DMA Trailblazer Series with WION | S1E5 - Market Expansion Insights ft. Industry Leaders

Music By the age of only 30 Alexander the Great had conquered the entirety of the known world. And on today's Trailblazers we discuss market expansion. Are our guests like Alexander the Great or do they prefer to stay at home and stick to the knitting? We're going to find out. And joining us today is Vishal from Madison World, Rakesh from Live Pure, Amit from Soul Flower, Prateek from Mahindra Holidays and Resorts and finally Satinder from Burlesoft. Gentlemen, welcome to Trailblazers. Now I'm going to call our first guest up, Vishal from Madison World to get the debate going. Vishal, you're a fantastic place to start in the sense that on the one hand your business is called Madison World and on the other hand, famously, Madison World is exclusively

focused on India. Why are you just focused on India and not the world? Well, the term world is because of the kind of areas and specialties and expertise that we've built into other marketing areas. We've been an independent agency, largely local, and we believe that's an advantage for the kind of nuances that we sort of understand the market much better. So I think it's an advantage and we'd love to call it world, world, but we're local for local. But India is vast. How do you even begin to be local in a country this big? When you talk about India as a market, I mean, that's massive growth. And there is a huge scope of expansion in India itself. So let's get into the nitty gritty of this, Vishal. So Madison is client focused, right?

So you're in the business of enabling your clients to expand. What is it about you that innately makes you able to do that as an agency? It's more important for any marketer, any media person to really understand the market in a better way before really being an advocate to the clients of really expanding the business right now. I think to my mind, the better you know your own markets, the better you can come with a better solve. Take us back to when Madison started because like all brands that expand it starts in a single place, right? Geographically. Why didn't you just stick to that? Why have you gone broader? Is it a client thing? Clients are asking you? How do you define the market as such? Because it's so big. Look, I think we're a

35 year old agency, still standing strong, tall, and the firm belief is that there's a lot more you can do in India. That market itself is so huge. And there's tremendous potential. You don't really need to go out of the boundaries of India to create the fame or money, There's a lot you can do here. I mean we're talking about a massive size. Today, when you look at India as a market per se, I think we're one of the best economies. We're hitting a great economy, a GDP of about 6.7. Looks like it could be even getting better next year. Let's get back to your clients because that's the mother load of Madison, clearly Vishal. Is there something when you think about identity where you're finding that your Indian clients

are innately very interested in having an Indian agency? Of course that happens. Yeah, so a lot of our clients are Indian clients. It's not that we don't have MNC clients, but I think for the kind of work that we've done, we probably have more Indian clients, I would say. If you take NRIs as a community, they're winners all around the world in every sector. 25% of NASA, 50% of the established headcount globally of Microsoft. Are Indians better understanding the new domains? Absolutely, yes. I mean given a chance, people would love to go to abroad, I mean many of the global markets. But I think that maybe in the coming years, probably the trend will change and the same NRIs may want to come back to India. Well that's right.

There's a bounce back theory. Well, when that starts to happen Vishal, we'll get you back on the show. You've been a fantastic guest. Thank you so much for your time and insights. Thanks Jasper. Our next guest is Rakesh from Live Pure. Rakesh, welcome to the show. Thank you so much Jasper. When you think about market expansion, of course it's not just a marketing topic, is it? It's a big business topic. Absolutely. And talk to us a bit about, because Live Pure or the many other brands you've worked with, may have this or that identity, this or that brand ingredients. But you have a very interesting thought process around business models and how innate that is to expansion. Talk to us a bit about that Rakesh.

So we at Live Pure have been an 11 year old brand and been primarily into water purification. We know water is a big, big issue in India. We felt that the water purifiers as a product, the penetration in the market is not, is hovering around 3 to 5% as such. And here we found that how do we expand the market? How do we democratize drinking of purified water across millions of Indians, which they don't have access? And we went deeper and a lot of consumer inciting as such. And we saw that typically a water purifier costs you between 12,000 to 18,000 Indian rupees. And after every one year you got to pay 4 to 6,000 rupees in order to maintain that water purifiers. Because the filters go bad depending on the quality of the water,

depending on where you stay. Because India again has got various quality of water across the states. So we thought, you know, the consumer had a big problem. Well, they bought a product and after every one year they're going to pay one third of the product cost back into the annual maintenance contract. And they have all the pains of, you know, calling the technician, he coming there, you know, addressing the problem, changing the filters. So while companies made revenues out of it, you know, based on the service needs of the consumers of the water purifiers, we felt there was an unmet need. We felt that the consumers needed, we needed to expand the cohort. We needed to democratize water purification as such.

