Factors Affecting the Success of Rural Marketing in Sri Lanka; Special Reference to Small Electric Appliances

Abstract

Rural markets can be identified as an underutilized market opportunity that can be capitalized through better marketing strategies. Rural marketing is a marketing strategy which involves planning and implementing marketing functions in rural areas, to attain marketing objectives. Sri Lanka consists of many rural areas and hence the intention of this study is to identify the factors affecting the success of rural marketing in Sri Lanka, with special reference to small electric appliances. When developing the research, the 4As model was identified as the theoretical model. 4As model is customer centric, while 4Ps is an organization-oriented model. Thus, this research is based on the consumer point of view. The primary objective of this research is to identify the factors affecting the success of rural marketing in Sri Lanka and to identify the most influential factor out of all, in the same context. Primary data was collected using a survey questionnaire which was finalized, following a pilot test based on a sample 16 rural consumers. The data for the final survey was collected from 125 rural consumers living in the Monaragala district via web-based questionnaires and the gathered data was analysed using the SPSS 25.0 software. According to the results of the multiple regression analysis, affordability was identified as the only factor which significantly affects the success of rural marketing. Therefore, it was concluded empirically that affordability plays a vital role in rural marketing in Sri Lanka.