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CUSTOMERCUSTOMERvHonda WR-V 4 vCredit Card Marketing 6vMarketing to Millennials 10vBlue Star 12vGodrej Appliances 14vPhoenix Market City 25

Vol. No. 5 Issue No. 3

April 2017 Pages 40 `75

Mobile marketing rules BFSI campaigns

3Customer Click April 2017

CUSTOMERCUSTOMER

Demonetization - a Philosophical Analysis

Much has been published about demonetization and corruption, but I haven’t come across a philosophical perspective – hence this analysis from that missing perspective.

There are multiple drivers of corruption – the biggest being greed. Greed applies not only to individuals, but also to states/kings/governments. Greed is a vast topic in itself, but its historical evolution is indeed revealing.

Greed was pretty insignificant before the invention of money. Money accelerated the growth of civilization and gave rise to kings, whose greed rose very quickly. Given the slightest opportunity, a typical king would attack his neighboring kingdom to conquer its territory and plunder its wealth. The common belief in those times was that a king has absolute right to expand his kingdom, just as we believe today that a business owner has every right to grow his business. In contrast to kings, ordinary people were far less greedy, mostly focusing on day-to-day living and trying to ensure a ticket to heaven as per their religious beliefs.

What is the scenario today? Countries no longer undertake wars of conquest and plunder – thankfully that greed is gone. But the frequency with which governments have been booted out in elections only shows the moral nadir to which the state has fallen. The vice of conquest and plunder has been replaced by the vice of corruption.

On the other hand, today’s common man has become far more greedier than his ancestors. Most people are actively pursuing enrichment, and for many, that is the foremost goal in life. This obsession has driven many to cross moral and legal boundaries, leading to crime. The moral standing of the individual has dropped compared to the past, but not dramatically. To recap, the sin of the state is corruption and the sin of the individual is crime.

Now, what is the best tool to understand greed – it is morality. Philosophy poses a very important question: Who is more moral – the state or the individual? The question is important because whoever holds the higher moral ground, holds the moral authority to dictate to the other. A good example is religion, that derives its power from its moral superiority.

For the first time in the history of Homo Sapiens, there is explicitly a morality race between the state and the individual, and the state has recognized that it is losing – it fears the diminishing of its moral authority. I view demonetization as one visibly bold step by the state to catch up in this race. I foresee many such morality booster steps in the days to come. No doubt citizens would welcome such moves, as they did demonetization.

Coming back to the issue of greed, my own research shows that greed results from differences between the emotional mind and the intellectual mind. Greed is a tough, but solvable, problem. In fact, greed is already on the decline. Youngsters today prefer to pursue their passions rather than aim for the highest paying job (me too). Once greed declines, corruption too will decline, giving mankind an opening to tackle other bigger problems.

Editor’s BlogManoj AgrawalMobile : 98673 66111Email : [email protected]

April 2017 - Vol. 5, No 3

Group Publisher : Babu Nair

Group Editor : Manoj Agrawal

Advisory Board : Yogesh Joshi

Editorial Team : Dr Ravi Lalwani

: Mehul Dani

Marketing

Sunny Himmatlal, Zahid Siddique,

Ravi Wadhwa, Arun D’Souza

Events & Operations

Shirish Joshi, Pramod Jadhav,

Stalin Saldhana, Bharat Solanki,

Gautam Magare, Amit Gupta,

Varun Kataria, Durgesh Nadkarni

Design

Somnath Roy Choudhury

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Customer Click April 20174

Product LAunch

Around 65% of the Indian population is below 35 years of age. The young population is

technology advanced and socially active - they want to be different from the crowd. To target the 28-34 age group, Honda has entered in to the crossover SUV segment and has launched the Honda WR-V, an all-new Sporty Lifestyle Vehicle based on its globally successful Jazz platform. WR-V features a sporty and sophisticated exterior design, high quality spacious interiors with advanced equipment, top of the class fuel efficiency, powerful performance and full range of safety features. The company is strengthening its product portfolio by bringing latest technologies for its customers.

Honda has achieved no. 1 customer satisfaction index and initial quality index. It has acquired 380 acres in Gujarat to set up a new assembly line, though its 2 existing plants are running at half the installed capacity of 2.40 lakh units as its sales fell over 25% last year.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT WR-V is the first model developed by Honda R&D India along with Honda R&D, Japan, to match the needs and aspirations of young Indian customers who are looking for status, comfort and have an active lifestyle. The R&D team in India has specifically worked on design & engineering concept suitable for right-hand drive and India-exclusive power trains.

Yoichiro Ueno, President & CEO at Honda Cars India commented on the premium features of the WR-V: “The fast-evolving Indian market has shown strong demand for compact vehicles that are stylish, comfortable and have premium

features. With the launch of the Honda WR-V, we would like to provide joy for recreational usage and comfortable driving for daily use in the city for customers in India. We are confident that WR-V will help us to fortify our premium image in all segments.”

SURVEY & RESULTS The company has done research and survey from customers by doing home visits. In those visits, the company finds out the main problems faced by the Indian customers were parking problems, traffic congestion, water logging, speed breaker and potholes in the roads. The customers also asked for high seating stance and high ground clearance in the car. All these were designed into the WR-V.

Jnaneswar Sen, Sr. Vice President for marketing & sales, speaks on the lifestyle of the target customers: “Our target customers for WR-V are 28-34 years old single DNIK modern urban lifestyle customers. They look for an alternate styling than hatchback/sedan and want their vehicle to stand out from the crowd. They like to engage in recreational activities like paragliding and camping. And interested in short weekend trips to places like Kasauli, Rishikesh and Kufri. So WR-V is the perfect car for them.”

WOWR-V CAMPAIGN The theme of the campaign says: ‘Streets have signs, wheels have directions, one like me have other intentions. Pass the good or the great, on the roads of now. I bet you know it, I am here to wow.’

The company is using 360 media channels to promote the campaign. Jnaneswar Sen added on the media plan adopted by the company: “We have recently rolled out our TVC campaign, it will be broadcasted in all the general entertainment channels and social media channels. We will also be effectively using print media to target our customers.”

The company had launched the teaser campaign in the digital media channels like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter before the launch of WR-V. Honda is also using all the social media channels, as its target customers are socially active.

PRICE & COMPETITION The WR-V will take on top cars in the segment such as Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport and Mahindra KUV100 which are some of the highest selling cars in the segment. The Vitara Brezza, which is the top selling car in the

Home visits help Honda get customer insights for designing the WR-V

Jnaneswar Sen reveals that Honda is giving dealership opportunity to entrepreneurs without dealership experience

WR-V targets lifestyle seeking customers in 28-34 age group


Yoichiro Ueno emphasizes that the WR-V has additional features compare to its competitors

segment, is priced between `7 lakh to `9.7 lakh, which is a bit lower than that of WR-V.

When asked about the reason for the high pricing in comparison with the competition, Ueno said: “Actually this car was developed before those cars appeared in the market. So our R&D didn’t foresee any competition. This car belongs to a different category. Of course, in SIAM it will be classified in the same segment. In terms of pricing, this car has a platform which has some advanced aspects. Its price may be a bit more, but it has a marvelous performance. So I hope our customers understand the difference and will evaluate than just focus on exterior design or features.”

He further went on to explain that the WR-V does not have a base fare like its competitors where customers would need to pay for additional features and that their basic variant model already comes with all the top features.

“If you start comparing entry price to entry price of course there is a difference. But our entry grade feature and strength is very different from the competitors’

spectrum. We have no entry grade level or invitation price grade,” said Sen.

RETAIL EXPANSION The company has 336 dealerships in

224 cities of India. It will cover more tier 3&4 cities of India in search of new customers. The company will open 370 dealerships by FY18. Jnaneswar Sen shared the details about dealer profile: “The new dealer doesn’t need dealership handling experience. We are giving chance to business entrepreneurs to open dealerships. They should have good location to open our showroom, and should meet our dealership criteria.”

