor and marketing consultant, (NMIMS University), facilitated the first session; she presented an overview of the concept of Marketing and then explained the existing rural market environment in the country. In the pre-lunch session, she enlightened the participants on the concept of consumer behaviour and the factors affecting it. The session focussed on several important areas such as Targeting, Segmentation, Positioning, and Approaches to Rural Segmentation.
Mr. Niranjan Amte, marketing mead and consultant with Future Group, facilitated the post-lunch session on Rural Market Research and Distribution Strategy. This session involved many discussions and exchanges of ideas. During his presentation, Mr. Amte shared several examples and experiences from the industry. The second day focussed on market linkages, communication strategies, and innovation in rural markets. In this session, Dr. Mala also discussed the major findings of recent researches on rural marketing. The last session looked at the Scope, Opportunities and Challenges in Rural Marketing.
