This year, we started preparations last month and after having finalized the theme – Digital India, Digital Retail — we started exploring the topics for discussion in line with the theme and the need of the industry in the current context.

Advocating advocacy

I believe that if every business starts focusing honestly on its customers, then not only is it on the success track but it also doesn’t have to waste a lot of money on marketing channels. I also believe that acquiring customers is easier than making them buy from you regularly. What’s the toughest and most important is making them your brand advocates. I always root for allocating a major portion of marketing budgets on this rather than on customer acquisition. Hence, at every available opportunity, I try to push for these ideas.

So while we were discussing the topic ‘Customer Management’ for the conclave, I was very keen on having a session on ‘Customer Advocacy’ as well. Many among my colleagues did not welcome the idea as they felt India is probably not yet ready for advocacy. I feel, however, that advocacy has nothing to do with the readiness of a market but the brand. Customer advocacy is part of every brand marketing cycle if the brand has established its original proposition in the minds of its customers. In fact, most of the times, if the brand is truly delivering the promised value, its customers automatically start talking about it to others. They do this not with the intention of influencing others but out of sheer excitement of sharing their brand experience. By doing this, they actually land up being brand advocates. Therefore, the marketing teams need to be empowered and focused on ensuring that brand delivers its promise truly to its customers.

Identifying the gap

I once asked the CMO of a large brand why CMOs aren’t able to exercise control on brand delivery. He explained that it was because in India most consumer companies operate in silos. The marketing department communicates the brand in the market whereas the delivery is controlled by the operations or customer service team. According to him, the time has come for the problem to be discussed at the board level and for businesses, especially consumer businesses, to start implementing required technologies and processes to bridge the gap between marketing and delivery team.

Yes, technology can play a very important role in tracking and delivering brand value to customers. That’s why we see some of the e-commerce brands now adopting advocacy as the strategy for growth. Look at the recent ad campaigns by Flipkart and Amazon. They strongly communicate the confidence the companies feel in the experience they have delivered to their customers so far — A guy staking his annual increment while advocating Flipkart to his boss or a bride-to-be risking her wedding wardrobe with Amazon are very strong and bold messages. I am sure both companies have enough reasons to believe that their customers are ready to advocate their brands. Since both the brands are technology-driven on delivery and service aspects, they have enough reason to be confident of their readiness on advocacy based marketing.

If advocacy is the key aspect of their marketing strategy, then I am sure brands need to work towards putting the required technology and processes in place. The time has come for Indian retail industry to take this more seriously.

Syndicated with permission from ajayaggarwal.net.

The consumer need for product data
The consumers are interacting with their products and brands very differently than in the past. The convergence of online search and social media engagement has made consumers more connected than ever, and entirely comfortable interacting digitally with brands and retailers.

Today’s consumers don’t care if they shop in a store, via a phone, or online. They want easy-to-use solutions that satisfy their lifestyle needs and preferences. As a result, industry has focused on providing them with a seamless shopping experience.

Moreover consumers have a more holistic view of retail options as a result of online reviews and social media – and they are quickly learning whom to trust. Therefore, Consumers are demanding more digital product information from a trusted source to be linked to the physical products they use and consume across multiple channels – anytime and anywhere. In addition, regulators are becoming advocates for the consumer – demanding greater disclosure and data accuracy.

A deluge of digital data
Data has never been easier to find. At the same time, it has never been as challenging to find accurate data consumers can trust. With this in mind, consumer trust and brand recognition is of utmost importance to businesses today.

To meet consumer expectations and help to connect them with the information that they are looking for, product data must be presented online in a consistent, searchable way that both humans – and machines – can understand and use. This in turn, will enable Retailers and brand owners to comply with emerging regulations for online information sharing.

Leveraging the power of data
If Retail community is to fully utilize the power of the Web and deliver value to their consumers, they must first agree on a standardised way to represent product data using global standards. Without this, brand owners and retailers will not be able to reap the benefits of optimized product visibility and searchability. Worse, search engines will continue struggling to understand and navigate the mountains of unstructured information that companies publish online every day.

