This is the CEO speaking...

ADVERTISING: Getting the business head to talk to buyers directly is Mahindra's latest communication strategy.

The personal touch. That's what Mahindra & Mahindra's latest advertisment campaign is all about. Trading its trademark helicopter and beautiful women for one of its own people, the latest M&M campaign features the president of the firm's automobile division head, Pawan Goenka, talking to customers.

Goenka's not pushing any of the auto-maker's newest models; all he's doing is asking them to get back to him on whether they're happy with M&M's products or not.

While buyers today may be willing to spend on products, they're also looking for good service. As Yezdi Nagporewala, who tracks the automobile sector at KPMG, points out, "These days products are becoming more or less comparable, so service is a key differentiator."

And that's why, according to Saurabh Tripathi, director, The Boston Consulting Group, manufacturing companies are becoming increasingly conscious of the kind of service they provide.

Says Tripathi, "The customer's experience at every touchpoint is what your brand is all about," he explains adding that more firms are working to improve the element of "experience branding".

Goenka says the campaign has been designed to do just that. "Traditionally one focuses on the product but it's the entire experience that should count."

He adds that while talking to the customer is not something new, the tone that the campaign has adopted is somewhat different. "What we're trying to do here is to say we're aspiring to get there and we'd like their help to do that. We're not claiming that we're already there," he explains.

Industry watchers believe that the idea of a business head talking to buyers should go down well with the audience. Nagporewala believes that when the CEO of a firm or the head of the division says something, it makes the message more personal and meaningful rather than if an outsider were saying it.

That's also why the advertisment has been made simply, without any gimmicks. "The idea was to have a man look you in the face and deliver the message directly," says Robby Mathew, national creative director, Interface, which made the advertisement.

Customers are already responding to the campaign, telling M&M it needs to prove it can deliver service.

So whether it's a question of meeting deadlines when customers pick up their cars after they've been serviced or whether it's about giving them proper estimates, the firm's making sure it happens. "We're also becoming stricter with dealers, making sure they follow all instructions, says Goenka."