Sarthak Seth on brand trust and sustainability

Sartek, we're delighted to have you on the show. We've talked to Anuja about things that you apply to yourself or your precious baby. We've talked to Deepak about the rubber hitting the road. We've talked to Vairat about specs. But you've really got to trust a guy that sells you a house, right? Oh, definitely, yes. And how do you think about that? Do you start with that premise or are you more like Vairat in terms of it all boils down to spec? Definitely that aspect. I will definitely say that specs are important. But again, well, one of the good things with us is because we are Tata's. So obviously there's a big legacy what we have. And there's inbuilt trust, I can say, from the consumer's aspect also.

You know, you are at the helm of a division of one of India's most famous, most trusted businesses. But sort of cutting to the chase, Sartek, what's the secret of Tata and trust? Is it just time? Is it values? What's going on under the bonnet? Definitely, I think it's the values which is right over there. And if I can even say like from Tata Realty's perspective, it's like we have five core values. If you'll ask me, it's like we say that, okay, let's build. So build is the values what we actually really stand for. Be responsible. So we are really responsible on whatever actions we do towards the consumers also. It's giving back to the society in some manner. Unite to lead.

So as an organization, we really look forward in terms of having our customers together and how we can take them forward along with us. Inspired trust. Again, it has to be trust and transparency in whatever act we do. Then I is inspired trust, what I've said. Lead with excellence. Again, excellence is something which is very, very important for us. So whatever aspects, whether it is housing, whether it is, I would say, commercial real estate, it has to be power excellence of whatever product we are delivering. And then delighting the customers, which is the D. So if you'll see, it sits right into the core of whatever we do. And is it, okay, so very value-based. Tata is a famously value-driven company, right?

But if we line up, you know, I ask a similar question to Vera, lining up three auto companies. I line up three developers, domestic developer businesses. Why do I trust one more than the other? I interviewed Mr. Hirandani the other day. He had a story about why I should trust him more. Why should I trust you more? So, again, one of the aspects about this business is very micro-market-centric. So when I say micro-market-centric, obviously, if Jamie is an individual, he wants to buy something in Gurgaon, he might not find a Hiran Nandi over there. So it is, okay, what options do I have? Probably you might say, I've got a Tata, I've got a DLF, I've got an M3M. Now you have to, like, make a choice amongst these three brands.

So there, actually, you look into the product, you look into that, okay, what each of them are offering, and then definitely the commitment. Because I believe the people, the way they have actually seen housing in the last two decades or three decades, there have a lot been the deliveries which have not happened on time. And people really are looking forward to those developers who can actually do the deliveries on time, who are really standing tall on the commitment. So I think these are the very important aspects for any individual to really go and invest, because people are actually investing their fortunes. It's like your life savings, you're investing into housing. So you know that, okay, I should get it on time.

And that is where I think Tata really stands tall. But, okay, but getting into the nitty-gritty Sartak, is it because they're more transparent, they're more in the detail, the after service is better? Talk to us about that. Yeah, definitely. I would say from a transparency aspect, yes, we really reach out to our consumers, we actually tell them everything on the project. We also need to look into, from a real estate perspective, I think two or three more important aspects over here, which is, I would say, asymmetric information, has been so much into real estate that the developers at that time actually don't tell you a lot of things. So we actually believe in sharing every detail along with the consumer. Secondly, also, Jamie, I would say,

if you'll see, the moment of truth has actually changed. So if you go back almost like a decade back to what it is today, so earlier we used to have a certain moment of truth. Today we have actually come on to a zero moment of truth, which is literally like somebody else's experience. I'm actually seeing that experience. I'm actually taking a product basis that experience itself. So referral loyalty really plays a very, very important role when it comes to housing as a segment. It can go up to almost 15% to 20% of your overall sales because that is where people have, you have earned the trust of people, they are ready to invest themselves, they are actually asking their friends and relatives also.

