Marketing mileage with customer focus

Usha Somayaji
13 August 1999

The Kinetic group is capitalising on the strengths it has derived from combining the strengths of Kinetic Motor Company Ltd and Kinetic Engineering Ltd. Already, the results are beginning to show, in terms of flexibility and ability to innovate in the marketplace.

The group is finding it easier to initiate brand building and customer targeted exercises. Some recent brand building exercises include the launching of the Kinetic Mega Show on Sony TV, road safety clips on Sun TV, and the launching of the limited edition 'Kinetic Campus Chill'. The Kinetic Campus Chill is a stripped down, cut-price version of the Kinetic scooter, aimed at catching the fashion-conscious college student. Begun in late June, the cut-price offer will be open until end-August 1999.

Relationship building
The group has launched some other customer-oriented initiatives. It launched 'Kinetic Care', a campaign that consisted of some 100 service camps in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh, providing free service and part replacement.

For its K4, the company has planned another ambitious initiative, 'Customer First'. Come September, the company proposes to reach out to every one of its 50,000 K4 owners. Each of its 4,000-odd employees from all its group companies, will be deployed, each to contact ten customers, go to their houses, give a little gift, and get a full feedback on the vehicles, and ensure that everybody is satisfied.

With its existing products, the company is taking on product improvement measures in right earnest. "There are two or three areas which I have taken up seriously, personally," says Sulajja Firodia Motwani, joint managing director, Kinetic Engineering Ltd.

One is the issue of fuel efficiency of the Kinetic scooter, for which the company embarked on the mileage advantage camp. Tips and handouts on correct riding practices, throttling, maintaining and filling oil were given to the customers at these camps to get the best mileage. Customers were given test rides on their own vehicles proving that these practices would indeed give them the required mileage.