To tackle the problem of the frustration of dealing with car maintenance issues, autotech company Cars24, recently launched its latest digital campaign, ‘बे-Car.’ This campaign looks to address the challenges that car owners face with traditional service centres and introduces Cars24’s new Fourdoor service, designed to transform vehicle maintenance with a focus on trust, transparency, and convenience. The service is currently live only in Gurgaon and will soon expand to other cities.
Many car owners in India experience frustration, mistrust, and inconvenience at traditional service centres. Issues such as the use of non-genuine parts, opaque billing practices, and prolonged service times are common. Recognising these challenges, the ‘बे-Car’ campaign aims to highlight and address these pain points and introduces its latest service ‘Fourdoor’.
MediaNews4U caught up with Gajendra Jangid, Co-founder and CMO of Cars24:
Q. What was the pain point in the market that led Cars24 to launch the Fourdoor service and the ‘बे-CAR’ campaign?
Traditional service centers often leave customers frustrated due to several issues: the use of non-genuine parts, inconsistent pricing across authorized workshops, opaque billing practices, and frequent service delays. These challenges create a lack of trust and convenience for car owners seeking reliable maintenance solutions.
With the launch of the Fourdoor service and the introduction of the ‘बे-CAR’ digital campaign, Cars24 humorously reflects the frustrations associated with getting your car serviced. This initiative not only highlights common consumer concerns but also promotes a reliable service option designed to transform vehicle servicing. Through the tagline “Right Service, Right Price, Right Now,” CARS24 ensures customers receive the right service at the right price, precisely when needed, transforming the vehicle service experience.
Q. How does using humour in an ad campaign help cut through the clutter?
At Cars24, our marketing and advertising campaigns stand out by capturing everyday situations our customers can relate to, all presented in a fun and witty style. This approach has long been a key strategy in distinguishing our brand.
This has positioned us as a friendly, approachable, and innovative brand, offering seamless and transparent services while bringing joy and ease to our customers’ experiences.
For instance, our recent campaign resonates with consumers by reflecting the real, often frustrating experiences they face when servicing their cars, such as long waits, opaque billing, and non-genuine parts. By addressing these pain points with a light-hearted touch, we create a connection that feels personal and understanding.
In a sector filled with challenges, it is important for CARS24 to carve out a niche by staying relevant and making a lasting impression. Our tonal choice has helped us establish a distinct and memorable brand identity.
While our competitors may focus solely on transactional elements, our humorous approach adds relatability, making our campaigns more engaging, shareable, and relatable. This positions us as a brand that understands customer struggles and offers stress-free solutions with a smile, enhancing relevance and ensuring a lasting, positive impression on our audience.
Q. The ‘बे-CAR’ campaign marks Cars24’s first major promotional effort in a long while. Is the reason for this the fact that the company felt that it was established strongly enough in the market to not warrant making a noise?
We aim to be the ultimate one-stop solution for all your automotive needs. We’re committed to improving the car ownership experience, which is why we’ve conducted extensive market research to understand and tackle the pain points. This helps us tailor our services to effectively address customer needs and solve problems like service delays and lack of transparency.
Our latest ‘बे-CAR’ campaign focusses on deepening our relationship with customers and fine-tuning our offerings. We believe that addressing the real issues faced by vehicle owners helps reinforce our position as a trusted leader in the market.
This approach ensures that every service launch or campaign is a re-engagement opportunity that helps us to continuously reimagine and refine our relationship with our customers, ensuring that Cars24 always meets their evolving needs with innovative and effective solutions.
Q. The aim of Cars24’s campaigns is to create content that is relatable to audiences. What are the key things you keep in mind to ensure relatability?
Our campaigns aim to forge a strong connection with our audience. Starting as a platform catering to second-hand car buyers and sellers, we have evolved into a comprehensive auto service platform. This transformation has been driven by our commitment to understanding and reflecting our customers’ needs and preferences. The success story of Cars24 can be attributed to the efforts of being one with our customers and echoing their needs and preferences. To achieve this, we maintain a two-way communication between the brand and our target segment.
We craft our campaigns to resonate with our audience by tapping into their daily lives and what matters most to them. We mix authenticity with humor, recreating real customer stories and relatable scenarios that build trust and spark engagement within the community. Our messages are clear, simple, and free of jargon and our content is made to reflect the culture and tradition of the Indian market which makes it easy for our audience to connect with us.
Cars24 is truly a people’s brand. Our approach is all about addressing everyday automotive concerns with solutions that are straightforward and reliable, always delivered with a dose of humor. We strive to be seen as a reliable source of effective solutions for their automotive needs. By communicating in the diverse languages of our audience, we ensure that our message of simplicity, reliability, and cheer is understood by all, making CARS24 a happy solution to any automotive issue.
Q. What goals has Cars24 set for itself in terms of growing revenue, increasing share of voice etc. in 2024?
Significant investments in product, technology, and marketing has helped us double our revenue and we are on track to post a 30-40% growth in topline in 2024.
Our next big goal is to steer the business to profitability – strengthening our refurbishment labs, market expansion, bolstering the financial arm, and exploring new growth avenues. Additionally, we are committed to expanding our services into more cities, solidifying our position as a one-stop shop for all your automotive needs.
Q. Does Cars24’s business happen both offline and online? Or is one area a bigger focus in 2024?
We started as a digital-first platform and continue to remain so. However, with the industry demand continuously rising, CARS24 added physical space, and today we have outlets in over 230 cities.