UPCOMING CARS FOR INDIA The company has received overwhelming response to new Honda City, the top end variant ZX accounts majority of the bookings, it accounts 40% of the car bookings. When asked which cars from their global portfolio are they looking to now bring to India Yoichiro Ueno, hinted: “The most popular models which we have received inquiries is for the Civic. Our current generation Civic is very successful all over the world. Also HR-V is a popular model among customers. We are assessing whether we can achieve a reasonable price for these models in India.”

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Card Boom

There has been potential rise in the overall credit card business in India with demonetization and cashless

transactions leading to the rise of this business. While demonetization has driven up card usage, there has in fact been a drop in the overall value of credit card transactions. Credit card transactions are seen as a proxy for consumer confidence.

The overall drop in credit card spends has been due to a drop in high-value discretionary spending like purchase of jewelry and consumer durables. This is despite a 30-35% jump in the number of card transactions due to increased usage for daily needs such as groceries. There has also been a sharp drop in EMI sales, which facilitate discretionary purchases, usually of consumer durables.

YES Bank credit cards portfolio saw a very healthy growth in frequency and value of usage post demonetization. The sharp growth in number of transactions indicates a shift towards greater adoption of digital payments especially for low ticket and everyday spends categories. Pralay Mondal, senior group president, Retail and Business Banking at YES Bank, says credit card spends and growth in November and December 2016 over October 2016 was at 20% and 86% respectively. The growth in number of transactions in the same period was 46% and 123%. “We continue to see the growth momentum across all usage parameters for credit cards,” he adds.

RISE IN APPLICATIONSKotak Mahindra Bank is among the newer players in the credit card business in the country. Post demonetization, the bank

saw a rise in the applicants by 22% and new customer applications by 5%. The bank says it continues to register 30% of growth on a monthly basis.

According to Navin Chandani, chief business development officer, BankBazaar.com, the company saw 26% rise in the applications for credit cards in January 2016 as compared to the pre-demonetization months of September and October.”

Says Mondal: “With well-differentiated products, YES Bank has seen a strong growth of 26% in credit card applications in November 2016 and 75% in December 16 over October 2016. This is also indicative of a greater need and acceptance for electronic payment products in the market.”

SALES, MARKETINGBankBazaar.com has recently launched a marketing campaign ‘Finance Mega Mela’ in February 2017 to promote sales of the financial products including credit cards. Chandani said the company is using all the social marketing channels to promote this campaign. The company has released a special YouTube vie and has tied uo with the Akshay Kumar starrer Jolly LLB for this, he adds.

YES Bank has a multi-media, multi-channel strategy to promote sales of its credit cards. New card applications are sourced through the bank’s branches, corporate channels, digital/online campaigns, tele-sales and external partners. In addition, the bank also promotes credit cards through alliance partnership with leading brands from time to time to drive visibility and salience of the products. “Social media is a key channel for promoting our products and offers to the potential and existing customers,” says Mondal.

Kotak Mahindra Bank mainly targets its existing account holders for its credit cards sales. As much as 80-85 % of its credit card holders are its existing account holders. The bank mainly uses email marketing to reach its customers.

FOR CORPORATEAccording to Sumit Bali, senior EVP & head - Personal Assets at the bank, corporate customers are an important base for the bank. “We reach out to them via targete marketing activities,” he says. In the past, the bank has put up stalls in the companies like Wipro, Cognizant, etc to sell the cards

Banks are using multi-channel strategy to promote the sales of the credit cards:

Pralay Mondal focuses on integrated model to deliver multiple products and services to corporate customers

26% rise in new credit card applications


to the corporate employees.The bank also has a co-branded credit

card with popular multiplex chain PVR. YES Bank has an integrated model

to deliver multiple products and services to its corporate customers. The bank has corporate salary and credit cards teams, which work in close tandem to deliver combined value of a salary account and credit card. “Our credit cards are designed to deliver the best in class benefits like choice of 7 product variants across premium lifestyle, rewards and cashback proposition and a powerful rewards proposition with points that never expire. We have industry leading benefits like lowest interest rate of 1.2% per month and lowest foreign currency mark up of 1.75%,” says Mondal.

The bank has also NFC enabled contactless credit cards, premium alliances and offers from Taj Group, BookMyShow, JetPrivilege lounge access in partnership with priority pass and MasterCard golf privileges in partnership with MasterCard for our customers.

NON-METRO CITIES Axis Bank targets smaller centers for its card business and it has seen its business growing in these centers compared to the top 8 cities, mainly fueled by the eCommerce boom. Earlier, the bank had confined tto the 8 top cities but now over half of its growth in this portfolio is coming from smaller cities and towns, which have contributed to 60% of the incremental growth in cards and 50 % of the growth in spends during 2015-16, compared to the previous fiscal. The bank says a large part of the spends is coming from the eCommerce segment.

On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank receives 50% of the business from the metro cities of Mumbai, Delhi and the rest from cities like Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. Bali believes in providing credit card for every account holder in the bank. “We have opened 24 centers in the metro cities. We hope to have 30 million credit card users in the coming months. We have recently introduced fast track option to improve the journey of the credit card transaction,” says he.

YES Bank currently issues credit cards from the top 10 cities - Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Kolkata. In terms of volumes, Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru are the top 3 locations and this is in line with the market demand for credit cards.

SECURITY TRENDSWith demonetization pushing people towards a less cash society, there is a lurking fear about cyber frauds. Credit cardholders with high limits are more worried. Realizing the need to make their elite customers feel secure, some banks have developed apps that allow them to block, unblock or change transaction limit on their cards. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and City Union Bank have their versions of such an app. Cardholders can set geographical limits in a way that a card can be used only in a 5 km or 25 km or even 250 km radius. This eliminates the possibility of money being siphoned off from a distant ATM.

Blocking and unblocking a card using these apps is as easy as switching on or switching off an FM station. City Union Bank, which has implemented this for users, has done so as a counter measure against recurring data breaches in the banking system. Axis Bank is also looking at active prevention of hacking, overseas transactions and fraudulent use of debit cards with their switch-on and switch-off facility.

State Bank of India’s card unit SBI Card is planning to come out with credit cards for anyone who has a `25,000 fixed deposit in any bank. The card will not have any charges and will be available without any proof of income or a credit history. It also plans to issue credit cards to students of top 100 educational institutions in India without any income proof. This coincides with the bank’s plan to install around 5 lakh additional card swipe machines. Besides servicing shops without machines, the bank will launch an app which will enable offline card payments using QR code. Most of the merchants in small cities can accept payments through QR codes. The credit card will reside in the mobile and by scanning the code, the cardholder can make the payment. With interoperable QR acceptance, aggregators are expected to enroll shopkeepers, enabling wider acceptance of cards. The other advantage in getting first-time users into credit cards is that the bank will be able to get a credit history, making it possible to extend personal loans in future.

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Navin Chandani advocates innovative social marketing campaigns to increase sales of credit cards

Sumit Bali reveals that 80-85% of the credit card holders of Kotak Mahindra Bank are its existing account holders


Cover story

Mobile has definitely created disruption in the Indian market. Be it penetration or mobile

data usage, citizens across all strata of the Indian society are increasingly using mobiles. Mobiles are more personal than the other online marketing channels. Mobile provides the platform of marketing innovations through voice calls, SMS, mobile apps, IVRS and other host of services, as designed and suited for the dynamic demographics of the customers.

In tune with the changing trend, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company follows a mobile-first strategy to target its customers. Sourabh Chatterjee, head of IT, Web Sales and Digital Marketing at Bajaj Allianz, reveals the details about the use of mobile marketing activities in the marketing campaigns: “All our campaigns have a mobile element to it. We have optimized our website and landing pages for mobile, and make sure that our marketing efforts lead to fruition by optimizing the customer journey on mobile devices. This has led to an organic change in the traffic trend, where we are seeing almost a reversal in the 70:30 ratio of desktop vs mobile.”

