The Hindu Business Line : Buy a car… and feel free to go on an exotic jaunt

And realising the potential of this phenomenon, car makers such as Honda, Toyota, and General Motors have started offering their select customers extravagant incentives that would be the talk of their elite social circle.

The incentives could range from jaunts to exotic overseas locations to short excursions in exciting domestic destinations.

For instance, Honda Siel Cars India, which usually does not discount its products to retain the brand’s premium image, as a part of its 10th anniversary celebration, created excitement around its campaign ‘Ten in Tokyo’. This included an all-paid trip to Japan for 10 customers.

“We wanted to celebrate with our customers our presence in India for 10 years. In terms of sales, it helped us communicate better with our customers,” said Mr Jnaneshwar Sen, Senior General Manager, Marketing, Honda Siel Cars India.

The campaign continued from end September to mid November. And, the company saw an almost 8-10 per cent increase in its retail sales last month as compared to the same period the previous year, Mr Sen said.

All-paid trip

Similarly, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, whose premium brands Corolla, Camry and Innova are popular with the elite, launched its ‘Touch Toyota Feel Japan’ campaign in September and plans to continue it till December. “We are taking select customers with their families to an all-paid expenses trip to Japan. This helps us in increasing awareness about our brands, thus leading to better sales,” said Mr K.K. Swamy, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar.

The strategy is being picked up for other segments of cars as well. General Motors last month took around 100 of its customers, who test-drove their cars or purchased them in a selected period, for a two-nights three-days sojourn to Goa.

More than freebies

According to industry watchers, unlike direct strategies like discounts and freebies to lure customers, car makers view travel incentives for customers to be a more fertile platform. They feel that it not only increases awareness about their products and helps them understand their customers better, but also is a tacit way to generate better sales through customer references.

“In today’s world of democratisation of quality, what differentiates one manufacturer from the other is his service offerings. With such incentives, we are able to nurture our customers and build a long term relationship with them, leading to a rise in brand stock,” said Ms Anisha Motwani, Director, Marketing, General Motors.

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