Earlier there was a saying, ‘If you are buying your first car, better buy a Maruti’. This was the primary reason why Maruti’s legendary entry level hatches (800 and Alto) have always dominated the sales come what may.
With the Indian automotive market currently being driven by first time buyers, these hatchbacks are being sold in massive numbers. The Alto even became the chart topper across the world.
But MSIL is seeing a very different trend in their sales figures. Turns out, repeat customers are the one who are increasingly adding to the sales numbers.
A Maruti official in a press conference said -
We have observed that the percentage of first time buyers has come down marginally. So, additional car in the family and repeat buyers or exchange buyers have taken some more percentage. In the last four years, the first time buyer percentage has come down from 52 per cent to 45 per cent (of the total sales)
Marketing 101 teaches us that - It is cheaper to retain customers than to make new ones. The Japanese auto companies have mastered this art with all three of them (Toyota, Honda and now Maruti Suzuki) enjoying cult status among their customers.
So is ‘Brand loyalty’ the future of car buying/selling?
We want to hear your opinions. Which car do you own? Would you buy your next car from the same company? Or would you shop around?
Source - economictimes.indiatimes.com