So we thought of and we did a lot of consumer insights and we felt these are the pain points which needs to be addressed. And we came up with a unique, what we call the subscription model. And, you know, today we actually build a very, very strong tech stack around it, invested millions into building a very, very consumer friendly tech stack whereby which consumer does not have to own a machine. He does not have to own a machine. All he has to do is to have a subscription which can range from 3 to 12 months and even more. And all he needs to is, you know, we address these consumers through digital marketing and other avenues of marketing where we reach out to these consumers.

And, you know, we go and, you know, install the water purifier at his place. And absolutely, he does not have to worry about anything. He or she doesn't have to worry about anything. These are IoT machines. Whenever the filter goes bad, we get a prompt on our server. The engineer calls up, does an outbound calling, calls the consumer. Okay, can I come and, you know, get your filter changed? He says, okay, please come in. And we get the filters changed. So for three years and years and years on, he doesn't have to worry about any acquisition cost. He doesn't have to worry about any maintenance contract as such. So it's zero for maintenance, zero cost. I mean, you've been in Philips, Whirlpool, you know, tons of businesses.

Is there something about LivePure that's almost like a new type of business? Because before we had white goods, right? Or we had a service contract. Is part of your thinking around expansion that actually you're kind of a new category of brand and business, right? I think the world has changed quite a bit, particularly India also post-COVID. I think the holiness around the brands and the category extensions, which used to be a big debate earlier, is no longer the debate. Now the new age consumers, the millennials are looking at the deliveries. They're looking at how brilliant the brand is teaching you, how brand is treating you at the delivery time. The post-sales experience. So I think towards that, I think the brands are no longer halos.

It's about experience, what you give them. Do you have a sense of why one brand or agency or media agency is better at market expansion than another? Is it a kind of ethos thing? Is it a technical thing? I think, you know, if you go for the pre-COVID times, you know, distribution was a big leverage in India. You know, today you talked about India is having around 17,000 pin codes across the country. And earlier distribution used to be the Holy Grail of brands. You know, brands who have been invested in distribution marketing for several years used to be the brands where no other could get entry into. But post-COVID and even before COVID, the digital economy took over that. And today you can address your 17,000 pin codes through e-commerce as well.

Because e-commerce has become a substantial part of your business to the level of even 30 to 35%. So, distribution is no longer the weapon which you used to have in the earlier times. So, it's smart marketing, it's focused marketing, it's reaching out to the consumer through this digital landscape and giving your entire profile of your products which you have to a consumer cohort at a much faster pace. And of course, at an optimized cost too. Well, you've been a fantastic guest, Rakesh. Thank you so much for coming on Trailblazers. Thank you so much for having me. And now we're joined by Amit at the helm of Soul Flower. Amit, welcome to Trailblazers. Thank you, Jesper. I've got two… I want to shower you with praise.

The first element of praise is you definitely win the Sartorial Award on Trailblazers for the coolest shoes. Award number one. The second award is an award for monogamy. So, we've had many fellows here that have been across multiple brands. You're a one brand man, right? So, in the world of Tinder, I always say, in the world of Tinder, it's very odd to be, you know, in the monogamy relationship. Let's get into Soul Flower. So, market expansion, right? I mean, you know, that feels like going from Haryana to Noida to the Punjab or whatever. But I think you think about market expansion a bit differently, don't you? So, there are three things about market expansion. One is geographical, second is behavioral, and third is cultural.