And in our case, I think it's not just about having those, your consumers as your brand ambassadors or advocates, it's almost all about, can you really convert those brand ambassadors into your brand evangelist? That's an interesting point, isn't it? Because I was asking Nij about where does trust sit in the organisation. The honest fact is it sits in the customer. It's up to me whether I trust. Yes, that is what we completely believe in, having brand evangelist rather than even ambassadors or advocates. Well, and okay, now let's parlay this into a national conversation, right? So you've got developments across this extraordinary, diverse nation. And you've got people entering the housing market, you've got people on their third charter development.

How do you interpret the complexity of your TGs in this market from a trying to understand what will people trust perspective? Okay, again, the thing is it's not, the trust factor is not different from a TG perspective, first of all, let me just say. So it's not different Kerala to Kashmir if you're buying a house? See, again, the thing is that a consumer is a consumer. And the needs and demands of a consumer remains the same across, I would say, various geographies. It might just depend upon what the product you're offering. So probably you might see that, okay, in Delhi, you might want somebody who's wanting to have a bigger living space or a bigger bedroom as compared to somebody in Mumbai.

But at the end of the day, it is all about the quality of the product, what you're actually offering. So there's something about trust being passed from one person to another and trust belonging to a person. And then what you're describing is broadly the way people think about trust is quite similar. What about when it goes wrong, Sartak? What about when it goes wrong? Because here's a point, and it's a challenge to the Tartars of this world. The list of great brands that no longer exist is much bigger than the list of great brands that do exist, right? How do you stop yourself being complacent? I think that is what we are there for. Day in and day out, we just have to really ensure that, okay, we don't fall in terms of the commitments

what we are actually making to our consumers. That is where we have to actually ensure each of our actions, each of our deliveries also. Because we also know that it is much easier to go at the top, but it is most difficult to really command your position at the top for a longer time. But can you remember times when trust was jeopardized? There must have been many times in your career. I can say in housing, yes, a lot of times we face certain issues at times because the consumers might come and say that, okay, there are some leakages or there are certain problems that we have faced. But as Tartars, what we do is we actually go and ensure that, okay, if a consumer is facing any of these challenges, we immediately go, course correct it,

and we ensure that, okay, it does not happen again. And again, like some of my colleagues said, that these are certain learnings also for us. If there are certain learnings what we have taken from the project, we ensure that, okay, those things do not get repeated in the next one. I want to toss this into the group here a bit. So we talked a bit about the buying decisions, question for Virat really, in the automotive ecosystem. Is creating trust in that environment, multiple stakeholders, in your mind, similar to creating trust in the housing environment? So Jasper, I agree. Housing and cars are high involvement categories. They are bought by maybe a single decision maker, but they involve the entire family, the entire extended family.

Housing and cars both stand for long-term value. Both stand for less repeat purchase. Both stand for status. So I think the deliberation, the consumer buying journey, the research could be a bit similar. And I should not say that in this category, trust will have a higher value, but it will definitely be one of the top two or top three reasons to buy the brand. And there is, I mean, there is, even with this group, there's a spectrum of trust levels required, depending on the purchase or in the engagement. We'll finish up with this question, Sartak. For all the young marketeers out there, millions of them tuning into trailblazers, what's your one piece of advice for the younger marketeer around trust? Sartak. I think for the marketeers, I would say,

they have to really create their own brand also, because if they want somebody else to trust them, first of all, they need to create their own brand. That's really, very important. Secondly, it has to be like, they have to be consistent in whatever they do, because I believe consistency is really a key for an individual, for an organization. And you just keep on harping on certain things. What you believe that, okay, this is your core values. And the last I can say is all about common sense, because it is really difficult to find common sense at times. I think that's a great place to ground this conversation. I think after I've completed my Hyundai purchase, I'll be hoping to park it outside. You should go for a TADA housing home first,

and then the Hyundai. I'm thinking Ford BHK. Because homes are for generations. Done. Thank you so much for being on Trailblazers. Thank you so much, Jamie.