From social media campaigns to digitisation of customer services, Jerome Saigot, managing director, Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. discusses the strategies that go into running a motor company in today's market scenario. Datsun have introduced the latest Automated Manual Transmission (ATM) technology in its redi-GO model, making the technology available at reasonable prices in the country. ATM combines manual and automatic transmission in vehicles.
Automatic sector got to a slow start in the Indian motor industry, but AMT changed the game. What is the future of AMT in India? How is the market of AMT in India?
AMT has transformed the way the consumers look at technology. We have seen a very positive and significant change in consumer preference towards adopting automatic transmission technology at the entry-level segment. We foresee a healthy demand for AMT variants in this segment and specifically so for the Datsun redi-GO, owing to its ability to effectively meet customer expectations through easy-to-drive technology in the stop-and-go city traffic.
Datsun redi-GO brought a freshness to the small-cars sector in India. Though AMT was not available initially, redi-GO offers the variant now. How has that reflected on the sales of redi-GO?
Customer satisfaction is at the core of Datsun’s growth philosophy and we have always aimed at offering technology and innovation with convenience and best-in-class features. Nearly 25% of the overall sales of the Datsun redi-GO are coming from the AMT variant.
With the new redi-GO AMT, we are focused on providing consumers with the convenience of city drive at an affordable price and features like best-in-breed ground clearance, mileage, great cabin space and headroom, high seating position, all packaged within a stylish design.
Also read: Test Drive: Ready, steady, Datsun redi-GO automatic
What are Datsun's other marketing strategies to gain more traction in this segment?
Celebrating the 5th year global milestone, Datsun continues to focus on penetration to reach out to more consumers across even the remotest locations in the country. We also align our marketing and communication campaigns to support the business objectives and product offerings. We cater to different customer groups and use data to focus sharply on our customer target groups and define our marketing mix. Datsun recently flagged off the third leg of ‘Datsun Experience Zone.’ After two successful seasons in 2017, Datsun Experience Zone is back in 2018 with a more comprehensive coverage and experience.
Digital technology has played a critical role in our successful run in India, and we are leveraging digital platforms effectively to target our customers. In fact, digital platform is leading Datsun’s main communication and marketing strategy. This approach is driven by the fact that globally almost 70 per cent of car sales are digitally influenced. The impact of the digital customer is becoming an integral part in the auto purchase cycle, disrupting the traditional car-buying experience.
Today, with social media being such a large part of our lives, we understand the role it plays in reaching out and catering to our customers. Hence, all our campaigns have been in line with our digital focus: #ISayYes, #VoteForChange and the recent #MorePower2You. #MorePower2You is a campaign that brings alive inspiring stories of real Datsun redi-GO owners.
More prototypes or models of electric cars are creating ripples in recent auto shows. What is Datsun's plan in this sector?
As mentioned earlier, customer satisfaction is our topmost priority and hence, we keenly observe market trends and customer inclinations before expanding our product portfolio. Since its inception, Datsun has always focused to bring best in class affordable cars and going forward also this will be our key objective. It’s a little too early to confirm any details about when any EVs from Datsun may come to the market, if at all.