To reach a global audience, retailers and brand owners need to agree that accurate and trusted data is essential. Questionable data will turn off potential customers and undermine brands.

RLS saw the release of 7 Knowledge reports. Key insights are highlighted here – full details are available at http://rls.net.in/Knowledge_Zone.html

RAI – TCS: Retail Operations Benchmarking Excellence Survey (ROBES)

There has been an increased e-commerce adoption by consumers during 2013. Brick and Mortar retailers have begun to view multi-channel strategically, instead of considering their e-tailing counterparts as price predators.  This report benchmarks the multi-channel practices of 40 Retail brands against e-tailers.  Key insights which emerged:

• Brick and mortar retailers are looking at multi-channels as one of the top 5 priorities for 2014.
• Ecommerce channels (non-store channel ) of brick and mortar retailers are yielding higher growth, higher cash memo size, and lower returns.
• For example, on an average, brick and mortar retailers find that their online cash memo size is 12% higher than in-store.
• Online returns of Brick and mortar retailers are <3% – significantly lower than pure-play e-tailers.

For brick and mortar retailers, multi-channel is about “on-demand retailing” – about giving the consumer better access and deeper range. Unlike their ecommerce counterparts, it is not a ‘pricing’ game: most retailers have a uniform pricing policy across all channels.

RAI-KPMG: Emerging Consumer Segments in India

This report identifies new segments of consumers including – the urban time starved consumer, the rural ‘windfall’ consumer, the “Value conscious” customer etc.
Key insights:

• Leveraging technology is the key to reaching the consumer.
• Supply chain innovation is needed to provide ‘stripped down’ service models.
• Hybrid models – using a mix of online and offline are emerging.

RAI-AIMIA India Millennial loyalty survey

Millennials are defined as those between the age of 19 and 29, and are expected to be the generation that will force brands to change the way they build sustainable customer loyalty.

AIMIA loyalty survey profiles the buying habits of this segment of customers. Key insights:

• Today’s customers are more ‘social and vocal’: 60% of millenials use social media and 41% seek opinions of their network before buying.
• They are willing to share data, but need transparency on what that data would be used for.
• They are more willing to engage than their counterparts in other countries.
• They are interested in more than just cash rewards.
• They want loyalty programs to provide ‘faster’ rewards.

RAI –PWC: Total Retail:  A change is underway

This quantitative survey of 1000 Indian online consumers profiles buying habits.  Key insights:

• Online shopping is driven as much by “trust” as by “price”.
• Online is about convenience.
• The customer experience matters even in an online context.

RAI-GP2WW: Great Places to Work in Indian Retail

This ‘first of a kind’ report surveyed 50 retailers to answer the question “Which retailer is the best employer?”. The Great Places to work with uses a proprietary framework which includes employee surveys and interviews as well as representations from management.

Lifestyle International emerged as the top retailer in India, followed by Titan and Shoppers Stop.

RAI –JLL: Emerging trends in retail spaces

This report profiles cities which are emerging as retail destinations in Tier 2 India.

• Retail realty in India is driven by income growth, a demographic ‘dividend’ and the fact that available space is polarized as regards quality.
• Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore continue to mature.
• Emerging markets include Pune, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, followed by Surat, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jaipur.

RAI – WWF: Sustainability in India Retail

This report profiles global practices by retailers in terms of creating sustainability in the supply chain and business practices.  Key insights:

• The world is today consuming 1.5 planets worth of resources annually.
• Demand for certain commodities such as palm oil, milk and beef (buffalo meat) is threatening India’s biodiversity.
• Owing to its direct contact with consumers, the retail industry is in a position to drive change towards sustainability.
• Experience with mature markets shows that the ‘tipping point’ towards structural sustainability is when consumers adopt and are willing to pay for sustainable products.