I think one thing which we have been focusing very clearly now is behavioral. To just to give you a basic gist, people buy gifts. So, we sell a lot of gifts. People buy gifts, but people really don't plan to buy gifts. It's very momentary. So, changing that two days delivery to a 10 minute delivery of a gift. Sitting here, you can order my gift in 10 minutes, it will be delivered to you in this office. I think that changed our game. That made our market much bigger and larger. Because people are not planned. And that is one market expansion. Second is cultural. We are a natural product company. So, culturally, people who believe in nature are the ones who come and they help us to expand the market.

So, I think this is how we look at market, besides the geographical markets where we are present. Amit, talk to us about that. 23 years. Do you know, I mean, I've been building a restaurant business in India for 10 years. It's nothing. Market expansion takes a lot of time and knowledge, right? A lot of time. I think it's also an inflection point. You know, it's like hockey. You keep on working, working, working. Nothing is happening. And one day, everything just starts happening. And I think that is what I am seeing, like my own journey. Last, just I'll skip this three years. Prior to 20 years, a lot of work, a lot of retail work, a lot of distribution, a lot of things. And today, I feel like, okay, we are there everywhere.

It's not what I have done in last three years. It's actually that last 23 years, which my customer has helped me to build the business. But you must have had your fair share of setbacks on expansion. I think we expanded in US and I think we thought US is a very large market can do really fantastic well. But when we got into the market, I think the market is so different than any other market in the world. I think somewhere we realized that we are not meant for US though we do well there or even UK, you know, from where your brand comes from. We realized we are not meant for these markets. We are very meant for markets which are India, Middle East, Japan. So where there is a cultural fit.

So if culture is common somewhere, some element of culture, it helps you to expand the market. Where do you want to expand to now? Are you happy where you are? Do you see other frontiers? I think Middle East is one of the markets which is very, very strong. Huge reception for the Indian products and huge reception for receptiveness for, you know, natural products. I think that is where the real market will be post India. Amit, thank you for coming on Trailblazers. You've been a great guest. And now we are joined by Prateek from Mahindra Holidays and Resorts. How do you think about how Mahindra enables others to expand markets? About Mahindra Holidays.

Mahindra Holidays was set up about 27 years back based on two basic human insights which are true to Indian society, maybe as much to the world. One, a deep sense of family belonging and bonding, much like, you know, what you see in your dharma films. And second, a sense of wanderlust, experiential, innate desire and hunger that human beings have to explore the unknown. That was the fundamental principle basis which the founders set up this business. Our brand is all about creating magical memories and moments. It's not about that one holiday. It's about taking those seven day and nights of holiday and the multiple hundreds of touch points that a family receives or gets when they go through that holiday.

You know, and every member of the household has their own experiential journey on the holiday. And Mahindra Holidays has been a pioneer. It literally pioneered the subscription economy. 27 years back, we were asking prospects to upfront pay for seven nights of holidays per year for a 25 year holiday membership. The brand is all about discovering India. We cover India, you discover India. Your model is of India, by India, for India, right? And it comes out of one of the better known business groups. Could you transplant your model as is and become a tour operator in America for American customers? For us to be able to create a global business. Yes, there definitely is an opportunity.

But we believe fundamentally the opportunity and the low hanging fruit and the market potential in India is much more. Our right to win here because of the whole Mahindra group story is far better here, given the underserved penetration in the market here. So at this point of time, we'll focus here. That being said, Mahindra Holidays is also in Europe. We have a subsidiary called HCR Holiday Club Resorts, which is there in Finland as well as Sweden. And how particularly have you engaged with customers who may never have travelled? As we understood the market, as the market evolved, we saw that there was an opportunity for seniors. I won't say senior citizens, but people who are about to start the second innings of their career.

I'm worried I'm senior. How do you define that? So people above 50. Oh. OK, so we created a product for them, a 10 year product, a points based. We understood that just about pre-COVID, we understood that the Gen Z and the millennials were coming into the category. Disposable income was growing. We created a three year product called Go Zest, which allowed them to experience what Mahindra Holidays had to offer. They were obviously young couples. They wanted different kind of experience in the holidays. So we started catering to them as well. And we then upgrade them into a longer tenure membership. So we've expanded our product portfolio. We've expanded our reach in the number of resorts.

