Till about four years ago, the Net Promoter Score, or NPS, for a Tata car was minus (-)13. Today, it is +14 which effectively means that there are more people promoting the brand than its detractors, quite unlike the case earlier.
NPS is the difference between the percentage of promoters and detractors. For instance, in a brand survey targeting 100 respondents, if 60 promote the brand and 40 are its detractors, the NPS is +20.
On the other hand, if there are only 30 promoters to 70 detractors, it would be -40.
It in this context that Mayank Pareek, President (Passenger Vehicles Business Unit), Tata Motors, has reasons to be pleased with the change in perception.
“Four years ago, more people were talking negatively about us, but this has changed with the NPS now at +14,” he says.
This means that there are fewer detractors with more people reacting positively to Tata cars.
In fact, the NPS was -4 at the point of launching the Tiago in April 2016.
This premium hatchback was the first component of the turnaround effort for Tata Motors’ car business whose portfolio has grown since to include the Tigor, Hexa and Nexon.
“We were very sure that the new products would bring in the new customers starting with Tiago,” says Pareek. The beginning, however, was predictably tentative since here was a company in the process of rebuilding customer trust.
Design, marketing strategy
The Tiago was an all-new offering even while there were naysayers who wondered how it could survive in a crowded segment.
“We were, however, confident that its cool design would help it stand out along with smart marketing,” recalls Pareek.
The numbers were slow in coming but have now settled comfortably at 8,000 units each month. The marketing strategy was to “let the quality and design sink into customers” for them to absorb it fully. “Brand building needs patience. It would have been a cakewalk to enhance volumes quickly through discounting but that would have killed the brand,” reasons Pareek.
The momentum is now in place with the Hexa and Nexon, while Tigor numbers are picking up slowly. The overall market coverage has also increased from 50-odd per cent at the time of the Tiago to about 70 per cent now thanks to finally being present in “real hot segments” like SUVs.
While this change in fortunes is welcome, Pareek says it is only one part of the story. “Our increasing coverage is essential but not sufficient. You should have a network to support products.” Two years ago, Tata Motors had 400 outlets which have now grown to 746 and will be up to 850 by the end of this year.
Sales executives
Sales manpower has also doubled from 4,300 to 8,500 people. Where fleet customers once accounted for a lion’s share of the buyer base, this is no longer the case with individual customers being top priority.
As Pareek says sales executives need a different set of skills to deal with individual buyers since they have other options to choose from in the market. “Each of these customers has 2.6 cars in his mind which means your product has to compete hard to get his/her attention,” he adds.
For a fleet customer, the deal is closed in a day or two but this could go up to 60 days for individual buyers, says Pareek. A customer could ask for a test drive on a Sunday and the sales personnel need to be prompt in complying with this requirement. The hard work is paying off with more customers now queuing up for Tata cars.