The Hindu Business Line : Henkel move to make brand more visible

Chennai, Jan. 23 Ever been to a multi-brand retail outlet where brands’ salespersons, often at the same time but from different camps, accost you with some hardsell about why their brand should be your choice as against another? Henkel India says its latest initiative, May I Help You?, to be launched later this month, is not one such. Its purpose is to build preference for the brand by making the corporate identity more visible — trained assistants will aid customers to shop around the store and provide advice on the category and on various Henkel products. Speaking to Business Line, Mr Ranju Kumar Mohan, the company’s Vice-President (Sales & Marketing), said managing a brand in modern trade has revealed the need to help consumers with their purchases.

Considering that a slew of similar products and services are available, and traditional market segments cease to exist as customers and markets become more sophisticated and complex, corporate identity assumes greater importance than the company’s brands, he said. The values the company stands for become the key elements of the differentiation strategy. Mr Mohan said store managements’ knowledge of categories is not always adequate. To that end, May I Help You? can resolve the customer’s doubts and make her shopping experience more fulfilling. The shopping assistants are trained to provide generic category information rather than merely sell the brand. The personal touch will create a connect between the brand, the corporate identity and the customer with no intention to hardsell any of the products, Mr Mohan added.

The service is being rolled out in Chennai in a few modern trade outlets. It will focus on the laundry and dishwash products. It will be extended to Bangalore and Mumbai and other cities once it’s evaluated, Mr Mohan said. About 40 shopping assistants will be recruited for this exercise

Henkel India earlier undertook another initiative called A Day At the Market for Henkel’s employees across India — it is a time set aside for all employees, right from the Managing Director to junior-level executives, to accompany the sales team on its calls to stockists, distributors and retailers. The strategy dovetailed customer-connect with employer bonding.

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