Our demo man & van program to physically demonstrate our products has helped us reach out to the grass root level.

- Gagan Pal

Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Honda India Power Products

Which was the recent product campaign of the company and what was the strategy used to reach out to the stakeholders? 

Honda India Power Products (HIPP) has been powering the dreams of over 5 million users across India in line with its mission of “helping people get things done” for the last 35 years.

As our unique strategy, HIPP has consciously made efforts to facilitate mechanization in construction and agriculture domains by introducing Honda's legendary 4-stroke technology-based products like overhead valve (OHV) engine powered concrete mixer, vibrator, cutter, surface leveller, soil compactor, stone breaker & portable water pumps, power tillers, brush cutters for optimal work efficiency. This technology has brought about a remarkable improvement in productivity as compared to the prevailing conventional machinery.

Honda 4-stroke overhead valve (OHV) engine powered construction machines are very well accepted worldwide for various construction related activities owing to their unmatched fuel economy, portability, durability, compact design and lightweight. Along with being robust sources of power to construction equipment, Honda engines are compact, lightweight, durable, fuel-efficient and environment friendly, hence aligning with the heavy-duty and continuous work requirements of the construction industry.

This year, we have launched new models of portable water pumps and power tiller to further enhance farm mechanization in agriculture. New water pump model WB20XD (2”) is highly suitable for meeting the irrigation needs in Hilly terrain offering a high head of 32 meters and a water discharge rate of 670 liters per minute with unmatched portability. We have also introduced a new water pump model WB30XD (3”) with a high discharge rate of 1100 liters per minute at 24 meters head for timely and efficient irrigation in plains.

We have also introduced an affordable and powerful tiller model “FQ 650” offering 5.5 hp power output capable of handling various farm operations like tilling, de-weeding, furrow formation and so on. This new model offers unmatched fuel economy and efficiency in routine farm operations.

What kind of market survey was done for the promotion of the brand/ product?

HIPP has been successful in introducing environment friendly 4 stroke technology-based products in the Indian market for over three decades. This has been possible due to extensive market research and field trials of the prototypes in diverse topographies across the country. These new models of water pumps, WB20XD (2”) & WB30XD (3”) have been introduced to meet the long-standing demand of providing irrigation water to higher grounds, especially in hilly regions of the country and for providing more water in less time for plain areas respectively. New model of power tiller, FQ650 has been introduced to provide an affordable yet powerful solution to the Indian farmers to meet their various farming needs ranging from land preparation to removal of unwanted grass and weeds in their farms, plantations, and orchards. FQ650 is also an ideal choice for weed removal often encountered on construction sites and to keep work areas clear of regular undergrowth.

These new models were launched on our digital platforms in the wake of ongoing pandemic and parallely promoted on all social media handles and sales promotion channels to create awareness about their features and related customer benefits. HIPP also has a unique demo man & van programme, wherein existing product offerings and new product launches are physically demonstrated in actual usage conditions across geographies to help prospective customers see the benefits that the products offer in their daily operations and help them to get a touch and feel of the same. This approach has helped us to reach out to the grass root level and help our customers to adopt mechanization in a big way thereby driving efficiency and boosting farm productivity which has a direct and positive effect on their incomes in line with the government's vision of “doubling farm Incomes”.

What were the challenges faced while marketing the brand/ product and how did the team overcome them?

To successfully launch and establish any new product offering in a country as big and diverse as India, requires a lot of preparation and actual work on the ground. As we all are aware of the disruptions caused by the ongoing pandemic to the normal way of doing business, we at HIPP also had to grapple with the ensuing challenges, like frequent lockdowns, restricted working hours, delays in cross border movements and isolation/quarantine guidelines which varied in intensity across various states. I am happy to share that despite these obstacles, we at HIPP could devise innovative ways of promoting the products through a balanced mix of digital and on the ground marketing campaign, thus reaching out to our prospective customers in more ways than one. Launch of these new models was made through company press release covering both the print and digital media platforms across major markets aligned with the social media launch and on the ground demonstrations for better understanding of the product USP's and customer benefits. Initial market response has been encouraging and we are building upon the momentum gained in these initial months. HIPP will continue to introduce best in class products and technologies for its valued customers here in India in line with its 2030 vision: “Empower People, To Do Better!”

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