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Neha Kaushik

NEW DELHI, May 27

WITH consumers still unclear on how to utilise the microwave oven for their day-to-day cooking, marketers are shifting away from mass marketing to a more direct marketing oriented approach to create awareness about the benefits of the product.

"We realised that there is a need to reach out to the consumer, and are taking several direct marketing initiatives as most consumers want to experience the product before buying it. For instance, we are sending small mobile vans to residential colonies in several cities through which we are able to give a demo of the product. We have also tied up with our dealers to conduct cookery classes, so that consumers know that a microwave is not merely a re-heating device and can also be used to make small things such as curd, jams, etc", Mr Saurabh Baisakhia, Product Group Head for Microwave Ovens, LG Electronics said.

In other words, experiential marketing is the route which many companies are taking to sell microwave ovens this year.

In fact, several consumer durables companies are taking a door-to-door approach for the product; similar to the approach Eureka Forbes takes to sell its vacuum cleaners.

Samsung for example too is carrying out a `Spot the Van Cooking Fiesta' campaign in Delhi and towns in North India, under which a mobile van carrying the entire range of Samsung microwave ovens tours residential colonies and dealer outlets, giving demonstrations of the product as well as making special offers available to customers. States Mr R. Zutshi, Director, Samsung India, "Through this campaign, we are trying to educate the consumer on the Samsung range of microwave ovens as well as the benefits of the product related with everyday cooking."

"The challenge in this category is to get the user to cook in the microwave oven rather than use it as a product for re -heating food", he said.

Interestingly, though the product base is quite small, there has also been a general decline in prices of microwave ovens in order to make the product affordable to a larger segment of people.

According to an official from Whirlpool, "In the last couple of years, prices of microwave ovens have registered a downward trend. Depending on the segment the shift has been between 10-20 per cent for the industry".

In other words, the starting price points for the category have declined. Keeping this in mind, companies are expecting an increasing number of sales for microwave ovens to come from the semi-urban/rural markets. "We are seeing an increasing number of sales coming from the upcountry markets", says Mr Baisakhia.

Samsung also admits that though the sale of microwave ovens is by and large confined to the metros and the larger towns, it is gradually spreading to mini metros and larger towns.

According to industry analysts, the microwave ovens category is expected to grow by about 20-25 per cent this year to 2.5 lakh units.

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