CASE STUDY Customer Relationship Initiatives at Ford Indian Automobile Industry: An Introduction on the streets ‘The Indian automobile industry has come a long way since the first car ran of Bombay in 1898. It was the deregulation of the passenger car market a decade ago that transformed the industry into a growth engine for the nation’s economy. The industry has a symbiotic relationship with several diverse sectors that include auto ancillary, fuel retailing, road transportation, IT services and engineering design industries. Over the last couple of years, the auto industry has proven to be a strong driver of growth for the manufacturing sector in the country. One of the largest economies in the world and one of the top five nations in terms of purchasing power, the pace of growth in India is expected to be more rapid over the next few years. Rising incomes, reducing interest rates, a greater awareness of global products and services, and a growing consumerism are rapidly changing the market dynamics in the country. There have been geographical shifts in purchasing power as mini-metros, such as Indore, Chandigarh, Pune, Vishakhapatnam, Surat, Jamshedpur, ete., account for much of the rapid growth in the country. India has emerged as a top-priority for global marketers and the industry is fiercely competitive.ow id people in the count every the i TY as id over 600 per 1000 in North Americ _ “ar manufacturers jn the country, 4 Lad bas mbarked on an aggressiy, ship facilities across 79 citi i. hore a primary dealer i n ni 7 ing in India . ee buying process begins when # customer ret an unsatisfieg ping ite basis MEN ite fain we airectly related to the performance He atogical neces. are ssociated with the personal gratification the Customers “oh factors such as economy, Value i] level, many presume in |] experience. ains. On the contrary, research has shown that rgy, efficiency, expertise and ethics. Trends end their money, aS long as quality of ly assure customers that they have of the product. h Sastamer gets by purchase e, and the the lookout for overall retal the best barg most customers ‘ye E’s—empathy, ene perfectly willing to sp customers are teed. An astute marketeer needs to repeated], demonstrate that service is guaran made 2 wise choice in their purchase decision. Figure 1.6 Customer First at Ford The automotive : customer life cycle i oy Fi cycle is ma epee Tose Fee is broadly divided into the sales, aft ers require to intensify their increasingly complex automoti after-sales, and the resale us on fulfilling Sa eee manufacturers ' needs and ex) ions. ‘pectations. Customer Rel lationship Mai nay 2, Ford has taken several igement Initiatives at FORDionship in Busines 2. Ford CarGainz: The greater challenge in today's marketing is retaining the customer, R expensive, to retain rather than acquire a new customer, Beside: pagement Too! ® 25 vironment, however, ‘arch shows that it is 5 times casier, and 15 times tess Ford India launched *Ford CarGainz’—an innovative programme in the automobile industry, exclusively designed for the Ford vehicle owner, CarGainz is a first of India, emphasising on Ford’s strong focus and commitment to It is a customer loyalty programme that rewards servicing, its kind initiative in customer satisfaction. regular maintenance, and the purchase of accessories from Ford authorised dealers and service centres. By rewarding customers for following scheduled maintenance procedures through authorised Ford dealerships, CarGainz seeks to educate the consumer on the s they incur with non-genuine spare parts and unauthorised service centres. CarGainz. helps Ford owners immensely by encouraging them to maintain their car as per prescribed frequencies, thereby getting the best performance from their vehicles and eaming a seher value at resale. In little over a year, over 60,000 customers have enrolled in the CarGainz programme, which speaks well for the value of this i 3, Total Maintenance Plan: The post-purchase experience and innovative programme. cost of ownership are integral parts of the auto business. Proper vehicle maintenance ensures a trouble-free ownership experience. To encourage this aspect, Ford India introduced the Total Maintenance Plan (TMP) for all its models. Starting at a price as low as €0.39 per Kilometre, the plan covers all scheduled maintenance, and includes all mechanical and electrical repairs, except wear and tear items, fuel, and a TMP insulates the customer from spare parts price revisions a value of the car. cident repairs. Ford's nd increases the resale 4. Localisation Programme: Moving forward, automakers realise that innovation would need to be the engine for greater growth. Customers are demanding new and improved features and care especially about value. Recognising this critical factor, Ford India has an aggressive localisation programme in place. Over 90% of the Ford Ikon has been locally sourced. Ford Fiesta also has over 70% localisation. Ford vehicle spare parts and components are competitively priced and the company has migrated to a repair versus replacement approach during the after-sales period. Ford also has a remanufacturing programme on certain high-cost parts to minimise the cost of ownership. Remanufactured parts are fully certified and come with warranty for the customer. 5. Ford's Quality Care: Demonstrating its pursuit for excellence is also one of the first manufacturers in India to offer accredited service and best practices, Ford dards for its dealerships with Ford’s QualityCare. A QualityCare certified dealership delivers consistent service standards that are measured against set benchm: Dealerships are regularly audited for sustaining QualityCare standards. QualityCare covers the entire service process by ensuring that 12 key elements of the entir and evaluated. Some examples of the metrics would be Deli © process are measured iver car on time, Fix it Right the First Time, etc. Ford India has certified service facilities as QualityCare facilities, catering to 80% of Ford customers across the country. The benefits of QualityCare are clearly reflected in JD Power's survey, where Ford India is among the top three manufacturers in customer satisfaction.26 ustomer RelationshiP Management ncepts and Cases L. How do you rate the competition prevailing in Indian Automobile Industry to 4, responsible for Newer Customer Relationship Practices 1n the industry? e 2. The issues of automobile industry are different from many of the service business ae call for differing sets of Relationship Management Initiatives. Comment a, jertaken by Ford Motors. with respect to the initiatives undi 3. How would you create distinction for your company as compared to the exist ing practices of other players of the industry?