We are building a brand ambassador in the customer: Satish NS

The Pitch Brandtalk seminar held on November 29 witnessed a special address by the President of Haier Appliances India, Satish N.S. He spoke on how customer-inspired innovation was a key roadmap for brand growth. When a brand starts thinking for customers and their needs, it automatically converts to development for the company.

Satish interspersed his session with presentations of different products from Haier. He cited the example of how the company introduced an alternative to the usual refrigerator with a model where the freezer was put at the bottom and the refrigerator section on top, for the convenience of the customers. In Satish’s words, “So it's not only the designing of the product, it's how we communicate the product benefit to the consumer. That is what makes a difference.”

“We did a study among people who buy a side-by-side refrigerator, what we call a two-door refrigerator. Most Indian households are vegetarian. We were told that the freezer section in the side-by-side refrigerator was too big and that they didn’t use it. They were shifting to a regular traditional refrigerator – a 400-litre or 500-litre one. So, we launched India's first side-by-side refrigerator with three doors, which is a convertible option, which makes 85% refrigerator space. Again, it's an option. If you want to, you can convert this into a freezer section, if you want it can be converted into a refrigerator section. That's the innovation that we got, and this was the communication too. So, this was a customer-inspired innovation,” Satish explained.

He also spoke about engaging the customer through digital, as well as shop floor experience, and not just acquiring customers but making them come back for the products. Satish ended his session by talking about how to build relationships with a customer. “What are we doing here is, we are taking care of the customer. We are building a brand ambassador in them, giving them what they need.”