Vikram Malhotra, VP-Marketing & Sales, JK Tyre & Industries Limited, tells us how the tyre manufacturer is engaging customers and staying ahead of competition by means of Customer Relationship Management activities
By Saloni Dutta
Q] What was the insight behind your newly launched TVC, ‘Jitna dur jaaogey, apno ke utna kareeb aaogey’?
In today’s hectic lifestyle, people hardly find time to spend with their loved ones; so we thought a long drive would create the opportunity to spend more time and come closer. Hence we encourage people to go on long drives, get to know their loved ones more and this is what the TVC actually captures. It ends with our proposition that JK Tyre delivers high performance tubeless tyres, and supports your long drives. It is an emotional connect with our customers, stating that you go out on long drives and get to know each other better while driving on technology which is suitable for such long drives, and your top-end cars.
Q] What forms the basis of your marketing activities?
We believe in the principle of customer first, and our marketing strategy revolves around the customer. We have been at the forefront of bringing in best technology way ahead of time, and it has always been customer-centric. We pioneered radial technology, launched the first passenger car radial and the first truck bus radial in India, and also launched the first farm radial here. Also, we are the first in many service initiatives for the Indian market like Steel Wheel, Truck Wheel, Flake Management and CRM. We learn from customers and give them products and services according to their needs.
Q] What does your typical media mix look like? How have your marketing spends changed over the last couple of years?
Our typical media mix is integrated brand campaigning; it covers TV, Print, Outdoor, Digital and we are also very strong in social media now. The major chunk of our marketing and advertising spends go to TV and Digital. Our marketing spends have increased significantly over the last couple of years and we plan to increase them even more this year. This is because we are very bullish on marketing. We have been one of the highest spenders on TVCs as well as in Print and Outdoor. In terms of percentage increase, we nearly doubled our marketing spends last year. And we are aggressively going ahead, because we feel that the market is going to pick up in the coming months and we would like to build our brand.
Q] What are your key initiatives on the digital front?
JK Tyre made the digital space its focus to appeal to its target audience, which is tremendously active across digital media. The strategy was to establish robust engagement with the target audience while structuring a strong presence across all digital media platforms so as to maximize the visibility of the new brand TVC. It was executed with the help of a brand new interactive website and enhanced social media presence. A four-month, all-encompassing media campaign was launched, based on:
Revamped Website - It takes visitors through the exhaustive brand offerings, making the brand even more accessible to customers. It can also be accessed from tablets and mobile phones. The website escalated customer engagement with the brand, with over 2.1 lakh visitors in four months.
Social Media Presence – Extensive customer engagement was planned by way of contests across social media platforms. The contest ‘Drive Out and Discover’ encouraged the participants to share their stories of discoveries they had made about their loved ones while travelling. Contest winners were sent on road trips to create memories. They also shared photographs from the trips with the brand, thereby creating a great deal of user-generated content.
JK Tyre YouTube Channel - In just four months, the new TVC got more than 5,00,000 views on the newly created YouTube channel.
Media Promotions - Media banners were strategically placed across all high impact properties to divert traffic to the website and to familiarize audiences with the new TVC.
Q] JK Tyres recently launched 10 new products under four categories. How has this supplemented your market-share?
Despite last year’s slowdown, we are very aggressive about gaining market-share. So we launched 10 new products , which I think is great because no company has ever launched 10 products in a year, and at one time, and this has resulted in enough growth across product segments. We have also entered new segments and consolidated our market standing in the segments we were already present. Some of these are products of the future, and some are upmarket products like UX1, for high-end cars.
Q] What are some of the interesting activities and BTL promotions engineered at JK Tyre?
For BTL, we had something called the Monsoon Campaign in 32 cities across the country last year. We have customer interaction programmes for commercial vehicles. In fact, we do an average of one customer interaction programme a day, so we have nearly 365 activities. We have a Van Campaign where we enter rural markets to interact with our tractor customers. Sona1, our new launch, has caught the eye of the customer through these engagement programmes.
Q] What is your share in the commercial vehicle and the truck bus radial tyre segments?
We are market leaders in truck bus radial and have a market-share of 34% in the domestic market. We have sold in excess of 5 million truck bus radial tyres in India. We have a market-share of 23% in the overall commercial vehicle segment.
Q] How have you leveraged your experience of retailing JK tyres in terms of distribution and service?
The company lays special emphasis on establishing a wide distribution network. In India, its nationwide network comprises 138 selling locations, 4,000 dealers and over 110 retail outlets branded ‘JK Tyre Steel Wheels’, equipped with state-of the-art wheel servicing equipment. It has also established 18 truck radial tyre care centres, which operate along all major National Highways on a 24x7 basis. JK Tyre has established over 10 truck radial total solution showrooms branded as Truck Wheels. It was the first to introduce unique concepts like ‘Dial-a-Tyre’ and is the only tyre company to launch a 24x7 on-road tyre assistance initiative called ‘Fix-a-Tyre’. Our marketing strategy depends on what the need of the market is, and we are strong over the length and breadth of the country.
Q] What are some of the upcoming trends that you see for the tyre industry?
The emerging trend in TBR is tubeless tyres. With tough global competition, quality is going to be of paramount importance. The customer is looking for a quality product as well as service. Also, with many new car and truck manufacturers entering the market, the technology will definitely be upgraded and companies that can match the changing times in technology as well as services will lead in the coming days.
Q] How important is the role of research for JK Tyres?
It is huge, because in the original equipment market, it is absolutely necessary to pass all the stringent tests that the original equipment manufacturers ask for. We have something called HASETRI, a product development centre in Faridabad, a centre of excellence in IIT, Chennai and these are the reason why we are so successful in the Indian market.
Q] Tell us about the ‘Jet-racing’ tyres for T1 Prima Racing Trucks and the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship…
JK Tyre actively promotes various disciplines of motorsports in India and has invested over Rs 100 crore towards building its infrastructure. The racing and karting programmes are the breeding ground for the country’s young motorsport talent. ‘Jet-racing’ is the first ever truck racing tyre that we have made in India. It can run at a speed of more than 150kmph. This is going to be very exciting and open up this sport to the public.
CMO FILE
Vikram Malhotra is Vice President-Marketing & Sales, JK Tyre & Industries Limited. He has more than 30 years of experience in the tyre industry, starting his career with Ceat and moving on to Bridgestone, where he played a major role in the launch of car radials in India. He joined JK Tyre to head the Sales & Marketing for Truck/Bus Radials. He heads a 700-strong team in Marketing, Sales & Service, in 130 locations across the country. Malhotra is a postgraduate from Delhi University and holds a diploma in Sales & Marketing.
MARKETING TIP
The closer you remain to your customer, the more effective would be your marketing actions and strategies.
FACTS
CREATIVE AGENCY: CONTRACT ADVERTISING
MEDIA AGENCY: NA
SOCIAL AND DIGITAL MEDIA MARKETING AGENCY: IGNITEE
BTL/ACTIVATION AGENCY: NA
PR AGENCY: GENESIS BURSON-MARSTELLER
Feedback: saloni.dutta@exchange4media.com