K.R. Bijimon, CGM at Muthoot Finance, says mobile contributes a significantly higher share of the firm’s business than desktop. “We have also observed that over 70% of the response that we get through our internet marketing investments comes via mobile devices. We carry out specific mobile marketing activities like promotions and referral programs via SMS and outbound calls to opt-in consumers.”

TRANSACTION VALUE Over the last 12 months, Universal Sompo General Insurance has seen the growth in number of transactions from digital channel

like web aggregators at the rate of 150% and the growth in average value per transaction at the rate of 28% on annual basis. The statistics shows a great promise for the general insurance company, going forward with digital channels along with the launch of mobile application round the corners.

According to Bijimon, average online transaction has grown by about 192% compared to the last year. The average online transaction in 2015-16 was `2779 and `8106 this year. Bajaj Allianz has not seen changes in the value of transactions owing to the nature of the product. However, the number of transactions via mobile has seen a steady increase.

MOBILE INFRA & SERVICEInsurance companies in India mainly use mobile marketing to offer services through the mobile channel and to broaden their customer base with clients who demand self-service options. At present, Universal Sompo General Insurance is working on developing a mobile infrastructure to complement its products and services to its existing and prospective customers. The company is using it, for selling and renewing policies, claim intimation, locating network hospitals/garage, VAS, etc. The company is also working towards addressing the wellness quotient of a customer through the mobile platform as well by extending wellness experts to interact with customers regarding health, motor, travel and home insurance policies.

Says Rajiv Kumar, MD & CEO, Universal Sompo: “We have already tied up with majority of IRDAI approved web aggregators to offer our retail products online through their websites as well as their respective mobile applications. This partnership has brought benefits for both

existing and prospective customers as well as for us. Firstly, we are able to reach to new segments of customers who are tech savvy and are rightly called ‘Digital Natives’ and secondly the customers now have more power at their fingertips with Universal Sompo General Insurance’s innovative and competitive products in health and motor insurance.”

MOBILE ACTIVE CITIESMetro cities and tier 1 towns account for maximum usage of data enabled mobile services. Other smaller cities are also now slowly showing signs of growing consumption. The millennial generation of the society is the growth enablers of the current time and future generations, which hold the mantle to opt for more dynamic channels apart from the traditional channels. The key reason is that, even though number of mobile internet users in rural India is increasing, mobile marketing is more effective in urban areas. Demonetization has worked as a catalyst in adoption of the digital channel in major way. With various insurers providing incentives to prospective customers for using the digital channels, there seems to be immense potential for growth in insurance distribution through mobile platform.

Bijimon shares his opinion on use of local languages for effective coverage: “Mobile is the medium people use to enquire about our products, understand

As much as 150% growth in online transaction in the Indian BFSI sector inspires banks and insurance companies to focus on mobile marketing:

Mobile marketing rules BFSI campaigns


K R Bijimon emphasis the use of regional language in mobile marketing for effective results

how we can help them better, schedule an appointment with any of our branches and more. Mobile would be the largest enabler for our business, leaving aside branch walk-ins. Metros and tier 1 cities have seen great response on mobile, but as we go hyper personalized and in local languages, we are seeing the effectiveness across all regions.”

POPULAR PRODUCTSAccording to the report by BCG & Google on Digital Insurance in India, there seems to be a huge potential in personal lines of general insurance like motor, health and travel insurance. So, going forward, innovative and simpler products in motor,

health and over the counter products could evolve. Mobile marketing is effective for Muthoot Finance for its gold loan portfolio.

Rajiv Kumar said: “From the market perspective, I feel mobile marketing has made an impeccable breakthrough when it comes to online shopping for apparels, mobile gadgets and accessories. At present, the mobile channel is acting as a good resource for buyers to compare policy quotes. Digital influence is 6 times the digital sales.”

INNOVATIONSMobile technology and consumer behavior

are evolving to the next level, for which Muthoot Finance likes to keep testing and learning from time to time. It has introduced features like ‘click to missed call’ features in the online ads. More recently, it has started looking at hyper customization using data intelligence. Bijimon says about the innovations: “In our business, innovation is meaningful when it benefits our customers, and continuing our efforts in this direction, we came out with a special initiative to help customers during demonetization. This was a hyper localized campaign and it was initiated through mobile.”

Sourabh Chatterjee comments on the use of rich and contextual advertisements:

“We try to leverage different mobile avenues for reaching out to our audiences and engaging them. We’re using ad units like the M-Canvas, where we’re creating rich and contextual advertisements that do not interfere or disrupt the user experience. We’re also leveraging on different forms of app-based ads and units like mobile swing ads, which are interactive and engage users with gestures that are native to mobile.”

UP, DOWN & WAY AHEADStickiness to any channel, be it mobile or internet, solely depends upon the seamless

and uncluttered interface provided to customers. The consumer and media landscape have come far from that stage where stickiness to mobile would have been a thing. The companies don’t feel that there will be decline in the mobile transactions. It is critical to present information in transparent process and acknowledge and secure the inputs received on any channel for instilling trust.

Overall the Indian industry is seeing unprecedented growth in number of transactions through mobile channel and this comes on the backdrop of ease of access and level of customization followed by cost effectiveness of the mobile channel.

With estimated 340 million smartphones user in India by the end of 2017, there will be staggering growth in the adaptation of mobile platform to buy finance and insurance products. Chatterjee explains the need for entire customer service to be specifically optimized for mobile users: “Overall, we are seeing a lot of repeat visitors through mobile channel. Average session duration on mobile have increased while the bounce rate has seen a decrease. However, in order to achieve this, it is necessary that your entire user journey is optimized specifically for mobile users.”

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Rajiv Kumar reveals mobile channel as a good resource for buyers to compare policy quotes

Saurabh Chatterjee gives importance to use of ad units like the M-Canvas, that do not disrupt the user experience


Marketing to Millennials

Millennials think differently because they are different - especially when it comes to

online behavior. While some traits are clearly the same among certain age groups over centuries, millennials react differently to trigger points because of the way they grew, full of technology and social media. They connect dots in different ways because some things are intuitive to them, that are not intuitive to anyone else.

India’s millennial population is estimated to be 440 million, the largest in the world. As per a Morgan Stanley report, millennials are expected to drive internet growth - especially online transactions, in the coming years.

The digital marketing landscape has been constantly evolving primarily led by an insatiable appetite of millennials for digital content. Nearly every marketer today is making millennials a priority or at least working to understand what drives and engages this influential group. It is not just because they are the largest generation by population size, but also because they are more digitally connected than any other generation before them and their spending power is quite high.

MILLENIALS ARE INFLUENCERSSpain Tourism board in India uses Facebook and Twitter platforms to connect with the millennials. The tourism board also sends regular updates, so that the content-driven millennial segment is aware about the best tourist offerings of Spain.

Ignacio Ducasse Gutierrez, Tourism Counselor, Embassy of Spain in India and Director, Tourism Office of Spain

in India, shares the details of the joint marketing campaign: “In 2016, we had carried out a joint marketing campaign with one of the most popular online travel agency portals in India. We believe that millennials purchase travel packages, they mainly using online travel portals to book packages, rather than visiting travel agency office.”

Spain Tourism had arranged a FAM trip for the bloggers to write about Spain, and these helped to target the millennials. Millennials are the influential travelers and take decisions for their upcoming travels based on travel experiences and suggestions shared by their peers,

friends and influential travelers and bloggers. “Overall our connection with the millennials has been consistent, relevant and engaging and we look forward to disseminating more and more information and updates about Spain through our press releases, electronic newsletters, online campaigns and social media platform,” averred Ignacio.