Surprisingly, about 20% of our customers book cars without even seeing or test-driving them. This approach gives us a reason to maximise the digital footprint, allowing customers to make an informed decision without needing physical interaction.
Every piece of information a customer needs about a car before making a final choice, for instance, comprehensive details on car specs, features, current condition, pros and cons, and even minor imperfections like scratches, all are listed on our application. We provide in-depth photos of both the exterior and interior, and there’s an option to book the car online.
So, while we haven’t completely shifted from a digital to a physical model, we have improved the online process, allowing customers to complete their purchase with ease and confidence.
Q. How does Cars24 use AI and tech like AR, VR to influence the way in which customers shop for cars and in marketing its services?
With nearly a decade of harnessing a data-driven and technology-first approach, Cars24 has successfully crafted a unique strategy to balance the demand and supply dynamics of the automotive market. Our use of AI, AR, and VR technology significantly enhances how customers shop for cars and engage with our services. These innovations offer immersive and interactive experiences, making car buying and selling more intuitive, efficient, and customer-friendly. This technological integration not only streamlines the process but also enriches customer interactions with our platform, setting a new standard in the auto retail industry.
Injecting AI and machine learning into our operations has significantly refined our vehicle evaluation process, ensuring unparalleled accuracy in car pricing and quality assessment. For sellers, this means receiving offers that truly reflect the value of their vehicles, following an efficient inspection process. Buyers benefit from a curated selection of vehicles, making it easier to find cars that meet their expectations and desires. This dual approach has markedly enhanced the car buying and selling experience, making it faster, more personalized, and ultimately more satisfying for our customer
Q. Will the focus of marketing in 2024 rest on digital or will traditional mediums also be important?
In the modern business landscape, there has been a profound shift where digital marketing has not only outpaced but also transformed the way brands engage with their audiences. In an era characterized by technological advancements, data-driven strategies, and instant connectivity, the effectiveness of digital marketing shines brightly compared to traditional approaches.
However, traditional mediums such as television, radio, outdoor advertising, and print media are also helpful in letting the brand reach broader demographics and reinforce brand awareness.
Therefore, a balanced approach is the most appropriate marketing strategy as it would allow Cars24 to effectively engage with its diverse audience of car buyers and sellers, maximising its marketing impact and maintaining a strong market presence.
Q. What role does influencer marketing and word of mouth play for CARS24 in getting new customers?
At Cars24, as we evolve as a brand, we recognise the growing significance of influencer marketing in today’s digital-first world. Understanding that people connect deeply with influencers, we’ve strategically embraced this avenue to amplify our youthful and dynamic brand image and forge stronger connections with a broader audience.
Collaborating with influencers, even the micro-segment, allows us to showcase the relatability and reliability to our audience. In the past we have taken initiatives to collaborate with celebrity influencers and local platforms which have given a boost to our brand among the audience. Apart from showcasing the service offerings of Cars24, influencer marketing strategy has helped us highlight the entrepreneurship of our founders.
Personal recommendations carry significant trust and carry more weight compared to traditional advertising. One of the pages on our website is dedicated to testimonials of more than 4 lakh customers where they are free to share their experiences with the public. This ensures transparency and amplifies the brand’s visibility and credibility and can encourage more people to become a part of the service.
Q. Is Cars24 also looking at cricket, sports and general entertainment to connect with consumers? Kindly elaborate.
As an evolving brand, Cars24 is keenly focused on connecting with consumers in ways that resonate deeply and meaningfully. Recognizing the passion that cricket, sports, and general entertainment ignite among our audience, we are actively exploring these areas to strengthen our engagement and brand presence.
Recently, during the World Cup, we embraced the cricket excitement by transforming our logo to Ours24, symbolising our commitment to being a part of the exciting moments that matter to our customers. This initiative was not just about branding; it was a celebration of a shared passion with millions of cricket fans across the nation.
Looking ahead, Cars24 is definitely interested in further integrating sports and entertainment into our marketing strategies. We see these platforms as powerful conduits for storytelling and community building, allowing us to connect more dynamically with our audience. Whether it’s through event sponsorships, themed campaigns, or collaborations with sports and entertainment figures, our goal is to create immersive experiences that bring our brand closer to the hearts of consumers. Through these efforts, we continue to evolve and adapt in a way that not only meets but exceeds the expectations of today’s dynamic market.
Q. Will marketing spend grow in 2024 and if so to what extent? Will marketing activities happen across the year or in sporadic bursts?
As Cars24 continues to establish itself as a one-stop shop for all automotive needs, we are planning to roll out new services and expand into more cities. This strategic expansion is designed to enhance our service offerings and extend our reach, ensuring that more customers can benefit from our comprehensive automotive solutions. However, our overall marketing costs are not expected to increase.
Over the years, our brand has solidified its presence, and we’ve attained the highest level of brand awareness in the used car category. Our customers enthusiastically recommend us to their friends and family, which has enabled us to substantially reduce our marketing expenses while maintaining consistent growth.
As we move forward, we will continue to leverage this organic growth mechanism alongside targeted marketing initiatives. These efforts will be spread throughout the year to ensure steady engagement and awareness. This balanced approach ensures that we can extend our market presence and service offerings without significantly increasing costs, reinforcing our position as a leading player in the automotive industry.
