 "Mayank Pareek")
What has been the most interesting sales promotion you have engineered so far?
Unlike in the FMCG or the consumer durables segments, in passenger vehicles we need to come up with initiatives that go beyond instant gratification - like giving away gold coins, scratch cards offering holidays etc. This challenge is even bigger when we target rural consumers. For various reasons, it is not easy to open a dealership in rural markets. One hurdle is the lack of adequate infrastructure in rural areas like roads and petrol pumps. Now an average rural consumer will invest in your brand once she is sure about right support at the point of purchase and after the sale.
So in 2008, we decided to create a special sales team manned by rural dealer sales executives (RDSE). This sales force comprises people who speak local languages and who will interact with prospective buyers on a daily basis. We use the RDSEs as Maruti Suzuki's round-the-year promotional representatives. Our 'Mera Sapna Meri Maruti' initiative started as an offshoot of the rural sales strategy. Under this our RDSE network is supposed to go after a certain niche segment of buyers.
Who is the primary target for the promotion?
The target groups are highly localised in nature, geographically scattered and very different from each other. Some of the examples are orange farmers from Nagpur, turmeric growers in Tamil Nadu, granite polishers from Hyderabad, blue pottery makers from Jaipur, madhubani painters from Madhubani Bihar, potato growers in West Bengal etc. Over the years, Maruti has identified 300 niche customer segments. The company has a process in place to identify the aforementioned segments. The standardised process is to first identify sunrise segments in terms of revenue sources and income patterns, then the niche segment is assigned to a local dealer and his RDSE team. The RDSE team reaches out to them through leaflets, melas, and local events. For instance, Coorg is a coffee plantation belt in the south. With an average annual income of Rs 2.5 lakh annually, around 98 per cent of coffee growers own less than 25 acres. One of our local dealers in this area runs a promotion every quarter. As part of this, on-ground activities are conducted to engage the coffee growers. The data on prospective customers is collected with the help of the local growers' associations. Last December, this dealership organised an Omni Utsav to drive sales of the van. The initiative explained how Omni can be a private as well as a goods carrier.
Why was the promo designed in such a manner?
We understood how building a strong on-ground presence can guarantee a new set of consumers. As part of this long-term promotion strategy, we use rural floats that have proved to be a cost effective way of tapping into our newfound consumer segments. A float is a customised Omni or an Eeco with specific promotional branding in a local language. Each rural float is equipped with a public address system which is used by the RDSEs to explain different models and the ongoing schemes. The float is usually parked at a place with high footfalls - like, say, a mandi or a primary health centre in a particular locality. To create engaging content, the company also introduced video floats to explain our vehicles and their usage. For instance, our 10-minute rural film 'Mera Sapna Meri Maruti', which was initially made in Hindi and Tamil, was later dubbed in Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam to get the message across to the audience without much hassle. We have over a hundred rural floats with such video facility.
What were the challenges?
Rural customers want to be really sure before making a high value purchase. While an average customer in a metro would walk into our dealership with some prior research, a rural customer is like a clean slate. So convincing them that our product will make their personal and occupational life easier is the first challenge. That said, there is a need to build a strong bond with them once a vehicle is sold.
Can you give an idea of the impact of these schemes on the sales and the brand?
Our focused rural initiatives helped us increase the contribution of rural sales to overall sales from a mere 3.5 per cent in 2008 to 28 per cent in March this year. Our sales in niche segment have grown from 2,676 units in 2008-09 to 58,969 in the last fiscal.
Will such schemes work in the future?
Surely, it is one the most innovative low-cost methods to connect with a vast population. We are confident it will work in the future. We have also built special outlets (e-outlets or extension outlets that offer limited facilities like information on the products, financing etc) which are small humble outlets and do not intimidate rural folks. In places where full-fledged dealerships are not a viable option, Maruti Suzuki has expanded its penetration with these e-outlets. Today, we have over 650 e-outlets.
Mayank Pareek
COO, marketing & sales, Maruti Suzuki