Thane based Viviana Mall caters to customers belonging to various demography, and millennials form a major part of its regular customers. Millennials act as a key influencer for the mall since they are more likely to share their experience and views with their social groups and they are hyperactive on social media. The varying preferences of millennials have always been a challenging task for the mall. So it has devised its marketing programs in a manner, that helped them to reach the influencer community and encourage their participation to create formal as well informal point of connecting between them.

Rima Pradhan, Sr. Vice President for marketing at Viviana Mall delved into marketing strategy: “Marketing to millennials is a constant learning process for our marketing team. At the same time, this particular segment of customers is pressed for time and look for options that can help them multitask. A simple example is that they not only look at malls as a shopping destination but they also look it as a destination to meet their friends to enjoy, relax and rejuvenate. Our marketing programs are planned in order to address their varied choices and now even they recognize us as a community center that caters to their diversified preferences.”

Companies in India are customizing the message and the medium to reach out to millennials

Ignacio Ducasse Gutierrez advocates multi-platform strategy to reach millennials

Wooing the 440 million strong community


Rima Pradhan reveals that millennials act as a key influencer for the mall

SPECIAL PRODUCTSPersonal computer and printer maker HP wants to tap the increasing millennial population in India to boost growth in the newly introduced gaming PC segment. The American computer maker has focused on enterprise, government organizations and consumer segments so far. The increasing demand for quality gaming devices among Indians within the age of 35 has prompted the company to fill the gap in the gaming segment. The company has products across different segments of enterprise, governments, small and medium business and consumer markets. HP felt the gap in the gaming segment, so the company decided to enter into the gaming segment as Indian gaming market is maturing with a huge millennial population. Finally it launched ‘Omen’ range of notebooks and desktop, priced between `80,000 and `1.40 lakh to foray into the gaming devices market in India.

DIGITAL – AN OPPORTUNITY & A CHALLENGEMillennials are the only generation that spends more time consuming digital media than traditional formats like TV or print. What’s more, nearly 70% of millennials are influenced by the posts of friends on social networking sites when it comes to making purchase decisions. Considering this, and their natural inclination to share content, content marketing emerges an especially effective way to reach this coveted demographic.

Content marketing is about telling a story that resonates with your audience and finding a relevant channel to deliver it. While that may sound simple, it really isn’t. From the time of direct mails to whitepapers and webinars, brands have been doing just that. What makes it

suddenly so challenging? Well, that’s because in its new avatar the sheer scale and speed at which brands need to engage with their audiences is mind-boggling. Content marketing has come of age and now we are seeing a new wave which features more explicit, high performance, content to directly engage consumers.

Millennials form a very important market segment for the Spain tourism. Ignacio commented on the digital channels to target millennials travelers from India: “Since millennials consume most of the content online, our marketing mix in the last 2 years has always been comprised of offline and online campaigns. Our multi-platform strategy had worked very well during our marketing campaigns in 2016 to promote Spain as a friendly and welcoming destination among the Indian travelers. We are promoting products that appeal to millennials such as fly & drive, night life, gastronomy, shopping, active and adventure sports.”

GO SOCIALWhile different media influencers have proven to be successful, television continues to be the channel that has the most influence over millennials. Television has 70% more influence than other advertising channels, but social media comes to a close second, influencing more than 60% of millennials. So TV and social media have emerged as the top channels to reach out to the millennials.

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Variety of perfomances at Viviana Mall


expanding market presence

Dr. Ravi Lalwani: What is Blue Star’s share

in the overall AC market in India?

B Thiagarajan: Blue Star continues to grow around 30% in the current financial year which is faster than the industry growth, and currently assumes a market share of 11.5%. We intend to continue our aggressive thrust in the room air conditioners market, aiming to gain a market share of 12.5% in FY18.

In which manufacturing facilities you are

manufacturing your ACs?

Our room air conditioners are currently manufactured in our 2 factories in Himachal Pradesh. During the year, we procured land in Samba in Jammu and Sri City in Andhra Pradesh. The ground-breaking ceremony for the Jammu facility was held in August 2016, and the company has commenced construction of the factory.

Share details of your R&D facility for ACs?

We have world-class, AHRI-certified R&D facility which develops products of international standards that are best-in-class in the industry. Two psychometric labs for air conditioners have received accreditation from National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). With enhanced capability in reliability and electronics, it has a strong foundation for digital and smart products. The company has developed in-house capabilities to test and certify safety compliance of its products. The R&D function continues to have an approved status from Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR).

The robust engineering knowledge of the Blue Star teams facilitates the company to have a deep understanding of varying Indian climatic conditions and unique requirements of the Indian consumer.

From which Indian cities do you get a

majority of your business for ACs?

We get majority of our business from South Indian cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, etc. While Delhi, NCR and parts of UP and Bihar are the weak markets for us, we are doing our network expansion in these markets, by opening our retail outlets.

What are strategies to tap the tier-2, tier-3

and rural markets?

We get majority of our business from tier 2&3 cities of India - the company is having focus strategies to tap these markets. There are strong indications of a severe summer in 2017 and demands in tier 3, 4 & 5 towns continue to be good. Around 52% of Blue Star’s room air conditioner sales are from smaller towns since consumers in these markets are aspirational and prefer premium brands. Many customers are first-time buyers and are availing easy finance options in a big way. Post demonetization, the market is getting used to new methods of electronic payment systems.

Share the details about your export

market for ACs?

We mainly export our air-conditioners to all the Gulf countries except Iran and Iraq. In Asia, we export to countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Share the details of the after sales

initiatives adopted by your company?

Blue Star continues to be the largest after-sales air conditioning service provider in the country. All our services are ISO 9001-2008 certified. Currently, there are 400 expert service associates, which will be increased to 500 associates across locations in FY18. As part of our Gold Standard Service Programme, we offer superior after-sales service with the use of several customized smart applications, modernization of tools and tackles as well as remote monitoring, besides others. We have also introduced an app for providing better customer service to our customers.

In a tête-à-tête with Dr. Ravi Lalwani, B Thiagarajan, Joint Managing Director, Blue Star Limited shares the details about the strong and weak markets of the company, marketing, customer service initiatives, etc. Edited excerpts:

B Thiagarajan says Blue Star gets most of its business from southern states and is opening retail outlets in northern states

Blue Star to invest `45 cr on branding


Which retail initiatives you have taken to

promote the sales of ACs?

Blue Star’s room air conditioners will be available at 4000 outlets in 500 locations spread across the length and breadth of the country, wide exclusive as well as multi-brand sales outlets, service dealers, retail showrooms and modern trade. The company has a strong installation and service franchise network to support the retailers. Presently, Blue Star has 85 exclusive product stores in the country, and plans to increase it to 100 stores by the end of FY17. The brand offers 0% finance with attractive EMI options, tie-ups with leading banks and finance firms. Over 25% sales are through such easy finance options.

Which media/marketing channels you are

using to promote the sales of ACs?

In terms of advertising and brand communication, we have plans to invest about `45 crores in the forthcoming summer season as against `40 crores in FY17, with a set of TV commercials supported by ads in mainline dailies, cinema and hoardings. We will also advertise in the coming IPL season.

We also intend to enhance our digital

marketing efforts in social media as well as the internet, considering that most Blue Star buyers belong to the highest socio-economic category (SEC A), who are active on the internet. The differentiated value proposition ‘Nobody cools better’ has resonated well with the residential audience, and will continue to leverage Blue Star’s superior expertise in cooling.

Blue Star has been persistent with its strategy of integrated marketing communication comprising mass media, field promotions, digital platforms, press, events and social media, apart from one-to-one marketing which has helped fortify its brand equity amongst customers and consumers.”

