Mahindra & Mahindra Limited is zooming in First Transformation mode in automotive retail with the launch of its first-of-its-kind “Bring The Showroom Home” concept for evolving customers. Digitalization – through providing a 360-degree ‘Virtual Showroom’ experience — is the epicenter of this initiative as part of Mahindra’s Digital Transformation Strategy, said Veejay Nakra, Chief of Sales & Marketing—Automotive Division, Mahindra& Mahindra Ltd.
“This initiative involves digital immersive technology through which customers can co-create and identify their Mahindra vehicles with any specification — at their homes itself with family involvement,” Nakra said here today. “We are ready to take this disruption to the next level by changing the way automotive retail is perceived in India and ‘Bring The Showroom Home’ is one such industry-first immersive experience. Our other industry-first initiatives include “SYOUV” and “With You Hamesha”, besides multiple tie-ups with portals for online booking of our vehicles,” he added.
He said the Mahindra SYOUV platform provided an integration of virtual world with real world while being the core offering under the pre-purchase clause and supported by robust backend mechanism to ensure superlative customer experience. This initiative highlighted: dealer stock availability, collaborative exploration (co-creating one’s SUV with friends/family online), TTE (Talk to our expert), Compare Cars (Mahindra with other leading market SUVs), Finance and Insurance, Test Drive Anytime/Anywhere, and Book Your Customized SUV Online (adding accessories to the cart).
Describing SYOUV as a ‘one-stop destination’ for Mahindra in the pre-sales phase of the auto-purchase journey, Nakra said the next phase of SYOUV included on-road price, track your order online, deal-maker and many other differentiating features. The Bring the Showroom Home platform would help customers to research the new vehicle by viewing them in virtual showroom, city or off-road environments, while the ‘Hamesha’ platform offered various online services like: “Convenient Service Booking,” “Smart Notifications (like service reminders, warranty/PUC/insurance renewal reminders), Instant Chat, SOS (for raising assistance), RM Video Call (video calling the company for updates on vehicle service etc) and Online Payment, he said.
With automobiles being the second-most costly purchase by people, around two lakh people were surveyed to understand the +pain points+ in their dealings with the auto industry, he said, adding that the present platform is in English and only in metros, though it would be extended to India’s top 20 cities by March 2018. “We hope for the expected present 8% sales growth to double by next year,” he said.