From L-R: Pradeep Hirani, Founder & CEO, Kimaya Fashion Pvt Ltd; Dharmendra Manwani, Founder & CEO, Jean-Claude Biguine Salon & Spa; Moderator: Anupam Yog, Director – Marketing, Virtuous Retail; Devita Saraf, CEO, VU Technologies

Opening Remarks: Luxury around the World

Main segments:  Travel / Hotels; Jewellery, Technology.

Among the Asian Markets;  Luxury in India is ½ the size of China, 1/4th the size of Japan and only 2x as big as Singapore.

How does luxury fit into the Indian context?

Devita Saraf, CEO, VU Technologies

• The TV is one of the first signs of ‘affluence’.

• We have build our own lounge stores to build loyalty among customers

• We allow people to customise their televisions in terms of technology as well as aesthetics.

• Tarun Tahiliani and Swarovski have collaborated with us to build luxury televisions.

• In order to bring our innovations to the fore, we organise “trunk shows” across the country.

• Co-branding with other luxury brands has helped us enhance clientele.

We have made televisions in India more about the senses than about the science.

 

 

How is consistency of service maintained for a luxury service provider?

Dharmendra Manwani, Founder & CEO, Jean-Claude Biguine Salon & Spa

• Luxury is notabout price but value.

• Building a luxury brand is about trust  – the kind that develops over time, and needs consistency of product and experience.

• Getting world-class services at a convenience of price and time defines modern luxury.

• The Luxury consumers in India are not necessarily affluent but aspirational. They have global exposure and understand the value of a branded product.

 

 

What defines luxury in Indian apparel industry?

Pradeep Hirani, Founder & CEO, Kimaya Fashion Pvt Ltd

• The Indian woman is the most powerful shopper. There was a need to cater to her luxury demands vis-a-vis men’s fashion.

• 73% demand is from the women’s apparel category.

• Kimaya designs clothing for women in the $ 100 segment.

•In the Indian apparel segment, luxury is about design, style AND price.

 

 

What is the price v/s value concept within a luxury brand?

Dharmendra Manwani, Founder & CEO, Jean-Claude Biguine Salon & Spa

• It is important to note that luxury brands all over the world evolved from being sharply aligned with consumers demands of that time.

• These brands made extraordinary products consistently and, hence, the demand grew exponentially.

• When the demand couldn’t be met, the price rose. Hence, the relationship between luxury and price hinges on value.

 

 

Where do you see your brand in 5 years?

Devita Saraf, CEO, VU Technologies

• We will become even more experiential.

• Our brand values won’t change. Brands don’t change drastically over 5 years. However, we expect the consumer to become more quality and brand conscious.

• Hence, I hope to go online and establish a healthy balance between cultivating e-commerce as well as expanding my stores.

• We would like to leverage the trend of customers buying electronics on line – and move the customer towards buying Luxury electronics online.

 

Panelists – from Left to Right: Vikas Choudhary, COO & CFO, AIMIA; Duncan Grant, Multichannel Director, The Entertainer; Latif Nathani, MD, eBay; Manish Tiwary, Executive Director, HUL; Sundeep Malhotra, CEO, HomeShop 18

Opening Remarks by the Moderator

Some of the questions to explore today

• Temples and mosques in India don’t run a loyalty program, but millions believe. How many retailers are able to make loyalty a religion?

• Is having cutting edge technology enough?

• How can channels create innovative ways to showcase the experience?

• How do retailers decide which channels to use. Or is it the customer deciding?

• What can we learn from other markets?

Moderator: Ajit Joshi, MD, Infiniti Retail Ltd (CROMA)

How do you use multiple channels to reach out to customers?

• We started our flagship 24-hour retail channel about 7.5 years ago and our Internet business about 2.5 years ago.

• Our mobile business started only six months ago – but, it already contributes 12% to sales.

• We noticed that people’s lives are spent between three screens – Televisions, Laptop and Mobile screens.