[email protected]

Blue Star inverter split AC models

As per an AV Buyer industry report, the most robust market for business aircraft sales in 2015 is the United States. The US market has registered consistent

growth at not just the regional level, but also, the national level. Transaction volumes and flight cycles in FAA-controlled airspace are both up yoy, in line with forecasted growth in real GDP in 2015 of 3.2%. US business jet cycles have increased by about 4% yoy, in sharp contrast with Europe, where flights have slipped by 5% in 1Q 2015 yoy (dragged down by weak EU economic performance and a 35% drop in flight activity to and from the CIS region). According to JETNET, as of March 2015, the number of wholly-owned, in-operation aircrafts in North America stood at 12,613, accounting for 68% of the world fleet of business jets, while in South America, there were 1416 aircrafts in operation, constituting 8% of the global fleet business. FAA predicts that active business jet fleet is expected to experience strong growth over the next 2 decades. The forecast calls for robust growth in the long-term outlook, driven by higher corporate profits and the growth of worldwide GDP, though at rates slightly lower than those predicted in 2014.

US most robust market for business aircraft sales in 2015

ReseaRch news - aIRcRaFT


home appliances

Are green products the new emerging categor y among appliance manufacturers? Green products

are getting popular among the customers, more so in the appliances market in India. Appliances manufacturers foresee good demand for the green products in the coming years, and are launching new products to meet the rising demand. The leading appliances manufacturer of India Godrej has recently launched green inverter air conditioner with 5.8 ISEER under its premium sub-brand NXW. The new air-conditioner priced in the 55,000-66,000 range, is mainly targeted at the premium and energy conscious customers.

Commenting on the launch, Kamal Nandi, Exec VP at Godrej Appliances, said: “The overall industry is growing by 20%, and we are growing by 33%. We get majority of our business from refrigerator followed by air-conditioner and washing machine. The air conditioner market will

propel in the coming months due to rise in temperature. We are creating a culture of strategic and innovative thinking across the organization and coming up with thoughtful innovations. The new Godrej NXW AC is a leap in that direction.”

TOP MARKETS & EXCLUSIVE STORES After having doubled their investment in the brand as compared to last year, Godrej Appliances plans to strengthen its position further and capture a market share of 20% in the 5-star and inverter AC segment by the year 2018. Prasoon Kumar, National Sales Head, Godrej Appliances shares some details about the top markets: “Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore are the top market for the air-conditioner for us. We have opened our exclusive stores in tier 1&2 and rural areas of the country to sell our premium products. Currently we are having 70 exclusive stores in India, we

A home appliances manufacturer unveils new brand philosophy & campaign to promote green air-conditioners:

Kamal Nandi focuses on creating a culture of strategic and innovative thinking across the product lines

‘Differentiation has historically come from just one thing – innovation’

home appliances


Prasoon Kumar shares that the company will open 200 exclusive stores in the coming months

will be expanding it to 200 stores in the coming months.”

The company also exports its air-conditioner in Sri-Lanka and Bangladesh. It receives 95% of the business from stores and 5% from online channels like Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal.

NEW COMMUNICATIONS STREATGYGodrej Appliances has also unveiled its brand philosophy ‘Soch ke banaya hai’, that fuels the brand’s new communication strategy. Among the insights thrown up by the consumer research, the key insight was that when it comes to air conditioners, consumers worry the most because these are power guzzling appliances that hugely contribute to high electricity bills. So the thought of building an AC that consumers can use without worrying about electricity bills.

Kamal Nandi explained the new communication strategy: “For a brand’s success, it is imperative that it differentiates itself by focusing on things that truly matter to the consumer. In the home appliances category, differentiation has historically come from just one thing - innovation. We realized that in a marketplace where brands have consistently been talking about innovation, our innovation needs to stand out by being in a far more relevant context. Most brand communication is full of blueprint diagrams and the internal mechanics of appliances adding to jargon and complexity, with the aim of evolving consumption by communicating non-core

benefits of the appliances and associating with newer consumer experiences, while the core consumer motivations for buying an appliance have not really changed. We realized that our communication needs to highlight how our innovation is truly differentiated in the category because it is thought through, with an insight and a meaning. So that we can confidently say for our innovations ‘Soch ke banaya hai.’”

THEME BEHIND THE COMMERCIALS Godrej has launched new commercials

based on the insight ‘give the Einstein in yourself a rest by using Godrej NXW AC’. These commercials have been conceptualized by Creativeland Asia.

The first TVC titled ‘Brunch’ shows a family seeing off their guests after a brunch get-together. Once the guests leave, the father asks the children to switch off the AC. When the children protest, the father starts to reason why he is asking them to turn off the AC, turning into an Einstein. But once they have installed Godrej NXW AC, the father quits worrying about the AC.

The second TVC called ‘Dinner’ is about a family discussing about installing an AC in the hall during dinner. When all the family members say that they need an AC in the hall as well, the head of the family starts explaining why it might not be a feasible idea, thus turning him into an Einstein in the eyes of his family. But the situation changes once the family installs Godrej NXW AC and the patriarch even jokes about installing an AC in the bathroom.

The third TVC is called Yoga and is about a mother who is admonishing her children for not closing the door when the AC is running. When the children ask why they need to close the door, the mother starts talking about air-flow and promptly turns into an Einstein. Once the family installs Godrej NXW AC, the situation reverses where when the father complains about the children leaving the door open while the AC is running the mother brushes it off as things that children will do.

[email protected]

In a tete a tete with Manoj Agrawal, Group Editor, Glocal Infomart Pvt, Ajay Kumar, Regional MD-APAC, Entrust Datacard, shares his views about the market opportunities, expansions and future invocations in technology in BFSI sector.


Phoenix Marketcity

Retail-tainment is not new to the malls in India. The concept of shopping with entertainment

originated in the US at properties like Mall of America. Going by its definition, retail-tainment is a commercially-designed experience intended to combine entertainment and retailing. Owing to busy lives, people look for all-inclusive options where they can enjoy a good meal, a movie or a theatre performance and then indulge in some spur-of-the-moment shopping under the same roof. It is rapidly catching on in India with multiplexes and shopping malls revamping their strategies to attract and please customers.

No mall today can stand tall with nothing but a bouquet of shopping options. Shopping, food and entertainment go hand-in-hand and perhaps that is making even traditional malls adapt and offer the best from all three worlds. Entertainment centers, entertainment and destination venues, once of little significance to shopping centers and malls, are now growing in importance as essential parts of the mix in order to attract today’s consumer. Malls and lifestyle centers now offer a fun and a social experience. Today, shopping centers are in the out-of-home entertainment and dining business as much as they are in the retail business.

Gajendra Singh Rathore, Center Director Phoenix Marketcity commented: “Retail-tainment is the next big thing for the shopping malls in India, and we organize a variety of retail-tainment activities to attract the visitors to our mall.”

FESTIVAL SEASON FOOTFALLSPhoenix Marketcity receives 60,000 footfalls in a day and 1-1.5 lakh footfalls during a weekend and festivals. On demonetization and its effect on the mall, Gajendra Singh said: “Demonetization has had a minimal effect on footfalls. There has been a 30% rise in the footfalls in this festival season compared to last year. The mall gets most its visitors from different areas of the city like Whitefield Road, Indiranagar, Jayanagar and JP Nagar, among others.”

The mall is on the verge of many new brands coming in. “Recently, brands like GAP, GAS, Jack and Jones have opened their retail outlets in the mall. In the coming months, there will be 17-18 new

brands opening their stores in the mall,” said Gajendra.

UNIQUE MARKETINGPhoenix Marketcity organizes special events for its high-spending customers and has introduced cross-promotional offers for them. The mall uses surveys, opinion polls and has tie-ups with third-party companies to collect customer insights. It has organized unique campaigns like ‘Share Your Ride’ to create awareness about the importance of car-pooling. Artisan Bazaar, a flea market for artistes, designers and handicraftsmen, is hosted by Flea 080, a Bangalore-based community that organizes themed flea markets. The mall also had organized a 44-day shopping extravaganza ‘Shop and Win’, where the customers stand a chance to win exciting prizes just by shopping.

