Authored by Arasuprakash, Jenson Alex, Arifullah and Nibeditha Shome.
Cult is a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, philosophical beliefs, or by its common interest in a personality, object or goal.
- Cult Experience can be a powerful marketing tool to create a Word-of-Mouth marketing.
- They can overpower the conventional advertising efforts as the Consumer reviews are more trustworthy and becomes a real-life testimony
- They can build a strong Brand identity and expand their Loyal Brand Users
Cult experience creates waves of memories through the community engagement programs. The Cult group of people networks with each other at ease as they have similarity in choices. The experience created by these Cult group motivates the rest of the like-minded people to join their Events and Clubs, which benefits the Brand to expand their presence by leveraging the chain of similar consumers Royal Enfield (RE) continues to evolve and has become a cult phenomenon with loyalists willing to wait for 6- 10 months to own these motorcycles which RE has achieved by creating and targeting a new set of customers with wanderlust and by developing character-based motorcycle. Royal Enfield continues to target young and mature riders who are looking pure motorcycling experience which has become the hard-core DNA of the brand.
Market Segmentation
Marketing Mix Strategy
Product:
Royal Enfield has a careful mix of products in its portfolio. A mix which matches its positioning in Consumer’s mind.
- Classic & Bullet – for Consumers who love Vintage and Pure Motorcycling
- Thunderbird – for Consumers who prefer style and substance
- Himalayan – for Consumers who love exploring
- Continental GT – for consumers who love speed and racing – Café racer
- Interceptor – for modern Classic Roadster
Royal Enfield believes in being an experiential partner with the consumer. It places itself as a specialty product category. A unique experience of being member of riding community rather than mere transactional experience.
This vision allows Royal Enfield to take the higher ground against its competitors. Its competitors still view consumers as mere buyers of its core (motorcycle) and actual product (feature rich).
Royal Enfield builds a long-term relationship with the consumer which is an augmented product. Its consumers are part of an exclusive community – Royal Enfield community. Royal Enfield celebrates them by facilitating Events, Marquee rides etc.
Price:
- Royal Enfield brings in value-based pricing approach to its products.
- RE relies on Customer Orientation – high quality products at prices which consumer is willing to pay
- Consumers are enriched by perceived benefits like – Iconic motorcycle, Style, Status symbol. All these benefits overshadow the price of the motorcycle to the consumer.
- Domestic economy consumers have higher disposable income. They are also willing to pay a good price for quality bikes
Place:
- Royal Enfield has a strong distributor network in India and abroad.
- It has doubled its store count in the last 3 years: currently 825 stores
- Royal Enfield has understood the growing demand in non-urban segments and expanded its stores far and wide.
Promotion:
Royal Enfield believes at its core to enrich the consumer with pure riding experience.
- This core is manifested in all its promotion activities – They are simply rider enrichment activities.
- Activities and rider engagements range from Rides, Tours, Events
- RE has innovated in this space by introducing – Garage Café, Vintage store, India’s first 2-wheeler Air-Conditioned workshop with a lounge.
- Garage Café – Set in tourist paradise Goa, café blends a unique experience of exhibiting RE heritage, service bay, exotic food menu – wayside inn dedicated to bike lovers
- Vintage store – Pre-owned vehicle – buying and selling
- This store is managed by RE – building trust in the pre-owned vehicle buying and selling transactions.
- This also bench marks the re-sale value of RE bikes – thus gaining an edge over its competitors
- New RE consumer thus has an assured place to get best price for his used bike – This has a significant impact to the price conscious Indian Consumer
- RE’s key customer segments – urban and youth/middle aged are today on the digital platform. Hence RE engages them vibrantly on social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook etc.,
- Its Twitter platform is a mix of its promotion and prosumer content
- Prosumer content generates interest to a neutral/new RE aspirant
- RoyalEnfield.com – RE has created platform (Forum) on its website for users for users to interact and share thoughts, experiences.
Marketing Mix summary
Royal Enfield’s engages their consumers through an unique Cult experience by
- Building long term relationship with consumers
- Improving on trust, worthiness and liveliness of the brand.
- RE not only sells its product by marketing – It adds value to consumers life by bringing and engaging them as a part of RE family.
Disclaimer:
This article is created as part of Digital Marketing Analytics course at IIM Trichy. The opinions expressed in this article are the personal view of the authors- Arasuprakash, Jenson Alex, Arifullah and Nibeditha Shome.
Business Management 