NO OTHER EXAMPLE CAN JUSTIFY THE MIGHT OF BRAND TATA MOTORS THAN THE MAN HIMSELF. HE HAS BEEN THERE ALL ALONG AND STILL GOING STRONG
When pundits write paeans over how entrepreneurs must dream ‘big’; this man was contrarian. He dreamt ‘small’, shared his dreams with the nation and the year 2008 saw him make aggressive efforts to realise that ‘Nano’ dream. Yes! Ratan Tata’s pet project - Nano - installed the perfect halo over brand Tata Motors in 2008. Mamta Banerjee and the Singur controversy may have taken some of that sheen away, but the subsequent acquisition of European marquee brands Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) brought the halo right back on the brand’s forehead. And while we could have given all credit to CEO Ravi Kant; yet it is undeniable that both Nano and the JLR initiative were personally handled by Ratan Tata himself, thereby making him our chosen brain that fuelled brand Tata Motors this year.
The Rs.1 lakh car, as it’s known, is expected to hit the market in 2009 and will undercut Maruti 800 in both pricing and practicality. Who could have thought that a truck maker would challenge the dominance of the small car maestro, Suzuki! With 62 years of truck making heritage, Tata Motors is today India’s largest and world’s seventh largest H&MCV manufacturer, holding over 65% market share. Considering that this is the company’s primary métier, Tatas are in a position to take the market pretty much anywhere they want. But this is where perception and rationale find themselves on a collision course! When the Indica compact did come in the year 1998, analysts were skeptical. They argued that a truck manufacturer will never be competent enough to fight it out in the excessively competitive small car market. Armed with modern technology and years of small car making experience, the competition was just not ruthless, it was smart! Ratan Tata was, however, convinced that his car was innovative enough to outsmart any established player irrespective of the latter’s brand. What Tata has is the unparalleled ‘brand equity’ of the group. “Tata has always been a major brand since it is present in almost all automotive segments. It started with the trucks, then entered SUVs and now cars,” says Auto Expert Murad Ali Baig.
Ratan Tata’s bag of tricks is overtly dependent on innovation and astute market reading. He knows that for an upwardly mobile customer (wanting a ‘sensible’ car), operational cost is a major influencing factor. Consumers are susceptible to oil prices volatility, which hugely impacts their buying decisions. Ratan Tata understood this and reinvented the small car marketing model, making Tata Motors an instant hit! Moreover, Tata has made the well-heeled competition rethink its strategy and with the launch of ‘new’ Indica in 2008, it has perhaps taken the game forward! And if the JLR acquisition is any thing to go by, Tata Motors has arrived on the global scene as well! But what indeed makes this automotive brand different is the legendary ‘Tata Group’ stamp and of course Ratan Tata himself, the smart old man who actually knows what really sells...
Karan Mehrishi
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009
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