A STUDY ON STRENGTH, WEAKNESS, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS IN RURAL MARKETING

Rural markets are defined as those segments of overall market of any economy. The strengths are internal affairs of the marketers and that can be enriched by the personal effort of the marketers. Weaknesses are the personal deficiencies and obstacles faced by marketers in rural markets. The market potentials which are untapped by the marketers in rural market are the opportunities in the rural marketing and the threats are challenges to be faced by the marketers in the rural markets. The main objective of the study is to analyze the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats in rural marketing in the perspective of marketers. The strength of rural marketing as per the view of the marketers is examined with the help of eight variables. The highly viewed variable by farmers and traders are marketing knowledge and availability of products respectively. There is a significant difference among the farmers and traders regarding their view on seven out of eight variables in strengths. The opportunities in rural marketing are measured with the help of ten variables. The highly viewed variables in opportunities by the farmers and traders are growing urbanization and growing income levels respectively. The significant differences among the farmers and traders have been noticed in their view on all ten variables in opportunities. The threats in rural marketing at SWOT analysis is measured with the help of ten variables. The highly viewed variable in threats by farmers and traders are growing unhealthy competition and lesser infrastructural facilities respectively