: Prahalad, C. K., & Hammond, A. (2002). Serving the world’s poor, profitably (Links to an external site.).

Read the following article: Prahalad, C. K., & Hammond, A. (2002). Serving the world’s poor, profitably (Links to an external site.). Harvard Business Review, 80(9), 48–59. In their article, Prahalad and Hammond argue that improving the lives of billions of people who are economically at the bottom of the scale could provide lucrative business opportunities.
Directions
Begin this assignment by reading Prahalad and Hammond’s article.
Read and respond to the following scenario:
You are a marketing executive whose company produces and sells bottled water. Your vice president of sales and marketing feels that the current markets are saturated and has tasked you with identifying a new market to enter. Conducting research, you conclude that rural India may be a viable emerging market to enter. Develop a memo addressed to your vice president of sales and marketing that addresses the following questions:
Explain how the “poor” can be profitable markets to multinational businesses.
Describe what your company needs to do to be profitable in the so-called bottom-of-the-pyramid markets?
From your research, it’s known that Indian rural consumers lack clean drinkable water, but they resist paying for water because they think it should be free. In order to sell bottled water to rural Indian consumers, you know you need to do it differently to be successful in that market:
What kind of innovations are needed to be successful?
What kind of obstacles would you face?
What are the specific changes in your marketing strategy, practice, and mindset you need to make to be successful in India?