Revealed: Tata Motors’ new retail strategy for Bolt’s success

The Tata Bolt, which was launched today, is yet another model to enter the hatchback segment that enjoys the lion’s share in the Indian passenger car market.

For its maker Tata Motors, it is a very high stakes bet. Not only as a model, but also as a key product under the Horizonext turnaround strategy.

The Zest sedan, the first product under the strategy, has got off to a good start. The Bolt has to give it company to strengthen the foundation. Therefore, a team of 1,000 professionals at Tata dealerships have been trained exclusively to sell the Bolt. The “logic” behind this strategy is to change the approach of the sales professionals at dealerships who were more “used to” selling to fleet customers, as the previous Tata Indica and its variants found a good number takers in the fleet segment. “But the individual customer need is different. So for each model we are training a completely dedicated force called Bolt Force,” Mayank Pareek, president – passenger vehicle business unit, Tata Motors, told Autocar Professional.

It’s not only the Bolt but every vehicle brand under the Tata Motors badge will get a dedicated sales team at dealerships. The reason is to have a focused approach.

“One of the challenges Tata Motors has had earlier is that we have not been segmenting the market and preparing for it,” says Pareek. Tata Motors plans to launch two new models every year till 2020. So, cumulatively, there would be a very big number of recruitment at Tata Motors dealerships in the coming months and years.

Pareeek is not looking at only on adding manpower. He is also looking at quality manpower that will not only sell the cars but will also help strengthen Tata’s brand equity in the passenger vehicle market, which is comparatively weak at present.

To enhance the overall experience at dealerships and build the customer’s confidence on the brand, Tata Motors is recruiting people from sectors where customer service plays a more important role than the automobile sector. Pareek says, “We are recruiting people from service industries like hotels and airlines, where you actually deal with customers, sometimes irate customers. So you should know how to really handle queries and reply to them.”

The new process doesn’t end there. Instead of training only in an office, Tata Motors has taken the new recruits to hotels to make them experience the lifestyle of a customer and also make them drive cars. So, holding a driving license is now key to applying for a job as a salesperson in Tata Motors dealerships.

Emphasis is also given to train sales personnel about every feature of a model. Pareek says he doesn’t want his cars to be like many mobile handsets where the users don’t use or are not aware of majority of their features. “As you know, we have put the state-of-the-art Harman Kardon audio system, which is available in high-end cars like BMW and Merc, in the Bolt. But if it is not explained properly and not demonstrated properly, it is a waste,” says Pareek.

Under the new focus to revive Tata Motors’ fortune in the passenger vehicle market, the company is taking steps like never before. Not surprising then that Pareek is personally monitoring the new “individual personalised selling” practice.

The Bolt, which debuts today, falls in a much more competitive segment than the Zest’s. It competes with the likes of the Maruti Swift and the Hyundai i20. Both the competitors incidentally have been voted ‘Car of the Year’ and have been best-sellers. The Bolt, which has been priced between Rs 4.44 lakh and Rs 6.99 lakh, will make the race more interesting.

It is estimated that passenger vehicle customers typically see around three cars before taking the final call to purchase one. Tata Motors’ efforts are aimed at helping the Bolt to be the chosen one. And that fits the company's strategy  to have a podium position in its business under the Horizonext strategy. The Bolt’s test in that regard starts today.