You can't be a good marketer without love for data: Meera Iyer, Head of Marketing, Bigbasket

With the online grocery sector turning out to be a major success primarily because of the millennials, many big players have begun to successfully establish themselves in the burgeoning space. One of the most prominent players in the online grocery store is Bigbasket, which still continues to grow in this highly competitive marketplace. Meera Iyer, Head of Marketing at Bigbasket, talks about the USP, marketing strategies and plans for the brand in an interview with e4m. Excerpts:

Being a new and untested sector, how did you market the company in its nascent years?

I was not around at that time. I have been with Bigbasket for the last two years. It’s a service that many people genuinely need. There is a large population that benefits from a business that delivers quality groceries at home. Hence, the need being a real one, the concept did well initially and word of mouth got it going with the support of other media avenues.

With a lot of players trying to get into this space, how do you differentiate yourself from the crowd? What’s your market share like?

We are the largest online grocer. We are different in many ways. We have the largest range of groceries. No other retailer both offline or online gives you an all-encompassing range of products including chilled, frozen, gourmet, fresh fruits, vegetables and more.

We have the best customer-facing metrics in the industry, not just in India but globally. At 99 per cent on-time delivery and 98 per cent fill rate, we beat even global companies like Amazon, Ocado and more. Then, we have a large range of private labels contributing almost 35 per cent of the business. This is important in a traditionally low-margin grocery business.

We have completely automated the chain of procurement right from picking, packing to delivering. This gives us an edge. Lastly, supply chain and procurement is a big plus for us. We have set up 22 collection centers in the country and partnered with over 5000 farmers to supply fresh produce every day to customers. We source nationally from several large vendors and that gives us economies of scale and better pricing.

The ads released with Shah Rukh Khan as your brand ambassador were seen prominently on TV. What has been your marketing mix for this and other upcoming campaigns?

TV is the lead medium and along with the press, forms a majority of our spends. We augment it with digital but use it more for conversion than branding and engagement.

What is your marketing strategy?

This is a very broad question but simply put, we will continue to generate demand by being ATL (Above The Line) led and complement the same with digital marketing.

Could you give us a sneak peek of the marketing activities or plans going ahead?

We are working on a project for Diwali to get customers in metros sweets from some famous stores in other cities. A lot of our customers are migrants and to be able to give them a taste of their home this Diwali is something we are excited to work on.

You were primarily in sales and marketing roles before joining Bigbasket. How has your journey been so far? What are your key learnings since you’ve been here for almost a decade?

Bigbasket is only the second company I have worked for. I joined HUL, fresh out of campus (JBIMS) as a management trainee. As is the typical career path in Unilever, I started with sales and then went on to marketing. At Bigbasket, it took a few months to settle into the startup culture but it’s amazing how much can change in a short while. In my current role, I have been as much a student as I have been a coach, learning the real nuances of digital marketing while leading a vibrant team of a dozen people. I would simply put down my learnings over these eight to 10 years in the following pointers: Firstly, there is no shortcut to learning. Get deep and get your hands dirty so no one can give you “faff.” Secondly, care deeply about your customers and genuinely want to understand insights about them. That’s how your communication will take a good shape. Lastly, more than ever, you can’t be a good marketer without a love for data.