Opinion: How the Maruti Invicto is a lesson in brand building
Maruti is teaching its parent company, Suzuki, a few lessons in brand stretching.
Published on Jul 21, 2023 04:07:00 PM
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A brand that stretches across categories while retaining its core proposition is what I call a ‘rubberbrand’.
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So you can now have a Maruti Suzuki at Rs 25 lakh. Who would have imagined this 10 years ago? It goes against the conventional laws of marketing that say it is always better to adopt a ‘top-down’ approach to serving a market rather than a ‘bottom-up’ one. Especially when the product is an automobile, which is largely about aspiration, achievement and status.
Well, the country’s leading automaker thinks otherwise. It’s taking convention by its horns and offering a mass-market badge at a premium price point. A perfect gift to itself on its 40th anniversary, and it’s also teaching its parent a few lessons in brand stretching.
Suzuki is accepted as an entry-level quality brand in most markets it operates in, and its attempts to go up the price ladder have failed. However, Maruti seems to be finding success. Of course, there were earlier attempts with the Grand Vitara XL7 and the Kizashi, but Maruti did not give up, and over the last 10 years, has slowly but surely moved up that ladder, by first breaching the Rs 10 lakh barrier and now the Rs 20 lakh barrier. Mind you, the new Grand Vitara is made only in India, for the world. That takes some doing for the 40-year-old child that wishes to flex its muscles now.
A bottom-up brand evolution is the toughest. It does happen in consumer durables with examples like Samsung, Vivo and Oppo amongst us, but very rarely when it comes to cars. So, clawing up with models like the Ciaz, Ertiga and XL6, directly battling with mainstream offerings from its more ‘global’ competitors has given it the learning, credibility and confidence to keep moving up. Today’s Indian buyer finds the Maruti Suzuki offer credible and competitive enough vis-à-vis more glitzy brands. It is no longer a ‘desi’ brand for the dull and drab economy commuter.
The design language is very expressive while the service offering continues to be its strongest pillar. But, as competition like Hyundai catches up and possibly also overtakes the narrative of being the cheapest to own, the product itself is now at par with the best the world has to offer. While some may say that Nexa has helped, I refuse to believe that, as the customer would have gone anywhere to buy a Ciaz or a Fronx.
Such a brand that stretches itself across product categories and price points, while retaining its core proposition, is what I call a ‘rubberbrand’. And Maruti Suzuki is a wonderful example of the same. Happy 40th birthday!
Also See:
Maruti Suzuki Invicto review: The Rs 30 lakh Maruti
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Neetyn - 391 days ago
Certainly admirable for Maruti Suzuki for their accomplishments.They still have a long road to go. I feel they are on right track. I am closely observing their product launch, facelift, pricing strategies and they are shrewd. People might think they are not bringing new things to market but they precisely know each of their step and for everything they do, they have a strategy. We will tell they are slow to electric, they are slow to launch better SUV but the fact is they are market leader and no immediate sign of slowing down. Nexa and Hybrid are the two things which is making them near future proof.
unknown - 483 days ago
While Hyundai Kia have made long strides in their vehicles, though, they were late to party, I feel Maruti has left floundering; catering to the bottom end of the food chain despite being around since 1985. It has been dishing out 'tin cans', as there are lesser and lesser takers for it's for entry level, Maruti bosses have suddenly woken up to realize that the game has moved on. Look at the engines options at Maruti's disposal, except for the 1.2 DualJet I think the rest can at best be termed insipid given today's competition. They should have localized the 1 liter 3 pot turbo which they discontinued and have brought it back because of emission norms. Though Maruti has a huge market share the 'desirability' quotient is slowly waning. They have also given step motherly treatment to their best sellers keeping them almost the same since launch viz: Ciaz, Ertiga and XL 6 which are in a bad need for a clean sheet design not a refresh. Maruti badly needs fresh models and powerplants and not refreshes and definitely not over the top exorbitant models like Invicto: Why would anyone buy a 35 L Maruti when you can get the same and more from Toyota which has better brand pull.