Phoenix Marketcity in association with Ramana Boxing Club hosted Ultimate Boxing Championship 2016, for the first time in India. Boxers from Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Andhra Pradesh and home team, Bangalore, battled in the first season for the prestigious Universal Boxing Championship title for which these boxers underwent extensive training.

Gajendra added: “We believe in providing 360-degree entertainment experience to our customers in which we organize musical programs, standup comedy, literature festival, etc. Artists like Sonu Nigam, Mika Singh, Mohit Chauhan, Farhan Akhtar, Pankaj Udhas and international bands like The Eagles have performed at our mall.”

[email protected]

Comedy shows, gazal programs, celebrity chefs and rock concerts lure shoppers to this mall:

Gajendra Singh Rathore believes in providing 3600 entertainment experience to the mall’s customers

Retail-tainment is the new norm

Phoenix Marketcity

ReseaRch news - TuRkish aiRlines


Panasonic NEWS

Panasonic has opened a 4K Pro Experience center in India, in Connaught Place in

New Delhi. It is spread across 850 sq. ft. The company aims to promote 4K and 6K

photo technology to customers. It will also act as a platform for customers to reach out

to specialized technical staff for the queries on camera operations and other operational

issues. It will also offer customers the chance to experience the entire range of products

and services.

Panasonic Pro Center for Video and Still Photography is a one-stop solution for Wedding,

Documentary, Fashion, Candid, Advertising photographers, Broadcast videographers and

amateurs in video and photography. For in-depth understanding in this field, hands-on

training workshops will be conducted at the store for camera professionals and amateurs

on fortnightly basis. Customers will be able to experience an entire range of innovative products and services that the company has recently

launched and will be offering at the store in 2017. The school will have space for shooting and displaying videos. It will offer 3 side display for

products dedicated to each category. The entire 4K camera and camcorder range will be made available at the all-new store.

Panasonic opens 4K Pro Experience Center in India

Panasonic launches waterproof earphones at `8999

Panasonic has launched a new Bluetooth earphones in India called the RP-BTS50. Priced at `8,999, the new headphones

offer waterproofing as well as safety lighting. Panasonic also says that the headphones can last for up to 70 minutes with a 15-minute charge. Panasonic India today announced the launch of its new Bluetooth sports earphones - RP- BTS50. The all new power-packed RP-BTS50 marries together uncompromising sound quality and portability with an aesthetic design, waterproofing technology and safety lighting.

The model is specially designed to be the perfect training partner for individuals whether they are working out at a gym, cycling or running. The earphones have a round-the-ear 3D-Flex Hanger which is a perfect facilitator for exercising and can be freely bent, providing a comfortable and optimal fit whilst not inhibiting your quest to burn calories. The BTS-50 also comes equipped with a Bluetooth function that eliminates cable hassles.

Panasonic India has launched a digital campaign #NazariyaBadlo on the occasion of National Girl

Child Day as a tribute to Indian women. Conceptualized by Sociowash, the film showcases how women are brought up in the Indian society right from the beginning of their life journey. The video portrays the different stages of a girl’s life and the later part of the TVC shows how the same protagonist is living her dream by overcoming all the stereotypes that exist in the society. The campaign urges people to question the way a girl is raised from the beginning. The whole idea behind the campaign is to bring light the issue of women being perceived differently by the society. National Girl Child Day is celebrated to increase awareness on all the inequalities faced by the girl child in the society.

Panasonic launched campaign on National Girl Child Day



Domain name

State Bank of India has a new web address - bank.sbi. It is part of the bank’s efforts in rebranding its

corporate website. What is unique about this url is that it is the highest domain protocol, called generic Top Level Domain, or gTLD. This protocol allows an organization to use its corporate name - in this case sbi - as the .extension and the website’s top level identifier rather than the usual .com or .co.in. The bank is the first financial services institution in India to use a gTLD as its web address. Besides, the branding, the domain is expected to provide enhanced security as well to its customers.

The bank said its own gTLD is aimed at simplifying the digital experience of customers and brings in enhanced security against phishing and lookalike websites. A gTLD site is non-replicable and the extension conveys an assurance to the customer that the site is authorized, genuine and is not an inappropriate or phishing site.

SECURITYArundhati Bhattacharya, chairman of the bank, said the bank has always been a pioneer in adapting new technology and it has always believed in providing high-tech yet secure internet experience to its customers. Adopting gTLD is another step in this direction, she added. The bank now intends to convert all its internet presence into gTLD.

DOMAIN NAMESWhat are the intricacies in domain name registrations? The original top level domains were .com (administered by Verisign), .org. (by Public Interest Registry), .net (by Verisign), .int (by Internet Assigned Numbers Authority), .edu (by Educause via Verisign), .gov (by General Services Administration via Verisign) and .mil which is US military. In addition, there are country specific code top-level

domains, like .in, .ae, .fr, etc. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number (ICANN), which is a Los Angeles-based non-profit group that oversees the distribution of domain names, had in 2000, approved 7 gTLDs - .biz, restricted to businesses; .info, open to anyone; .name, for personal registrations; .pro, for licensed professionals such as lawyers, doctors and accountants; .aero, for anything related to air transport; .museum, for museums; and .coop, for cooperative businesses such as credit unions. It had also approved several organizations to register domain names for individuals and businesses.

2 CATEGORIESIn fact, generic TLDs are in two categories: sponsored and non-sponsored. To obtain an internet address with a sponsored TLD, certain requirements must be fulfilled. These conditions are determined by the sponsors (companies or organizations) that are also responsible for monitoring guidelines and general management of their TLD. Some examples of sponsored domain extensions are .gov (for US government institutions), .int (for international organizations), and .jobs (for company job offers). The non-sponsored TLDs, on the other hand, are monitored and managed centrally. ICANN is primarily responsible for these and works together with various partners. When the first non-sponsored TLDs were introduced, it was originally planned for them only to be purchased under certain conditions. Like sponsored gTLDs, they should denote a clear frame of reference for websites: .com was initially only available for companies, .net was intended for internet service providers, and .pro for professional use in various occupations. These plans, however, were gradually dropped and now almost every non-sponsored gTLD is available for individuals, businesses, organizations, etc. to use.

BENEFITSInternet experts say one of the major attractions of the new gTLDs is their potential for branding purposes. The new domains are no doubt a differentiator, which can quickly and simply associate a company with a particular location, subject or aspiration. Another aspect is the boost the gTLDs could give to search rankings and web traffic. Thirdly, enterprises obtaining gTLDs can prevent others from getting them. However, the cybersquatters can still choose to hi-jack the domain of a brand either to tarnish its image or sell it back to them at a price.

Is acquiring a new gTLD the same as acquiring a domain name? ICANN has an interesting explanation: It says on its website: “No. Nowadays, organizations and individuals around the world can register second-level and, in some cases, third-level domain names. (In a url, such as maps.google.com, ‘google’ is a second-level name and ‘maps’ is a third-level domain.) They simply need to find an accredited registrar, comply with the registrant terms and conditions and pay registration and renewal fees. The application for a new gTLD is a much more complex process. An applicant for a new gTLD is, in fact, applying to create and operate a registry business supporting the internet’s domain name system. This involves a number of significant responsibilities, as the operator of a new gTLD is running a piece of visible internet infrastructure.”

N. Mohan

bank.sbi is the new address for State Bank of India on the web. It has acquired this highest domain protocol, called generic Top Level Domain, or gTLD recently and became the first bank in the country to have such a web address

SBI gets a new web address

ReseaRch news - TuRkish aiRlines


Harley-Davidson NEWSHarley-Davidson celebrates 5 Year in India

Customer Click November 201628

Harley-Davidson launches Roadster

Harley-Davidson has updated their entire product range for India with 2017 models along with the addition of all-new Roadster and Road Glidemodels. The entire touring range

and the top-of-the-line CVO Limited gets the new Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin engines. Also, all the 2017 H-D motorcycles come equipped with ABS as standard fitment. With the new updates, all models receive a slight hike in prices as well.

