On April 1, 2024, Partho Banerjee succeeded Shashank Srivastava as the Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales at Maruti Suzuki.
In a conversation with Storyboard18, Banerjee said that since assuming the new role, he has been focussing on understanding the customer, and which (communications) mediums work better. “We are majorly focussing on the digital medium and the best way to reach customers. We are also doing data analytics to understand their needs, and how we can make a difference,” he said.
Banerjee added that AI is going to be a game changer not only in the production of the cars, but also in the data analytics part of it.
Edited excerpts:
Could you explain Maruti Suzuki’s marketing playbook? How has your target audience evolved?
Maruti Suzuki has a wonderful product portfolio. In terms of positioning, we are known for fuel efficiency, trust, and value.
With Gen Z, it is crucial for us to focus on personalised communication, and understand the needs of the customer. For example, in our recent CNG campaign, we had a very different sort of communication. We never spoke about mileage nor fuel efficiency. What we spoke of was how the product played an important role in the day-to-day lives of different sets of customers.
We will be focusing more on functional propositions which are important for the customer. These play an important role in the car purchase decision. At the same time, it is equally important that we make them feel that the product is going to play a key role in their lives.
You took over as the Head of Sales and Marketing in April. What marketing plans and objectives have been set for this year?
Today, the most important thing is being able to reach your customer and communicate with them in a more effective manner.
Everyone is trying to reach the customer and there is too much noise. You can cut through the clutter and connect with your customer only if you know exactly who your customer is, what are his habits, what medium he is using.
Hence, I have been focusing on understanding the customer, and which mediums will work better. We are majorly focussing on the digital medium and the best way to reach customers. We are also doing data analytics to understand their needs, and how we can make a difference.
We are going in for experiential events in order to differentiate ourselves. The MS Rock N Road SUV Experiences for our Jimny SUV is getting a very good response from potential consumers.
Could you elaborate on your plans to enter the EV segment by March 2025?
We have already announced that we are going to enter the EV segment. We want to be technology agnostic. We are also present in the CNG space.
One thing is very clear. When we come into the EV segment, we are going to have the largest sales and the service network across the country.
Our primary focus is being able to understand the needs of the customer and making a good connection with them. That’s why we have been the market leader in this country for the last 40 years.
Would you like to highlight the market share of Maruti Suzuki in the SUV segment?
With the launch of the Grand Vitara, Fronx, and Jimny, our share in this segment has increased from 11.5 percent in FY2022 to 20.5 percent at present. But it’s work in progress.
Maruti Suzuki had acquired 6.44 percent stake in the AI startup Amlgo Labs. How would this help the brand?
Amlgo is one of the startups that our new digital enterprise vertical works with. Its flagship programme, Maruti Suzuki Innovation, which provides direction and support to startups in the mobility space, is trying to motivate them to work with us, test their proof of concept.
How crucial is AI and machine learning for the automotive sector?
Wherever we can use AI and automate, it is surely going to help us improve our standards.
I strongly believe that AI is going to be a game changer in times to come, not only in the production of cars, but even in the data analytics part of it.
Today, we have bots which are communicating with our customers. We have two voice bots. They are taking feedback from the customer in their preferred language.
For example, if someone wants to give feedback at 12 midnight, the voice bot will call and take their feedback. If needed, the bot will connect them with our call centre executive to understand the matter in greater detail. This makes it convenient for the customer.
In our showrooms, barring the delivery of the car, everything is digitised.