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Consumer journey today doesn't end with the purchase: Hindware’s Charu Malhotra
The seasoned marketer takes us through her approach to new-age marketing and the necessary tools to drive it.
In an interview with afaqs!, Charu Malhotra, VP & head of marketing, Hindware, discussed the brand's intent marketing initiatives and their approach to reaching a high-intent audience. She also shared insights into changing consumer behaviour and spending patterns, as well as the company's change in marketing strategy. The interview provides valuable insights into the mindset of successful marketers and the dynamics of consumer behaviour.
It was amidst the pandemic when you took over the new responsibility. Was recovering post-COVID tough for Hindware? How did you deal with it?
Largely for everybody, the impact of the pandemic has been disruptive and when we talk about our industry, the overall demand in the sanitaryware industry was also very muted. There was lukewarm consumer demand, people were not spending, and there was a disruption in the supply chain. So obviously, even the Bathware industry also had a severe impact as we were closed for most of the time.
But then I would say the silver lining was that it bounced back quite soon. There were a lot of roles that consumer behaviour had to play here because the consumers had to spend most of their time at home. So bathrooms and homes, and specifically bathrooms acquired a new meaning. And the moment the lockdown was lifted and people started coming out, there was a huge pent-up demand that our industry saw and that's something that kind of helped towards getting back to things quite soon when we talk about the sanitaryware industry.
If I talk about, how did we deal with it? So, keeping in mind the behavioural shift of the consumers, they paid a lot of focus to health and hygiene. Bathrooms became so important and touch-free was the norm of the day. So we came up with a lot of new products and innovations and also marketed them in the right context of health and hygiene.
What do you think, to what extent has the purchase decision-making changed for the customers post-pandemic?
As I said, bathrooms acquired a new meaning. People were wary of going out during COVID and that behaviour continued. So with this newly acquired definition of homes and bath spaces, people wanted to have all convenience within their homes, and because people were so stressed out, bathrooms played a very important role for consumers to have their own personal space and spend some time there. So bathrooms became a place of personal sanctuary people wanted because health and hygiene got so much into focus.
If you talk about wellness, the sale of wellness products and the focus on wellness products inside the home have increased tremendously because that shift has come post-COVID only, because people now want all their products of convenience and wellness inside their bathrooms. That's what we are now seeing not just in our products that are being marketed but also in the way these products are being promoted.
What is Hindware’s post-COVID marketing spend? Is it more aggressive than earlier, normal, or slow? What are the key areas you are focusing on?
So I wouldn't say that it is slow, because the industry has seen an upswing, and the competition is very active and very dynamic. It's become very glamorous, and suddenly, there's a lot of new-age marketing that's happening. Most of these seasoned, established players, whether domestic or International, are coming up with loads of new marketing initiatives and activities, more so experiential marketing. So definitely budgets have not slowed down, they might be, I wouldn't mince words, saying that they probably might be a little more aggressive than they were earlier. So it's all looking very bright in the kinds of areas that we are focusing on.
So right now, when we talk from a marketer's point, it is the entire consumer decision journey that we are wanting to tap into. And digitization has definitely emerged as one of the prime enablers of business continuity. So we were using both a mix of traditional and digital economics there and a 360-degree integrated marketing approach to tap into the consumer more than ever.
Secondly, the other key area that we're focusing on definitely is giving more experience to the consumer. We have a specific area that we've defined for wellness zones, where the consumer can walk into the showroom, and then there's a specific place where you can actually enjoy. You can change and enjoy our sauna, you can enjoy a spa filled with our steam generators, and showers and massages as well.
The pandemic has changed audience mobility drastically. Consumer priorities have changed. Is there a change in your branding strategy on similar lines?
We have to stick to the basics and there has to be a combination of the conventional and the current activities that we are doing. And more than mobility, it's a function of the consumer purchase journey, which has changed. Earlier, there's an ad that the consumer has seen, he has basic brand awareness, and then he goes to the shop and buys a particular product if he is convinced. Today, there are multiple touchpoints. So it's very important for any brand to have a zero-friction model, where the brand is giving those triggers on every touchpoint that the consumer goes through when he's going through that purchase journey.
From ad campaigns to driving that first interaction on social media. From online presence to dynamic retargeting. So there are multiple touchpoints that you have to actually tap. So that's how the branding has changed, the marketing mix has changed. Post-purchase communication is also something that we are now trying to focus on, not just to keep a relationship with the customer, but also for word of mouth. Also, for any kind of content that we can generate out of him, and then going forward in a couple of years to use that database to upsell or cross-sell. So it just doesn't end at the purchase now.
Are these one-time shifts in user behavioural trends expected to stick forever unlike a fad? What’s your advice to other Marketing leaders?
So I personally feel that they're here to stay because COVID is gone but then the behaviours have so drastically been embedded in the consumer's mind that a lot of adoption of those behaviours has become a norm now. So at Hindware, we are also trying a direct-to-consumer model where we will have an end-to-end solution for the consumer. Right from him searching for our products, to us being able to sell them online, going forward…this behaviour is here to stay.
I think for marketers it's time that we look to more experiential marketing, which focuses on connecting with them via a unique and dynamic branded experience. Today’s marketers need to create a memorable consumer experience, it's very important to have that deep emotional connection with the consumer, that the consumer feels with the brand. So going forward you need to have him. You can't after purchase, just lose him, you need to have him with you for so many other reasons.
Any other comments/inputs you would like to share about your ongoing or upcoming campaigns and initiatives?
We have a very big campaign lined up in the new fiscal year from April onwards. We've been working to make the brand more aspirational, more innovative, and more relatable to the youth. We launched the campaign ‘thoughtful is beautiful’ two years back. And we think that now it's time for us to launch a completely new campaign, which will again set the aspirational value of the brand higher in the minds of the consumer. So it's going to be a very active year for us, a very high activity year for us and we definitely feel that it will accelerate the brand further.
We relaunched tiles last year and it has been received with a lot of love by consumers. For us, the consumers have really given a lot of love to the Hindware Italian tiles that we launched. There’s a lots of ceramic waste that has been generated year on year because of these broken tiles. So why not try and raise awareness around this particular cause. That's when we launched ‘BROKEN BUT NOT WASTE’ campaign.
We have another sustainable initiative on CSR that we've been doing for over three years in a row now, which is around building school toilets for girls students in rural areas. So I'm sure as a brand, we look forward to such initiatives. It is so very important to drive this cause of sustainability to reduce carbon footprint and make the world a better place to live in for future generations.