The newly launched Roadster has been priced at `9.7 lakh while the Road Glide Special has been priced at `32.81 lakh (both ex-showroom, Delhi). Harley-Davidson had first introduced the Roadster, which is based on the popular Forty-Eight model, in April. The Roadster follows a sporty theme with wide handlebars and slightly rear-set foot pegs. It comes with chopped fenders accentuating the minimalistic design approach adapted by the American bike maker. The motorcycle is powered by the same 1200cc Evolution V-Twin motor that also does duty in the Forty-Eight. On the equipment front, it gets upside down forks at the front, dual disc brakes and larger wheels. Another model added to the line-up is the 2017 Road Glide Special. The bike is powered by a new 1753cc V-twin motor, again from the Milwaukee-Eight line-up. The 2017 Road Glide comes with keyless ignition and adjustable suspension. It also features a Jukebox and a USB port to connect audio devices.

Harley-Davidson opens merchandise store at Mumbai Airport

Harley-Davidson opens merchandise store at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2, selling a range of the American motorcycle brand’s merchandise. The

500 sq ft store/showroom called Mach-1 is designed with an industrial look, open ceiling, grey walls and box compartments. The Harley-Davidson range includes riding jackets, boots, helmets, t-shirts, caps, gloves, sunglasses, sweaters and other merchandise and accessories. Mach-1 is the brand’s first Alternate Retail Outlet (ARO) in the Asia Pacific region. Unlike downtown stores and showrooms, it does not feature motorcycles but focuses on the brand’s extensive merchandise range. The launch of this merchandise-only store will serve as an extension to the cult lifestyle that millions of brand enthusiasts have embraced from around the world.

Harley-Davidson has launched its second dealership in New Delhi - Red Fort Harley-

Davidson. The new dealership, the 25th Harley-Davidson dealership in India, is spread over 21,000 square feet in West Delhi’s Mayapuri locality. With an exclusive lounge for H.O.G. members, a rooftop café, a ride in café, gaming zone, DJ lounge, lockers and showers, Red Fort Harley-Davidson has been designed to deliver personal personalized experiences to Harley owners. The newest Harley-Davidson dealership will offer all 13 models in the Harley-Davidson India line-up, in addition to a wide range of parts and accessories to customize motorcycles and authentic Harley-Davidson merchandise. Over the past year, Harley-Davidson has opened dealerships and merchandise stores in various cities including Coimbatore, Ludhiana, Mumbai Airport and Guwahati.

Harley-Davidson opens second dealership In Delhi

The iconic American motorcycle manufacturer celebrated 5 years of Harley Owners Group

or H.O.G India chapter in India with more than 3000 H.O.G. members gathering at the

event. The celebrations was held in Goa from 16th February till 18th February, 2017 and

included a long list of activities, performances and award distribution ceremonies. The H.O.G

India chapter was formed in 2012 and has over 12,000 active members at present with 26

regional chapters. Harley-Davidson put in place a string of activities at the 5th anniversary

H.O.G. celebrations including the Custom Champion Contest, live band performance, stand-up

comedy, chapter of the year awards and so on. Internationally, the Harley Owners Group was

formed 33 years ago and till date has almost 1 million members and more than 1400 chapters

in 140 countries. In India, the H.O.G. boasts of ownership of over 12,000 members.


Managing Wealth

Karvy Private Wealth has been able to witness growth in traditional assets like mutual funds and portfolio

management services (PMS) in recent times. It witnessed considerable AUM growth of more than 50% in mutual fund assets and PMS assets. In previous years, it was alternative investments which formed majority of the pie. Abhijit Bhave, CEO, says: “We have been able to get higher allocation from our clients’ portfolio - more than any previous year on account of superior returns which our customers have made. This has deepened relationships and our clients are willing to look at increasing our wallet share in their overall allocation.”

ExposurE in BanksIndia is a consumption driven growing economy and banking sector works as a catalyst for overall growth. Bhave shares details of exposure to BFSI: “The exposure of the funds in banks has been in the range of 21-30% and for private banks it is in the range of 13-18%, while that to PSU banks ranges between 2-12% and balance in NBFCs/HFCs. The exposure to insurance stocks is negligible. Further with enhanced deposits one can expect cheaper loans and a boost to both home loans and overall credit growth. However remaining months in the financial year might witness volatility on account of budget and other international factors.”

Banks to outpErform In any growing economy banking plays a very important role. Indian banking sector has sailed through overall bad loan crises. In the current virtuous cycle is poised for credit growth as the capacity utilization will pick up on the back of high consumption demand. Bhave predicts: “With medium to long term perspective, we can expect banking sector to outperform. Hence we believe that higher exposure to banking sector will help the MFs deliver superior returns.”

rEtail partiCipation Retail participation has been the strongest

in FY 2016-17 and MF industry has added 70 lakh fresh folios. Retail investors have preferred SIP route and it has led to swelling of MF AUM. This has helped counter balance FPI outflows.

inCrEasing pEnEtrationAcquiring assets from smaller towns is yet a difficult task. Bhave speaks about major hindrances: “It is due to low knowledge/awareness levels and lack of proper advisory coupled with high reach out cost. Focus on online MF platforms can help increase participation and penetration in smaller towns.”

markEting & promotion Karvy Private Wealth does undertake some branding initiatives on both digital media as well as print media. Besides superior client experience, a wide bouquet of investment products meeting a variety of customer needs coupled with knowledge leadership initiatives like its annual India Wealth Report and other research reports serve as effective marketing tools. Bhave claims: “Our clients are our biggest brand ambassadors. We do not need direct above the line marketing in the high-end segment that we operate in.”

tEChnology, an EnaBlEr Technology is making the process of investments easy and fast. Bhave believes: “In the long run technology will be key enabler and strong platform, which will increase retail participation with easier and faster access. Robo advisory is another interesting area which may lead to a paradigm shift in Indian wealth management, especially with the younger clientele.”

intEgratEd CrmKarvy Private Wealth has a customer relationship management (CRM) system which integrates lead generation with customer acquisition and management. It records all conversation and meetings. Bhave states: “It is also well integrated to existing client portfolios and helps wealth managers manage their relationships. Further there is continuity of relationship in smooth manner if there is a change in relationship manager or wealth advisor because of various reasons.”

analytiCs dEploymEnt Karvy Private Wealth has gained by deploying analytics to increase business. Bhave feels: “We have been able to identify client needs and effectively match them with our product suite on the basis of the clients’ risk profile and ability to invest. Further it has helped in effective liquidity management and identifying cross sell opportunities.”

long tErm outlook Bhave holds the strategic medium to long term outlook for wealth management industry in general and for Karvy Private Wealth in particular: “We believe that in the next decade India will witness a very high growth in HNI segment and will surpass a lot of major markets. There are studies which suggest a very strong growth in UHNI segment and this makes it all the more exciting. We at Karvy have very ambitious medium term and long term plan to invest heavily in this business, and we aspire to become the best and biggest in the wealth industry.”

Mehul Dani

Karvy Private Wealth deploys analytics along with CRM

Integrated CRM helps Karvy smoothen customer relationships

abhijit Bhave outlines the salient aspects of CRM which is well integrated into the existing client portfolios

RESEARCH nEwS - HAPPInESS


Norway tops the global happiness rankings in 2017, according to the World Happiness Report 2017, brought out by the Sustainable Development

Solutions Network at the instance of the United Nations. The country was placed 4th in 2016. Norway is followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland. The report says these 4 countries rank highly on all the main factors found to support happiness: caring, freedom, generosity, honesty, health, income and good governance. Norway is often mentioned as being able to achieve and maintain its high happiness not because of its oil wealth, but in spite of it. By choosing to produce its oil slowly and investing the proceeds for the future rather than spending them in the present, the country has insulated itself from the boom and bust cycle of many other oil-rich economies. To do this successfully requires high levels of mutual trust, shared purpose, generosity and good governance, all

factors that helped to keep Norway and other top countries where they are in the happiness rankings. The report places Finland in the 5thplace, followed by the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and Sweden tied for the 9th position, having the same 2014-2016 score. All these countries in the top 10 have high values in all 6 of the key variables used to explain happiness differences among countries and through time – income, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on in times of trouble, generosity, freedom and trust, with the latter measured by the absence of corruption.

