WORD OF MOUTH: THE KEY TO UNLOCK HINTERLAND

Advertising and other promotional efforts form crucial part of rural marketing communication,that to with increasing rural prosperity, marketers are keen to inform villagers about the benefits of buying andconsuming their products and services. The promotion aspects always create a challenge in rural marketsbecause of the fact that villages have thin population density and are widely spread over large remote areas.Some of the rural markets are also inaccessible to television signals and are often designated as ―media dark‖.Interpersonal communication accounts for over 80% of the rural communication process. Word of Mouth‘form of communication plays a vital role in rural consumer purchase decisions. The study was conductedamong rural areas of Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu, to identify rural consumer‘s exposure to differentmedia vehicles and to understand the importance of Word of Mouth‘ in influencing rural consumer‘s purchasedecision with regard to personal care products. The study throws insight into the need for positive word ofmouth generation, thorough right media mix decisions targeting rural consumers. Word of Mouth‘communication rules brand building in Hinterland and the marketers foraying into it must focus on a long termeffect and decide on innovative and feasible media options to capture the mind space of rural consumers.