MAXIM, the marketing association of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, organised its annual business conclave Mercatique on August 4. The theme was “Enhancing customer engagement through experiential marketing.” The aim was to discuss consumer-driven marketing strategies and the subsequent enhancements in customer engagement.
Imran Qadri, Head, Marketing and PR (India), Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Darshana Shah, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Capital Health Insurance, and Chandrahas Panigrahi, Chief Marketing Officer and Consumer Business Head, Acer, were the speakers. Prof Sandip Anand, Professor of Marketing, XIM-B, was the moderator.
Qadri, spoke on experiential marketing for different segments and the tools and techniques to be used for existing customers. He said, “Existing customers have to be engaged through community-driven marketing.” Taking Harley-Davidson India’s marketing practices as an example, he spoke about the role of micro-influencers and the usage of existing resources for improving employee-consumer correlations.
Consumer engagement
Darshana spoke on consumer engagement marketing in the health sector, and how customers can “buy and engage, not buy and forget”. She said that consumers of this era wish to be empowered and act as co-creators; hence, if we think of experiential marketing, we ought to be relevant to what the consumer is consuming. She said Aditya Birla Health Insurance was more about ‘assurance than insurance’, and cited examples from the recent marketing drives in her organisation and their success.
Panigrahi spoke on engaging potential consumers, and the role of experiential marketing in creating a good memory, which is crucial for amplifying satisfaction and loyalty. He elucidated on the aspects of offline and online experiential marketing and how it aids in giving the consumer an experience, not just a product.
The panel session was followed by an interactive discussion with students. MaxEdge, an annual magazine of MAXIM, was launched. The speakers felicitated the winners of ‘Pitch Please’, an annual event, organised by MAXIM to identify emerging entrepreneurs with avant-garde ideas. Gaurav Singh, the student coordinator of MAXIM delivered the vote of thanks.