The Hindu Business Line : `Two auto majors plan portals for online sales'

Chennai May 14 Tapping the Internet to increase sales and create new revenue streams has gained ground among automotive players in the US and other developed economies. The concept is now finding favour with at least two major auto players in India, who plan to launch portals for online car sales.

Powering these endeavours is the US-based Trilogy, which is actively eyeing the Indian market to provide technology-powered business services that create dramatic and sustainable business results.

Mr Joseph A. Liemandt, founder and CEO, who was in India recently, told Business Line that the company's mission is to guarantee business value to customers. He added that the time is ripe for Indian auto players to tap the Internet space for increased sales and improved vehicle profitability. "Our model also ensures that incremental gain in profit is achieved without disturbing volume."

For the auto industry, Trilogy provides a combination of patented technology and databases to deliver solutions that would enable a company to offer a complete online car shopping experience, said Mr Sanjay Nigam, Director (Automotive Business), Trilogy India.

"The solution would be an end-to-end one, offering everything right from customisation to making a down payment and interacting with the dealer of choice," he said.

"More importantly, we will help the company focus all marketing effort on only potential buyers, along with providing information on the kind of car each potential user is likely to buy," he added.

Internet penetration is still on the lower side in India compared to the US, and online shopping for vehicles is yet to catch on.

Biggest challenge

Mr Liemandt said that the biggest challenge before the company in India is countering the scepticism of potential clients and convincing them that Trilogy's solution will work for them.

"Back in the mid-90s, we faced the same challenge in the US. Once we proved to clients that the model works, they kept coming back to us."

Trilogy follows a unique model of client engagement in that the solutions are deployed free of cost.

"We invest money upfront, work with the client, deploy the solution and wait for the results," said Mr Liemandt. "We make money only if the customer makes a profit. Trilogy gets paid only when the customer receives the promised business value."

The company has a track record of success with several Fortune 500 companies across industries. Founded in 1989 by Mr Liemandt, who dropped out of Stanford to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions, the company reinvented itself in 2000 around the notion of `guaranteed business value.'

India plans

In India, Trilogy is now focused on the automotive and telecom verticals as they hold the promise of tremendous growth and opportunity. It has tied up with the major players such as Airtel, Hutch, Tata Indicom, BSNL and Reliance to deploy a solution that guarantees reduction in customer churn by up to 50 per cent.

Besides, it has launched www.yourbillbuddy.com, a recommendation Web site that helps mobile users find out the plan best suited for them and save 30 per cent on their cellphone bills.

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