When in Rural India, do as the Rurals do.

Rural sales stagnated despite visibility. As the foremost steel manufacturing company in India, it wanted to better penetrate the Tier II markets of Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka.

60% of the sales were routed through word of mouth. It’s a trust economy. Decision making is simpler there than one would imagine.

& Retailers asks seemed basic – to have pamphlets, knowledge books, a price list, enough stock, timely deliveries, fabricator meetings. It was attention that they were really asking for.

To think that communication design & hygiene collaterals/ demands could really be a solution – felt too easy. But that’s what this project revealed. The answers are often simple. It takes courage to act on what we listen to, than offering solutions one may like hearing.

The market was not underperforming – it was simply under-attended.

INDUSTRY Steel Manufacturing / Service & Product Commodity

COMPANY JSW Steel

NEEDS / TAGS Attention. Trust. Execution Bias. Rural Heuristics.

RESEARCH REPORT Strategies for market penetration of JSW Steel in Rural Areas (Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala)