Nokia Siemens Networks

Urban myths: Building the rural communications market

It is time for communications service providers to reject urban benchmarks and practices when marketing their services to rural consumers. So says a new research report that advocates a hyper-local rural marketing strategy.

A new report reveals innovative ways in which communications service providers (CSP) can market their services to rural populations in South and South-East Asia. Instigated by Nokia Siemens Networks and produced by CKS Consulting, ‘Rural marketing best practices for telecoms services’ explodes some of the myths surrounding rural markets and how to win in them. 

One of the major findings is the need to truly understand rural markets and the livelihood concerns of local people and not simply repeat what has worked in urban settings. For instance, the use of mass media and celebrities to promote services rarely produces results with rural communities. As well facing the challenge of lack of access to technology like TV, mass media campaigns also often fail to take account of local dialects and cultural differences.

The report covers the challenges that rural people face, such as lack of healthcare, infotainment and transport. CSPs can help to meet all these needs and rural users are ready and willing to pay for services that improve their lives.

The importance of local partnerships

Reaching these users also calls for innovative thinking to overcome the difficulties of isolation and of setting up a retail infrastructure. Some companies in these regions are achieving success by using networks of small retailers to sell services and airtime. Other possibilities include forming partnerships with financial institutions with their own network of sellers as well as post-offices and educational establishments.

The report emphasises that rural users will adopt a telecom bundle if it contains information relevant to their livelihoods, such as market data, finance availability or potential sales data. Once they are using the CSP’s services, they will also tend to remain loyal. However, it is vital to convey a serious long-term commitment to the responsibilities of providing a communications service.