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OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES AND MARKETING STRATEGY FOR SERVING BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID MARKET

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OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES AND MARKETING STRATEGY FOR SERVING BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID MARKET
ABHINAV
NATIONAL MONTHLY REFEREED JOURNAL OF REASEARCH IN COMMERCE & MANAGEMENT

www.abhinavjournal.com

OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES AND MARKETING
STRATEGY FOR SERVING BOTTOM OF THE
PYRAMID MARKET
Mridanish Jha
Assistant Professor, Cambridge Institute of Technology, Ranchi, India
Email: mridanishjha@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
This article present insight into the nature and characteristics of BOP markets, the challenges that organization will encounter when venturing into them and the strategies to counter these challenges. In the recent past, there has been an interest in marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) market and several successful initiatives have shown that the poor can be served equitably and profitably by developing specific marketing strategy.
The economic growth and technological advancement that India has witnessed in the past two centuries saw increase in the purchasing power and product consumption of large part of the population. However a large part of India’s total population is at the bottom of pyramid with regard to economic development. The organizations need to thoroughly revamp their products and the marketing strategies to enter into this market. Innovations could improve the lives of millions of people and could greatly expand business in India. The marketing strategies followed by the companies in catering the premium segment will not be fruitful for this segment. The company needs to develop strategies with regard to its marketing mix.

Keywords: Bottom of the Pyramid Markets, Low Income Consumers,
Multinationals, Marketing Mix, Strategy.
INTRODUCTION
The term BOP was first coined by C.K. Prahalad, in his book “The fortune at the bottom of the Pyramid market: Eradicating poverty through profits”. According to him the various markets with their magnitude of business in the developing economies are huge. He has explained the distribution of wealth and the spending capacity of the world population in the



References: 1. Ahmad, P.S. and J. Mead (2004). ‘Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) and Project Sting.’ Darden Business Publishing. 2. Bhushan, R. (2004). “HLL changes track in confectionery business,” Times of India, 22 April. 3. Business Standard (2005). “Hind Lever Unilever recasts its foods business,” February 12. 4. Dobhal, Shailesh and Sujit Das Munshi (2005). “The New Rural Consumer,” Business Today, January 30, 73-76. 5. Dixit, M. R. and Girija Sharan(2007). “Leveraged Innovation Management: Key Themes from the Journey of Dewrain Harvest Systems,” IIM Ahmedabad working paper 6. Economic Times (2004). “Sachets swell market, shrink consumption,” August 26. 7. Fast Company (2005). “A New Path to Profit,” January, Issue 90, 25. 8. Gopalakrishnan, R (2004). “Unshackling Rural Markets - For Authentic Engagement, First,” The Hindu Business Line, October 20. 9. Hindustan Unilever (2008). “SHAKTI - Changing Lives in Rural India,” retrieved April 7, 2008, from http://www.hll.com/citizen_lever/project_shakti.asp 10. Karnani, Aneel (2007). “Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: A Mirage - How the Private Sector Can Help Alleviate Poverty.” Working Paper, Stephen M 11. Mohan, Devendra (2003). “The Parallel Economists,” Wadhera Soaps, Detergents and Toiletries Review, September 16. 12. Prahalad, C K (2005). The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits 13. Rajshekhar, M (2006). “On the World Bank, Self Help Groups, Market Linkages and The Private Sector.” Retrieved May 17, 2007 from http:// www 15. Sarin, Sharad and Venugopal, Pingali (2003). “The Marketing Contribution Barometer,” The 8th International Conference on Marketing and Development: Globalization,

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