Rural India is no longer a silent economy; it is thriving with digital energy. According to a recent Kantar report, it is observed that there is a 43% boost in digital payments, and 23% rise in e-commerce use. From being at the nascent development stage, to blooming at a rampant pace, cracking the cultural code offers a welcoming entry in the rural space.
While technology offers a platform, speaking the local lingo helps the brands catch the native pulse. By assuming “rural” as a homogeneous term, marketers tend to lose a big chunk of their profits. India’s countryside is embodied with diverse cultures, distinct dialects, multiple languages, demographics, changing consumer behavior, and adoption of tech trends. No matter if it’s an e-commerce App or a digital payment platform, cultural understanding is a must to win the customers, unlike capitalizing only on translation.
For any brand aiming to launch a product/service in the rural sector, will have to ensure that not just their offerings, but their content should also sound local. It should have the local quirk, candid humor, understand their routine, and be able to provide a solution to their specific needs. That’s where interpretation, translation, localization, and language solutions come into play.
If you are carrying the same idea that worked wonders in the urban market, it should be adapted well for the people living in villages. Content adaptation is not just re-phrasing the words, but it involves adaptation of the ideas, stories, metaphors, tag lines, and the overall rhythm to connect instantly. Correct knowledge and capturing the right cultural nuances, acts as a great accelerator in impressing the tech-savvy, new rural market in India.
For instance, most of the digital Apps nowadays provide language preference for the users’ ease – be it the multilingual responses by their virtual assistants, or customer service support in regional languages. Not just the text, even the videos are synchronized with and speak the local culture. It not only offers a pleasant user experience, but also triggers confidence and trust when the users are able to read/ listen/ interact in the language they understand.
Contrary to the push marketing, the 23% e-commerce spike also is a testimony that localized and culturally relevant campaigns are on top of rural priorities. From simple convenience goods shopping, to buying local tools, or farmer-friendly products, the user purchase journey in the country’s remote areas has seen a dramatic shift.
Keeping authentic, regional, and cultural approach as a core marketing strategy is a sure short winning formula for customer outreach in the rural sector. Seeking advice from language and cultural adaptation agencies, helps in bringing the earthy tone, local flair, regional dialects, and cultural mindsets. When blended together finely, marketing conviction is turned into efficient sales.
A quick recap:
- Speak emotional, not commercial – think from users’ perspective.
- Mirror the way your audience speaks and thinks – talk in their language.
- Use digital platforms to comfort them and win trust – offer your products/ services in their native language.
- Be original, yet grounded – invest in simple and authentic communication strategies.
No matter how well you are scripting your communication strategy, culture is the only common script across all languages, regions, and audiences.
January 17, 2025 — magnon