Milk is the main output of the dairy industry. The perishable nature of raw milk makes its marketing crucial for the small-scale milk producers. Like other developing countries, in India too there are organized and unorganized sectors for the marketing of milk and dairy products. In the unorganized sector, there are two main agencies—the milk vendors dudhiyas and halwais—who collect milk from cattle breeders and supply it to the customers at their doorstep. The organized sector comprises dairy cooperatives and organized modern-style private dairies. Generally, in this sector the large-scale dairy units use advanced technology and produce standardized products. They collect milk through their collection depots and transport it to their milk plants for processing and manufacturing. In the present study, an attempt has been made to examine the different marketing strategies adopted by the small-scale milk producers in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, India.

In the present world, the art of marketing is more important than the art of production. Production is often considered as the more important function. However, this practice is gradually losing ground and it is being recognized that “unless you can sell a product, you should not manufacture it”. Marketing, the process by which a product or service originates and is then priced, promoted, and distributed to consumers, begins when production ends, and ends when consumption begins. Marketing concentrates primarily on the consumers. After determining the customers’ needs and desires, marketers develop strategies to educate customers about a product’s most important features, persuading them to buy it, and then to enhance their satisfaction with the purchase. All business activities facilitating the exchange are included in marketing. Neil Borden coined the term ‘marketing mix’ in 1953 in his presidential address to American Marketing Association. Marketing mix is a business tool used in marketing products. The marketing mix is often crucial when determining a product’s or brand’s unique selling point (the unique quality that differentiates a product from its competitors), and is often synonymous with the ‘four Ps’: ‘price’, ‘product’, ‘promotion’, and ‘place’. However, in recent times, the ‘four Ps’ have been expanded to ‘seven Ps’ with the addition of ‘process’, ‘physical evidence’ and ‘people’. Recently, ‘four Cs’ theory has also come into the limelight.

Consumer Behavior, Marketing Strategies of Small-Scale Milk Producers, A Study in Azamgarh District, Uttar Pradesh