What are the challenges in marketing to the bottom of the pyramid?

Most population of the BoP don't have proper communication medium like Television or phone which can help them in coming in contact with organisations with their advertisements. The BoP people don't have proper newspaper facility. All these obstacles restrict organisations to promote their products to the population of BoP because of which they face a lot of problem in marketing products in the bottom of the pyramid.

I would like to take you to a scenario when Shampoo was a product sold only in bottles and the usage was restricted to the people who could afford it. Till Chik shampoo was launched in sachets - after the sachet launch the market just exploded, the shampoo consumption entered the SEC C and D segments of the society which was using toilet soap to wash their hair.

Today, most of the marketers face the dilemma of launching smaller SKU for fear of cannibalisation of their main SKU - but to get the product acceptance among the bottom of the pyramid one has to take this step of launching smaller SKU. This smaller SKU no doubt smaller in value will give higher tonnage growth because of acceptance among larger section of the population.

Smaller SKU helps in increasing trials and seeding the market and getting a potential consumer hooked on to a brand. This consumer once he has moved up the societal strata can go in for bigger pack sizes of the brand which he used to consume earlier in the form of smaller pack size.

Getting the bottom of the pyramid to consume or try the brand was done effectively by Chik which revolutionised the packaging industry as well.

The big/renowned Tata Motors thought to reach the 'Bottom of Pyramid' - concieved and designed the small car named NANO for the people of small means - now this is the latest craze of the world. This car has its luxary version/s too and rich people throughout the world is aspiring to have this car. This car will be equally delivered to the USA and Europe.

Now so many Auto Manufacturers world over are going to launch 'small car/s'.

Banks in India ( .. perhaps PSU Banks only) recently are opening No Frill a/cs for people of small means though this has made their work a bit difficult. Big restaurant houses are opening branches all over city and country to reach to all. These are the examples to be followed ... address the bottom ...  & U shine !!

Looking at the current scenario of growth and development, in developed and developing countries. The middle income group, as there per capita income has increased so has their needs. But the supply remains constant, thus there is a vacuum getting created.

Supply and demand is perhaps one of the most fundamental concepts of economics and it is the backbone of a market economy. The law of demand states that, if all other factors remain equal, the higher the price of a good, the less people will demand that good. In other words, the higher the price, the lower the quantity demanded. As a result, people will naturally avoid buying a product that will force them to forgo the consumption of something else they value more. Like the law of demand, the law of supply demonstrates the quantities that will be sold at a certain price. Unlike the demand relationship, however, the supply relationship is a factor of time. Time is important to supply because suppliers must, but cannot always, react quickly to a change in demand or price. So it is important to try and determine whether a price change that is caused by demand will be temporary or permanent.

Now the current trend particularly in India where marketers are facing the problem, is in supply at the affordable pricing for day to day commodities. By large the consumers at the bottom of the pyramid are getting affected.

companies need to concentrate seprately for this market by launching new products with lower price band as well as  create more awareness by reaching them

Fully agree with Meena and Arikrishnan. However, would like to take you a step back in the thought that though the accessibility to media is restricted, illiteracy- lack of exposure- disposable income, make it all the more difficult for the marketers to drive the message across.

Easy to understand campaigns- free trials- small trial packs are some top of the mind activities that can be done to address these respectively