Business Ideas
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Service satisfaction
Rs 50 to 100 crore. Through the joint ventures, Khattar wants to target small towns which do not have service infrastructure. “People from such towns go to large cities to purchase a car. To take the car back to the same city for service is an inconvenience. Carnation can take care of service in such towns,” says he. Though market leader Maruti Suzuki has a huge network with some 2,000 authorised service stations, other carmakers lag far behind. At the same time, the market in small towns and even villages has gained a buzz because of improved rural prosperity. Support prices for all crops are up, monsoons (except the current one) have been bountiful and farm income is not taxed. Price & convenience India is a price-sensitive market. According to Khattar’s own admission, over half the people take their cars to neighbourhood garages for service after two years. How will Khattar make sure his prices are competitive? Khattar says most authorised service stations look at the first opportunity to replace parts and that inflates the bill. “Our philosophy is to repair and not replace, unless it is absolutely necessary,” says he. For convenience, Carnation stations open at 9:00 in the morning and stay open till 9:00 at night. It offers car pickup and drop. Khattar even plans to have service vans which can park in a neighbourhood and service all the cars there. But there are other ways Khattar is trying to keep his costs under check, which will help him keep the price tag on his service low. Instead of buying space in newspapers for advertisements, Khattar has put inserts in weekend editions — a cost-effective way of reaching the customer. He expects word-of-mouth publicity to play a big role in his campaign. Of course, the inserts carry prominently Khattar’s photograph. Even the logo of his company says, “A Jagdish Khattar Initiative”. Brand experts will tell you that such a plan runs two risks: One, people perceive it to be a one-man show that lacks management depth; and two, what happens if the promoter is not around? Khattar says the tagline was attached on the advice of Piyush Pandey, the chairman of Ogilvy. A dipstick carried out by Pandey showed that Khattar’s credibility amongst automotive industry heavyweights was the highest across various parameters. Pandey therefore insisted that his name should be brought in one way or the other. Service, of course, is a highly personalised business and Khattar hopes it will help. Meanwhile, Khattar has begun selling pre-owned cars. Most carmakers offer similar services but with a difference: They may buy any brand but they will only sell their own cars. The trick here is to sell a car within three to four weeks of buying it. Or else, it can add to costs. While the plan for pre-owned cars has begun to roll, Khattar is in no hurry to start car dealership. However, he has inked a deal with car designer Dilip Chhabria to become his exclusive dealer in the country. At the moment, his focus is on service, spare parts, accessories and pre-owned cars.Pages: 1 [2]