Kwang Ro Kim, Vice President and CEO, Videocon
Kwang Ro Kim, Vice President and CEO of Videocon is one of India’s foremost marketers. Though he is more famous for his LG days where he turned around the Korean Chaebol’s fortunes in India in less than a decade, making it the largest durable company in India. Kim has been with LG since 1974 working in various foreign stations like Dubai, Chicago, New York among others before coming to India. It was his acquired reputation as a marketer and a shrewd man-manager during LG days that made Videocon appoint him as the CEO of their electronics business to spearhead into a better future. In this e-mail interview Kim shares his viewpoints on rural India and advises what should be done to better harness rural market. Edited Excerpts:
How do you look at the rural market in India?
I believe that Indian rural market is need-driven and geared for rapid growth in the years to follow as more and more corporate units are heading towards the rural markets, and are willing to invest serious money in creating separate sales and marketing teams for rural markets.This according to me is a good sign. Approximately half of India’s population is rural and at Videocon we are focusing more on this sector as there are plenty of untapped growth opportunities. The future no doubt lies in the rural markets, since their size is growing at a good pace.
What according to you are the major challenges in reaching out to them?
Clearly the main challenge in reaching out to them is the basic understanding of the rural consumer who varies from his urban counterpart. Also distribution remains to be one of the single largest problems which the companies face today when it comes to going rural. Apart from that, poor infrastructure—roads, telecommunications— and lower level of literacy, lack of thorough knowledge of the nuances of language, and the prevailing customs in the region that you want to work for are a few hurdles which come in the way of companies who plan to tap the untapped potential in the rural market.
In terms of marketing, what are the challenges one faces in reaching out to rural folks in terms of product, services, communication and distribution, respectively?
Again as stated above, even though rural markets are a huge attraction to marketers, it is not easy to enter them because of the prevailing problems.
We see that those marketers who have reached the hinterland in a methodical and serious manner have achieved good results, while for many others it’s still a point of talk and discussion only? What do you think prevents them from going rural?
Today more and more companies know that in order to reach the Indian rural markets they have to think locally in terms of distribution, products, communications and services. We need to also keep in mind the large investments required and the return of investments for a company to go rural.
At Videocon, how do you look at the rural market and the related marketing communication?
Videocon had, in order to penetrate the rural belts of India, initiated an aggressive marketing campaign and adopted the upcountry marketing route. To enter the rural interiors, various marketing operations have been launched and are being successfully conducted. Videocon thinks locally in terms of communication when it comes to rural market in India thus taking inspiration from a lot of rural campaigns would like to replicate this success. We want to cater to this segment. We are marketing our products keeping in mind the lifestyle requirements of Indians and the income constraints.
Do you fee this sudden surge in interest in rural marketing is more of a fad, or this is an ongoing phenomena which will become a trend?
I won’t call rural marketing a fad. According to me, this on going phenomena—as you put it—is slowly evolving into a trend because the rural space has tremendous unexploited potential. There is a lot of scope for development in India’s rural sectors. Most companies are heading the rural way, and since India’s population mostly comprises rural residents, it is only apparent that companies channel their energy and investment towards growing their business amongst these rural sectors. This way the companies and the rural people both get the opportunity of benefiting from each other.
What will be your advice to marketers going rural?
Depending on the brand, I would say that it is essential for the companies to get into rural market with proper understanding and if necessary adopt “think global, act local” strategy. It is good to understand some ground realities about rural marketing before venturing into those sectors with their brands It is important for any marketer to identify the opinion leaders who play an important role in any purchase decision and the factors driving the decision making process of rural consumers.
Finally, how do you analyze the current economic situation? Do you see a light at the end of the tunnel? If so, by when do you expect things to improve?
Despite the economic slowdown, the consumer demand for durables has seen a significant shift from entry level utility products to premium segments. The consumer durable sector has not been affected that much. A lot of companies are launching new brands and are expanding even with the slowdown. Yes, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel in every segment / sector.
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