Cautious Optimism

The year 2020 marks a key milestone for India’s number one auto manufacturer — Maruti Suzuki. Digital became mission critical, data took centre stage, and for Shashank Srivastava, the executive director of marketing and sales at the company “this was the biggest effect of the Covid year”. This is also the reason why Srivastava features among BW Top 50 Marketers 2021.

Data and analytics were put to work not only for marketing metrics, brand salience and consideration but also for predictive modelling and to bring a single view of the consumer. Consolidating all its data intelligence under a ‘customer data platform’, Maruti now has the wherewithal to predict down to the point of whether a customer would buy accessories, would exchange car, or which model or colour would be preferred.

“There were clear changes in consumer behaviour, and we were very conscious of these in our marketing and business decisions,” reflects Srivastava.

He recalls, “For the first time in our history, we had seen a month of zero sales in April last year. There was disquiet because we did not know when it would end. The world was changing rapidly but we were focused.

We had our teams working virtually and we knew that it was a good time to be in touch with our consumers.”

Maruti bounced back as soon as the market showed signs of return but Srivastava states that he is still looking at the year ahead with “cautious optimism”.

Phygitally Fit

As showrooms and offices became off limit, a clear shift in consumer demand was seeking an entirely digital buying process. Maruti’s research indicate that there are 26 touchpoints between when a consumer wants to buy a car to the time of actual purchase. As per Srivastava, Maruti has digitised 24 of these touchpoints.

He explains, “Enquires and business sourcing were at just 3 per cent in 2016, and became 16 per cent at the beginning of 2020, which was about a four-year period. We saw this number changing to 50 per cent in just three Covid months. We stressed on digital not only in managing customer relationship but in all aspects of the company. This is one big reason for the bounce back we experienced. Our actions essentially built trust, and this is new currency for brand differentiation today.”

The touchpoints that are not digital include test drive and final delivery. “Which is why we find the auto sector in the phygital space,” says Srivastava.

The Big Trends

Even as Q3 2020 was the best for the industry ever, on a cumulative basis, the auto sector is about 34-35 per cent off from the peaks of 2017-18. Pent up demand and some basic changes are however contributing to growth.

People are moving to personal transport. Shared mobility and replacement car buying is coming down. Functionality and utility buying is going up. Rural is recovering faster. The average age of buyers is coming down.

“We are conscious of these changes in devising our 2021 strategy,” Srivastava states.