And we've expanded the channels through which we acquire these consumers. Digital is now playing a large role in acquisition of customers. That's how we look at market expansion. What's your advice to countries that want to attract Indian travellers? I think one of the one of the things that countries could do is familiarize themselves with some of the Indian cultural nuances. While Indians are experimented in nature, there are certain cohorts in that it's not one homogeneous mass who still want to stay connected, for example, with food, for example. Understanding local culture experiences about that particular country.

So trying to sort of work with content companies here in India to sort of ensure that that country gets embedded in the Indian consciousness. That could be a way for global countries to sort of market in India. Pratit, you've been a fantastic guest. Thank you for coming on Trailblazers. And now we're joined by Satinder on Trailblazers. Satinder, get us going with one thing because, I mean, you're a tech veteran, right? Currently heading up global marketing for Beelisoft. The prejudice is that tech businesses, digital businesses are very easy to expand. So if you're Amit and you want to sell soap in Atlanta, that's a bit of a headache, right? Talk to us about how you think about expansion. Is it even geographical?

So in our business, Jasper, brand expansion, I would pivot it on three pillars, actually. Ours is probably one of the rare businesses where the raw material decides which brand to go for. So it's that brilliant technical engineer who decides that he or she is working for Beelisoft or for some other brand. So they're the raw material. So they're the raw material because that's what I mean, whatever we give to our clients is based on that expertise. So there has to be a brand expansion on that side. That's pillar number one. Pillar number two, we are IT services company. We play with technology. So the brand expansion also has to happen with our, and you know, you don't provide technology standalone. It's an ecosystem.

So how do you do the brand expansion in the ecosystem? Third, which is the most obvious, is the brand expansion within the client set. So for brand expansion in the technology domain where, where I come from, it's somewhat different than what your previous trailblazers have touched. Why does a young, bright, dynamic expansion minded engineer join you and not Mr. Narayan Murthy or anyone else? So I think there are a couple of stuff and good part is, it's changing. Post COVID we are changing. We are seeing a different change in the thought process, the mindset, what a young, technically brilliant mind wants before, you know, what it wanted for 10 years. I think it's the relevance and excitement. Those are the two things, right?

Which, which motivate, which move these youngsters to pick up what they want. Because they run their careers now, don't they? I mean, not just joining you for life. I mean, if they do, you're in good nick, but. So I think that's what I said, that excitement and relevance, right? That builds the, builds the career. Now within the excitement, there are a couple of things. The newer technologies that we, that you work on, because if, if you are able to give the charm and the joy of working on newer technologies, right? That takes care of relevance as well, right? Because what technology was doing or what kind of technology was, was prevalent 20 years back.

Now it's changed to keep this youngster or to keep this technically brilliant mind continuously engaged. So that's, that's the differentiator. When you look at the multiple tech firms you've been with and take Burlesoft, what is it particularly, what's this magic that they have to, that keeps people? What keeps them engaged, as I said, is, is the excitement of the problem. So at the heart, they are the problem. We are all actually the problem solvers. The bigger and the more complicated problem, the greater the joy, the adrenaline rush to crack the code, or to come up with a fantastic application, right? Which the client loves.

If you solve one problem beautifully for the client, he comes back to you for the next problem and the next problem and the next problem. And even before you know, you are a important partner. How do you keep these clients, you know, engaged? Because, you know, you're expanding their markets. You're right. So I think the, the, the context frame is very, very important. So if you know where the client is headed to, because what you're developing for the client is not for today. It is the, it is one sliver of competitive advantage for the client for tomorrow. So if you can, if you can be in that context for the client, that what I'm doing is going to help him next six months or 12 months, and is a source of competitive advantage.

Even if it is faster payroll, I'm just taking something as basic as that. Two, creating a data lake, which gives insights quicker, right? All of both of this are at the equal competitive advantage level. So if you know that and you can align yourself with that, I think that is where it lies the key for your expansion in that client. Thanks for having me here, Jasper. That's all, sir. A million thanks to all our guests on Trailblazers. The last thing I take from this is that Alexander expanded, but he expanded because he had amazing people, and those people were amazingly motivated. I'm Jasper Reid, and you've been watching Trailblazers, a joint DMA Asia. We on initiative.