Q] The festive season is always a great time for the auto industry. We just wrapped up Navratri, Dhanteras, and Diwali. How has the season been for you so far?
In automobiles, since India is a diverse country, the intensity of festivities is different in different parts of the country. It starts with Onam in Kerala on 17th August and ends with Bhai Dooj two days after Diwali, which ended this time on 15th November. This time, we had a long-ish festive period of 89 days compared to the 71 days last year. Although we can’t compare the two, for the first time in the passenger vehicle industry, the festive season clocked 1.1 million in sales. It is almost a 40% growth over last year. Even if you adjust for the extra number of days, the growth is about 17%. Whichever way you look at it, it has been a fantastic season and a fantastic year for the auto industry and passenger vehicles.
Q] Maruti has 226,000 pending bookings, and your SUV, in particular, is in high demand. When there is a gap in demand and supply, advertising is often put on hold. Do you also follow this strategy?
Absolutely not. For us, advertising has many roles. One of them is building up the brand and establishing it in the minds of the consumers. That is our long-term target, and therefore you can’t cut back on that. However, tactical advertising might vary depending on the market situation. I would say this year, the tactical advertising was a little less. Overall, because we have a larger number of brands now (we have introduced four new brands) our spends has been higher than the previous years’.
Q] According to your recent numbers, you have shown better growth in rural areas (12%) compared to urban markets (8%). How has that changed your advertising plan or media mix?
Yes, it has. We noticed this rural phenomenon almost 17-18 years ago. Since 2007, we set up a special cell which started specifically looking at rural sales. Every year since then (except for one year between 2012 and 2013), our rural growth has been higher. The reason is rural incomes, which are rising faster than urban incomes. There’s a lot of push from the government in terms of infrastructure, spending, and accessibility. So generally speaking, we have had some very good runs with the monsoon over the last five or six years, which has fuelled a lot of demand in rural areas. Because of this, the percentage of sales in the industry is gaining ground in rural. It’s around 30-32% of the industry; but for Maruti Suzuki, it’s about 44%. So that’s a large chunk. The media habits of people in rural areas are different from those in urban areas. At the same time, there are a lot of overlaps. So we do have different strategies for reaching out to rural consumers. It’s also how you approach the customers. In rural areas, it’s very important to know the person, hence the communication strategy itself is a bit different from urban areas.
Q] Correct me if I’m wrong, but for other sectors, rural consumption is low this year. There have been complaints that while urban has picked up, rural is still not showing much consumption, especially in FMCG. So how is it different for the automobile sector?
So, two-wheelers just recently started doing well. Also, the last report on FMCG is positive for rural areas. Of course, I know that in the early part of the year, the case was converse. I believe that in the rural segment of the car market, there is a large population whose buying behaviour is not the same as that of the FMCG market consumers. I believe that it is causing divergence in the reporting pattern for sales of cars, FMCG and even two-wheelers.
Q] With the advent of the Digital era, advertising has changed dramatically in the last decade. How has it changed for the auto industry in particular? What are a few things that you are doing differently now compared to, let’s say, a decade ago?
I’m glad you asked this question because it has changed hugely. If you research the car-buying process, there are 26 touch points that a consumer goes through when he buys a car; from the time he thinks about buying a car to the actual delivery. Now, 24 of those touchpoints are digitized. The only ones that are not digitized are the test drives and the actual deliveries.
We have made the buying process friendly to these digitally savvy consumers. Now almost 25% of the retails are through the digital platform. We are running the largest hyperlocal programme in the world in automobiles for the lower end of the funnel. Even at the upper end of the funnel, we are using it for building awareness. So, the mix of media itself has changed. About 27-30% of spends is on the digital front. Financing now is on a digital platform. We are the only company who are doing this in India and it is giving us more than 50% of our retail financing through that platform.
Q] Young marketers are more likely to have a better grip on technology and innovation. What are a few qualities that young marketers are missing out on?
I think it is patience. A brand cannot be created overnight. It is not just about communication or technology. It’s the whole 360-degree that you have to take into account when you build a brand. The strength of youngsters is that they have a more open perspective, because our society is more globalized. Therefore, the exposure is much more now than it was in earlier times. That’s a very big positive. Of course, we can’t forget the basics. In a desire to use technology all the time, young marketers sometimes put the basic objective–fulfilling the actual needs and desires of consumers–at the back. That oversight happens when they are excessively focused on technology. The evergreen advice is that you have to be customer-centric at all times.
Q] In this ever-changing world of marketing and advertising, how do you manage to keep yourself relevant?
First of all, we must realize that things are changing very fast. It is something that many experienced marketers miss out on because they think they have known and seen enough. Be grounded and realize that things are changing. You have to update yourself in terms of tech knowledge, new media vehicles and consumer trends. The more you keep in touch with consumers, the more perspective you build, and that is something which I have always practised. Interact with the younger people because you have a lot to learn from them. They also have a perspective which can be different from yours. So, understanding that is very important. I think that’s how I have been trying to keep myself relevant.
Q] The corporate sector is highly competitive. How do you manage to keep your calm with a constant smile on your face?
I think stress is important in professional life. But you have to cut yourself off from the regular work stress and this has to be done every day. So, it’s not as if you can go on a holiday for a week after two months of heavy stress. You have to somehow release the pressure or stress every day. So, for me what works is walking, generally spending some time with the family and playing chess. And of course, I do keep reading something that is not related to automotive. For me, reading about the origins of the universe is one of my favourite topics. I am interested in poetry so I watch all that on YouTube.
