“It’s these innovations that enable a brand to be ahead of the others”: Bajaj Electricals’ Krishna Raman

The business head, consumer products of the appliances brand speaks on its two latest innovations- Child Safety Mode and Auto Shut Off.

Winters are synonymous with water heaters. On those chilly mornings when you don’t feel like pulling yourself out of the comfort of your warm bed, it is only the thought of the hot water gushing out of the geyser that can motivate you. While it is a complete saviour in the cold season, it brings with it two inherent concerns- burning yourself with too hot water and forgetting to switch off the heater after the shower. Bajaj Electricials has found new-age solutions for these age-old concerns through its two new products.

The Consumer Appliances brand has launched a new range of water heaters with advanced features like 'Child Safety mode' and 'Auto Shut Off' technology catering to the safety requirements of consumers. 'Bajaj Campagno' is equipped with the 'Child Safety mode' ensuring the water temperature is suitable for young children with no concerns of hot water burns. 'Bajaj Caldia NXG' water heater has an 'Auto Shut Off' technology that switches off the water heater after 90 minutes of inaction.

Krishna Raman, business head, consumer products, Bajaj Electricals

">

Speaking to afaqs!, Krishna Raman, business head, consumer products, Bajaj Electricals, said this is the first time that water heaters in the country will be equipped with these features.

“With regard to water heaters there are three things that customers today don't want to compromise on- safety, power saving and easy availability. Being one of the premier brands, our technology team, our R&D team and marketing team spent a lot of time to understand how we can provide those smaller benefits to customers to enhance the happiness quotient and that's when we came up with these features,” he said.

Getting the temperature right with water heaters has always been a struggle. A little too much to the left and you can burn your skin. A little too much to the right and you will have shivers down your spine. The Bajaj Campagno water heater’s pre-set option saves all this trouble. Just switch on the child-safe mode and have the water flowing at the right temperature.

Forgetting to switch off the water heater is a classic problem in every household. Apart from the electricity wastage, this can also be a safety problem. Bajaj Caldia NXG comes with an auto shut-off provision. It is equipped by an electronic circuit that senses water movement in the inlet and outlet valve. If there’s no movement for 90 minutes it auto shuts off.

Currently these features are available only in these two models. But depending on the response they will consider extending it to the other models as well. It comes at a price of Rs 15,000, while the price of regular storage heaters would be around Rs 7000.

The new models are being promoted through an aggressive multi-media campaign as the peak season kicks in. There are two TVCs promoting the two new products. They also have a print campaign.

As the water heater market expands at a rate of 10 to 12%, Bajaj Electricals brings these small innovations to bring a smile to customer’s face. “When we bring in these user-friendly attributes it really helps enable a brand to be ahead of the others. Just producing a water heater will make the customer happy. But if I wanted to go from a level of customer happiness to customer satisfaction to customer delight, then I need to bring something more to it. This brand is a leader because they keep constantly innovating and coming up with different thoughts or ideas,” he added.