The new Maruti Suzuki’s brezza model got more than 42,000 pre-bookings till the day before to the launch of the vehicle, due to the company’s decision in introducing data driven marketing campaigns that targeted regional zones specifically and customers as well, by reaching out to their preferred languages. Speaking at the Pitch CMO summit which was recently held in Delhi, Maruti Suzuki India senior executive Director Shashank Srivastava encouraged all companies to embrace data-driven marketing that combines data input by customers’ expectations and leave them happy. This decision, made at the Maruti Suzuki company, he comments, has improved product sales vastly.
Maruti Suzuki collects data through a platform that receives customers’ preference and suggestions before compiling them into cohesive information that helps the company better at customer satisfaction. This process, Mr. Srivastava reports, is done through a platform that merges data collected both online and offline through personalised messages, Whatsapp messages and notifications in the app. The feedback from the customer goes a long way in amassing their needs and wants and providing them to the customers. This process, according to Mr. Srivastava, can create a culture of critical thing and curiosity, both in the workplace as well as in the customers’ base, for it encourages the customer to identify what they want and for the companies to cater to the customers’ needs.
This culture, introduced at Maruti Suzuki, along with social listening tools, single view of customer and advanced customer data compilation has allowed the company to flourish, reinforcing their decision to switch to data-centric decision-making process. By analysing customer patterns when they come in to buy something, which involves digital viewing and physical interaction, the company has gained a huge niche, as they learn a lot about their customer and modify the process and strategy to their needs by establishing this ecosystem encompassing data from customers, Maruti Suzuki has also managed to upsell and cross-sell their products as well as elevated customer service. This huge stride in marketing is only the beginning, Mr. Srivastava says, as once data-driven management becomes popular and more streamlined, customer service and satisfaction will move up.
Maruti Suzuki is already making efforts toward their future, by upgrading their Suzuki connect app with safety features and fitting mood sensor as a retails outlet, as well as tying up with first-party data providers such as Facebook. They are also working on a model that uses metadata for better customer targeting and service enhancement. All of this, Mr. Srivastava hopes, would improve customer relation and engagement.
