Relationship Building in Cement Industry

sunandaC

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Indian Rayon an Aditya Birla group Company, was one of the first cement companies which felt the need to gain this immediate distinguishing factor and further long run equity by using CRM as a strategy.


The company wanted to bring about a transformation in the way in which it interfaced with its customers. Dealers being the interface with the customers were identified as one of the major areas in this direction.


The company consciously worked on the aspect of maintaining long term relationship with its set of customers and came out with the conclusion that if the user-customer can build long-term relationship with the distribution channel (and thus the company) of Indian rayon cement Products, this will be a major gain in the overall strategic marketing objectives of the company and also it will provide the company a distinct positioning.


Indian Rayon decided to upgrade select dealers to become Birla Super Shoppes. The intention was also to make the retailer go beyond being a mere sales channel. The Birla Shoppes were geared to become Centres for what the company prefers to call “ technomarketing service” and relationship outlets focussed at maintaining long term relationship with its customers, which no other competitor can offer.


The idea of building relationship with the customers through this unique route came after studying the buying behaviors of customer more closely. For one, the customer base was not homogenous – there were different categories of cement buyers in the market; the mason, the civil engineer, the architect, the contractor, and the institutional or large-scale buyer along with the end user.

While each of its customers has some degree of knowledge and practical experience of the products quality and usage, there was a latent need for technical information and advice before purchase. In most cases though this need was never addressed, simply because the dealer himself did not know much. At the same time most dealers tended to stock multiple brands were more concerned with pushing their stock then spending time explaining the exact details of any brand.


Each of these Shoppes had a qualified civil engineer that offered free technical consultation to every customer. Customers were provided with comprehensive information right from manufacturing of cement to its application in various end purposes. Based on the type of construction, the right type of cement along with the free advice on the usage of cement and other additives and building materials.


To further consolidate customer relationship each shoppe a regular “Mason Meet” where the actual users are invited and given technical and practical knowledge and solutions. Besides the shoppe owners of a particular area also get together once a week on an average for market and technical information sharing.


Here the differences are ironed out and collective strategies shaped. The company involvement manifests through the regular seminars and training programs that are organised for the shoppe personnel.

Indian rayon has been successful in achieving results on twin fronts of CRM:

a) Consolidating Relationships with the customers through the unique distribution channel route.

b) The company has also been able to strengthen bonds with its distribution channel (who is also amongst the company’s customer groups)
 
Indian Rayon an Aditya Birla group Company, was one of the first cement companies which felt the need to gain this immediate distinguishing factor and further long run equity by using CRM as a strategy.


The company wanted to bring about a transformation in the way in which it interfaced with its customers. Dealers being the interface with the customers were identified as one of the major areas in this direction.


The company consciously worked on the aspect of maintaining long term relationship with its set of customers and came out with the conclusion that if the user-customer can build long-term relationship with the distribution channel (and thus the company) of Indian rayon cement Products, this will be a major gain in the overall strategic marketing objectives of the company and also it will provide the company a distinct positioning.


Indian Rayon decided to upgrade select dealers to become Birla Super Shoppes. The intention was also to make the retailer go beyond being a mere sales channel. The Birla Shoppes were geared to become Centres for what the company prefers to call “ technomarketing service” and relationship outlets focussed at maintaining long term relationship with its customers, which no other competitor can offer.


The idea of building relationship with the customers through this unique route came after studying the buying behaviors of customer more closely. For one, the customer base was not homogenous – there were different categories of cement buyers in the market; the mason, the civil engineer, the architect, the contractor, and the institutional or large-scale buyer along with the end user.

While each of its customers has some degree of knowledge and practical experience of the products quality and usage, there was a latent need for technical information and advice before purchase. In most cases though this need was never addressed, simply because the dealer himself did not know much. At the same time most dealers tended to stock multiple brands were more concerned with pushing their stock then spending time explaining the exact details of any brand.


Each of these Shoppes had a qualified civil engineer that offered free technical consultation to every customer. Customers were provided with comprehensive information right from manufacturing of cement to its application in various end purposes. Based on the type of construction, the right type of cement along with the free advice on the usage of cement and other additives and building materials.


To further consolidate customer relationship each shoppe a regular “Mason Meet” where the actual users are invited and given technical and practical knowledge and solutions. Besides the shoppe owners of a particular area also get together once a week on an average for market and technical information sharing.


Here the differences are ironed out and collective strategies shaped. The company involvement manifests through the regular seminars and training programs that are organised for the shoppe personnel.

Indian rayon has been successful in achieving results on twin fronts of CRM:

a) Consolidating Relationships with the customers through the unique distribution channel route.

b) The company has also been able to strengthen bonds with its distribution channel (who is also amongst the company’s customer groups)

Hey friend, its nice to see that you are providing such a nice information on Relationship Building in Cement Industry. Well, i have also got a document and willing to upload here. So please download my presentation and check it, i hope you and other people would like it.
 

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