It was just two years back when Hero Honda started engaging villagers to sell its two-wheelers, and that’s when the turnaround began for it
What happens when you engage someone from your target audience to sell your product to the rest of the group? A super sale! And that’s what exactly came about when the country’s largest two-wheeler maker, Hero Honda, decided to try out this novel idea and that too at a time when it had just started feeling the competition heat.
The company initiated its Har Gaon, Har Aangan campaign in December 2007 wherein it adopted a three-pronged strategy. First, the company referred to its Usage & Attitude study conducted by its in-house research agency and identified the potential customers in villages across the country. In the second stage, it charted out events (like festivals, marriages, harvests, et al) in the villages so that it can take advantage of the cash holding capacity of the villagers. And lastly, Hero Honda entered into numerous vehicle finance tie ups with NBFCs, cooperative banks and regional rural banks to supply enough cash to the consumers.
However, the most important decision which it took while implementing its rural strategy was that it trained around 500 rural sales executives to sell its bikes to the villagers. It even conducted meetings with village sarpanchs, headmasters and anganwadi workers in villages across the country to enhance its reach. They also visited the potential customers at their homes and invited them to drop in at the company’s dealerships, located a few kms away. In fact, the occurrence of these visits increased many fold during the times of festivals. As Anil Dua, Sr. VP (Marketing & Sales), Hero Honda avers, “The study captured every aspect of the potential customers’ lives. It tracked aspects like the level of awareness of brand Hero Honda, the current modes of transportation and their purchase behaviour, et al.” So, it’s no wonders that Hero Honda generated 45-50% of its total sales from semi-urban and rural areas in FY’ 09. Further, Har Gaon, Har Aangan campaign has not only helped the company to develop a new relationship with its rural consumers, but also gave it an opportunity to increase the two-wheelers penetration level in rural India, which still stands at just over 8%.
What’s more? Encouraged by the success of the campaign, Hero Honda is now all set to roll out its on-ground activation for rural consumers. Further, it has also doubled its touch-points in rural areas from 2,000 in 2006 to nearly 4,000 in 2009. So, now you know what it takes to sell your product in the hinterland!
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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What happens when you engage someone from your target audience to sell your product to the rest of the group? A super sale! And that’s what exactly came about when the country’s largest two-wheeler maker, Hero Honda, decided to try out this novel idea and that too at a time when it had just started feeling the competition heat.
The company initiated its Har Gaon, Har Aangan campaign in December 2007 wherein it adopted a three-pronged strategy. First, the company referred to its Usage & Attitude study conducted by its in-house research agency and identified the potential customers in villages across the country. In the second stage, it charted out events (like festivals, marriages, harvests, et al) in the villages so that it can take advantage of the cash holding capacity of the villagers. And lastly, Hero Honda entered into numerous vehicle finance tie ups with NBFCs, cooperative banks and regional rural banks to supply enough cash to the consumers.
However, the most important decision which it took while implementing its rural strategy was that it trained around 500 rural sales executives to sell its bikes to the villagers. It even conducted meetings with village sarpanchs, headmasters and anganwadi workers in villages across the country to enhance its reach. They also visited the potential customers at their homes and invited them to drop in at the company’s dealerships, located a few kms away. In fact, the occurrence of these visits increased many fold during the times of festivals. As Anil Dua, Sr. VP (Marketing & Sales), Hero Honda avers, “The study captured every aspect of the potential customers’ lives. It tracked aspects like the level of awareness of brand Hero Honda, the current modes of transportation and their purchase behaviour, et al.” So, it’s no wonders that Hero Honda generated 45-50% of its total sales from semi-urban and rural areas in FY’ 09. Further, Har Gaon, Har Aangan campaign has not only helped the company to develop a new relationship with its rural consumers, but also gave it an opportunity to increase the two-wheelers penetration level in rural India, which still stands at just over 8%.
What’s more? Encouraged by the success of the campaign, Hero Honda is now all set to roll out its on-ground activation for rural consumers. Further, it has also doubled its touch-points in rural areas from 2,000 in 2006 to nearly 4,000 in 2009. So, now you know what it takes to sell your product in the hinterland!
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN
IIPM Related Links
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
Exclusive In chat with Society Magazine - Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri
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