Legrand India’s digital spends increased from 5-6% to over 50% in last 10 years

“Alexa, turn on the lights please.” And without moving a finger the room is brightly lit. 

On your way to the airport leaving for a holiday, you remember that you forgot to switch off the geyser. No need for frantic calls to your neighbours. A mere touch on an app on your phone can turn it off.  

From touchscreens to IoT- enabled smart switches to wireless switches, consumers today are spoilt for choice when it comes to this basic electrical need. 

Technological advancements over the years have transformed the industry. Two decades ago, it was primarily about basic electrical products, but now IoT and connected products have become integral. Just like automobiles or home appliances, consumer electrical products, particularly switches, have seen a significant shift. The category has evolved, especially with the rise of home automation, says Sameer Saxena, director of marketing, Group Legrand India.

“Sometimes we introduce innovations ahead of market demand, and other times we respond to customer needs. It is a two-way street. As industry leaders, it's our responsibility to raise the standards,” he says.

In the B2C space, Legrand India, a global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructure, strives to lead the change by proactively addressing trends like AI, connected products, energy efficiency, and safety standards. But it does not do this in isolation. It collaborates closely with its B2B stakeholders who use these products daily.

“Product life cycles have shortened dramatically due to technology—what once took a decade now evolves in just a few years. For example, IoT has shifted from being a novelty to everyday use, with devices controlled by smartphones and voice assistants. Our role is to guide and collaborate with customers through these changes, ensuring we stay aligned with their evolving needs and the fast-paced market environment,” he says.

With the evolving market, the brand’s target audience has also changed. 

“Previously, this was a domain dominated by electricians and contractors, with little involvement from end users. However, today, decisions around switches and related products are increasingly made by families, including women and children, reflecting a broader involvement in what was once considered a male-dominated field,” he says.

As a result, the traditionally B2B company is now increasingly focussing on the end user. Speaking of a memorable campaign, Saxena mentions an Instagram campaign for door phones. The campaign was unique because it targeted a younger audience, unlike its typical demographic. The film was brief, less than a minute long, and infused with humour, which helped it resonate well with a younger audience. 

“Around 10-15 years back, we wouldn't have considered a medium like this because our TG was very different. I consider this Instagram campaign one of our more innovative efforts, especially for a company in the electrical industry where such campaigns were rare in the past,” he explains.

In the last 10 years, Legrand India has increased its digital spend to over 50% from a meagre 5-6% of its advertising budget. From having only a website a couple of years ago, it has consistently worked on expanding its digital presence by creating technical catalogues, adding digital images of its products, and ensuring the website is more interactive and mobile-friendly.

Post-pandemic, the shift to remote work and limited travel presented a significant challenge for the company, where face-to-face customer interactions had been the norm. Its first priority became building digital assets.

“Customers now needed to access detailed product information quickly, search technical catalogues efficiently, and view products—like wiring devices—with features such as 360-degree rotation, which was unheard of 10 years ago,” he says.

The next phase focused on driving traffic and engaging customers online. In a B2B environment, this was a new challenge. It shifted to digital communication methods, starting with basic tools like WhatsApp, and expanded to short films, educational content, and digital training.

About a year ago, the company launched its own eShop. As the business and customer journey evolved, performance marketing on the eShop became crucial. The company established metrics, defined KPIs, and continuously refined its approach by monitoring cost of acquisition, lead conversion, the funnel process, and how customers place orders and receive deliveries.

“Two key areas of focus as we develop our eShop are performance marketing and customer experience (CX). Performance marketing ensures we attract and convert customers effectively, while CX covers every touchpoint in customer engagement, from order fulfilment to overall satisfaction,” Saxena adds.

In a career spanning over three decades, Saxena has worked for the most part in electrical companies, in sales and marketing roles. Sharing a key learning from his experience, he spoke about a recent experience of marketing its new product Allzy. 

Legrand has always been seen as a premium brand, offering products in the luxury and premium segments. About five to six years ago, it launched a mid-market switch called Britzy.

“While the product itself was good, we struggled with positioning, possibly due to concerns about cannibalising our premium offerings. This led to less success than we had hoped. However, we learned from this experience and recently introduced a new product in the same category, called Allzy, replacing Britzy,” he says.

Saxena describes Allzy as a phenomenal success—”demand is so high that we're running out of capacity.” He attributes the success to the lessons learnt from Britzy, particularly in terms of positioning and market approach. “What we initially saw as a failure with Britzy ultimately paved the way for Allzy's success,” he mentions.