Newswise — AUSTIN, Texas — Marketing Professor Vijay Mahajan at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business has released a new book titled “Rise of Rural Consumers in Developing Countries,” which highlights the expanding consumer power of rural markets worldwide. The book is now available for pre-order in the U.S.
Mahajan’s book covers three areas: recognizing opportunities in rural markets, expanding those opportunities, and understanding the unique challenges of marketing to rural consumers.
Mahajan visited the 10 countries with the largest rural populations worldwide, such as India, China, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Egypt, to better understand the shopping behaviors of rural consumers. He also examined how aspects such as culture, infrastructure, and technology influence those markets.
“Almost half of the world’s population is rural, and the majority of that segment lives in developing countries,” Mahajan said. “The rapidly growing number of rural consumers is an untapped opportunity that growth-seeking companies just cannot ignore.”
In his book, Mahajan explores the innovative strategies used by companies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in developing countries to reach one of the fastest-growing consumer markets in the world.
“Many forward-thinking companies have already tuned into the potential of these ignored rural communities,” Mahajan said. “The U.S. economy can benefit a lot by understanding how developing countries are leapfrogging in creating and marketing innovative products and services to rural consumers.”
He provides insight from his experiences, research data, and global case studies.
Mahajan holds the John P. Harbin Centennial Chair in business at UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business. He served as the dean of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad from 2002 to 2004. He has received numerous lifetime achievement awards including the American Marketing Association (AMA) Charles Coolidge Parlin Award for visionary leadership in scientific marketing. The AMA instituted the Vijay Mahajan Award in 2000 for career contributions to marketing strategy.
Mahajan is the author of 12 books, including “Africa Rising,” “The 86% Solution,” and “The Arab World Unbound.”
Listen to Mahajan discuss his latest book here.
For more information, contact: Samantha Harris, Red McCombs School of Business, [email protected] or 512-671-6764
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