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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.