In a bid to build its brand in the rural sector, Mahindra & Mahindra has turned all of its dealerships in India into farming advice centres. Known as Mahindra Samriddhi Centres , the dealers will demonstrate and teach a farmer the best farming techniques. This will be done by the dealer by setting up a small farm in his centre. They will also advise the farmers about the various nutrients one should add to the soil & will also conduct tests on soil samples for a fee of rupees fifty.
More than eighty such Samriddhi Centres are already in place & M&M plans to increase it to 250 by the end of next year.
Priya Monga, business head, RC&M Pvt. Ltd said, “Mahindra is the first company to start these rural branding initiatives, It’s highly possible that its competitors would follow suit” A website has also been launched which gives the farmers information on various topics like fertilizers, mechanization centres, cold storages etc. Sanjeev Goyale, Senior VP, Marketing said “We are leaders but we also need to be thought leaders in the industry”.
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