The World Happiness Report 2017 lays emphasis on the importance of the social foundations of happiness, which can be seen by comparing the life

experiences between the top and bottom 10 countries in the rankings. There is a 4-point happiness gap between the two groups of countries, of which three-quarters is explained by the six variables, half due to differences in having someone to count on, generosity, a sense of freedom, and freedom from corruption. The other half of the explained difference is attributed to GDP per capita and healthy life expectancy, both of which also depend on the social context. In richer countries, the within-country differences are explained mainly by differences in mental health, physical health and personal relationships: the biggest single source of misery is mental illness. Income differences matter more in poorer countries, but even their mental illness is a major source of misery.

Norway tops happiness rankings 2017

Happiness personal, and social too

The World Happiness Report 2017 has a China chapter, which contrasts the sharply growing per capita income in China over the past 25 years with

life evaluations that fell steadily from 1990 till about 2005, recovering since then to about the 1990 levels. The report attributes the dropping happiness in the first part of the period to rising unemployment and fraying social safety nets, with recoveries since then in both. On Africa, the report outlines a more diverse story, as fits the African reality with its great number and vast range of experiences. But these are often marked by delayed and disappointed hopes for happier lives. It concludes it may take a while before people there can join the happiest people on the globe. It also notes that the continent’s happiness deficit is buoyed by its astonishing resilience. Happiness has reduced in USA. Describing the America crisis as a social crisis and not an economic crisis, the report says in 2007 the country ranked 3rd among the OECD countries; in 2016 it came 19th. The reasons are declining social support and increased corruption and it is these same factors that explain why the Nordic countries do better.

People in China are no happier than 25 years ago

ReseaRch news - tech


Email service platforms are the primary investment for customer experience and email service platforms are currently the primary investment focus for technology

induction in the area of customer experience. According to the ‘Customer Experience Maturity in India Report’, produced by Econsultancy, 73% of company respondents and 70% of agencies say they (or their clients) are using such technology for customer experience marketing initiatives. Beyond this, approximately half of survey respondents are utilizing CRM technology or systems. The survey covered 319 marketing, digital and eCommerce professionals based in India. The survey also brought out that data is of paramount concern with 97% of company respondents citing the better use of data to understand customer behaviors. Complexity of the landscape is the greatest barrier in improving the customer experience, says the survey.

CRM technology enables marketers to be more data-driven and make strategic decisions with the customer being the focal point, says a recent research study titled ‘Customer

Experience Maturity in India Report.’ It found that systems that combine digital, mobile and social data alongside traditional touchpoints are rapidly outstripping those that don’t. But, focusing on data and technology should not be to the detriment of creativity and imagination, to the point where technological advances bury the art of customer relationships, it cautions. Instead of developing real relationships with the customers, often these are reduced to mere 0s and 1s. Today, the balance between art and science has teetered inexorably toward science. So, this is an important consideration for any investment in CRM technology.

Email tops customer experience usage, followed by CRM

CRM could be detrimental to creativity and imagination

When it comes to technology investment, the Indian market has very specific issues and dynamics to address, claims IT research firm Gartner. While this year there

has been much innovation globally within artificial intelligence and chatbot software particularly, which presents interesting opportunities for customer experience, Gartner claims that Indian customers’ basic needs, such as affordability, availability and ease of access, need to be fulfilled before they are able to appreciate the value of more advanced technology-led experiences. Gartner predicts that by 2017, as much as 80% of consumer-facing companies in India will fail on the ROI front with regard to digital technology investment for customer experience, which could end up creating a sense of distrust among buyers and decision makers.

Chatbots are evolving in ways that have a profound effect on digital commerce and the future of customer care and marketing, says an Opus Research

report. A breed of intelligent chatbots are rising to the challenges of recognizing the intent of individuals and then carrying out conversations based on knowledge of that individual’s current ‘state’. The chatbots are also constantly evolving by employing machine learning to provide highly accurate, relevant responses, or to make suggestions or recommendations based on knowledge or an individual’s set of preferences, as well as deep understanding of available alternatives. Chatbots

are changing from assistants to advisors, on smartphones as well as in homes and cars. General purpose chatbots will increasingly add the ability to understand an individual’s situation in order to make recommendations and properly complete tasks.

Gartner forecasts 80% failure in customer facing technologies

Intelligent Chatbots acquiring domain expertise

ReseaRch news - Mobile wallets


6WResearch projects India’s m-wallet market to cross $11.5 billion by 2022. Owing to increasing penetration of smartphones and tablets, India has emerged one of

the fastest growing m-wallet markets in APAC. In FY2014-15, m-wallet transactions grew 130% compared to the previous year. Telecom, broadcasting and banking are the leading revenue generating verticals in India’s m-wallet. In the forecast period of 2016-22, market growth will be dependent on spreading awareness to potential customers, growing penetration of smartphones & mobile internet subscribers, RBI regulations, shift towards mobile transactions, surging strategic partnerships of e-commerce giants with m-wallet players and government support. Approval of payment bank licences of major companies will spur growth of banking transactions through m-wallets.

Juniper Research expects the number of mobile wallets using contactless technology to touch 200 million by 2016, representing growth of more than 100% from the

end of 2014. While historic growth of m-wallets usage was driven by P2P services for the unbanked in developing markets, the launch of ApplePay has prompted a hive of activity in the contactless arena. Wallets run by the mobile operator consortia continue to fare badly with UK’s Weve dropping its planned wallet and Softcard folding in the US. In developing markets, there has been a significant upscaling wallet usage for savings and loan disbursements, while more than 100 million are in use for micro-finance. Numerous banks are partnering with Visa or MasterCard to implement own-brand contactless wallets.

India’s m-wallet market to cross $11.5bn

As per Grand View Research’s ‘Mobile Wallet Market Forecast to 2020’, the global m-wallet market, (valued at $425.8 billion in 2013 and $500 billion in 2014), is

expected to become $2.9 trillion in 2020, surging at 32% CAGR between 2015 and 2020. NFC dominated the market with over 50% share in total revenue generated in 2014 and is expected to be the fastest growing segment. Money transfer transactions contributed the largest share of over 30% in total revenue generated in the m-wallet market, followed by recharge & bill payments and utilities segment respectively. North America dominated the mobile wallet market and contributed 25% share of the total revenue in 2014. In 2013, Asia Pacific contributed 30% of the market volume and will experience the most rapid growth during the forecast horizon.

Globile m-wallet market to surge 32%

A Nielsen research reveals Paytm as the most popular mobile payment app among Android smartphone owners in urban India, with 39% using it for approx 70

minutes a month. Freecharge is 2nd most popular (26% reach & 40 minutes) followed by Mobikwik (17% reach & 29 minutes), My Airtel (10% & 18 minutes), Oxigen Wallet (7% & 17 minutes), My Vodafone (6% & 17 minutes) and Pockets by ICICI (4% & 23 minutes). Retention is fairly low with only about a quarter of installers continuing to use them after 3 months. These apps are 1.2 times more popular among men than women, with men twice as engaged with them than women. Penetration among users is similar across towns (60% in large towns and 58% in small towns), but usage is higher among small town users, with consumers spending 109 minutes a month on m-wallet apps.

Paytm India’s most popular mobile payment app

200 million contactless m-wallets by 2016

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