I read this interesting article on how Tata Nano is trying to ramp up its sales by exploring unconventional channels like the Big Bazaar outlets. This is the first of its kind in India where a retail chain is selling a car.
The key here is to identify your target customer groups and then find ways of interacting with them through multiple touch points. Tata Nano has not been doing really very well in sales. Partly, the reason could be attributed to a lack of proper interaction with the prospective customer groups. Tata Nano customers are typically middle class people who currently use motor-cycles and they aspire to own a car. Such customers are not used to visiting showrooms and exploring options for their purchases. Potential customers for Tata Nano would actually flock the value-for-money retail outlets like Big Bazaars. They are price conscious and have to be approached in an atmosphere where they are comfortable.
I personally believe this is a masterstroke innovation in their distribution. Figures say that 450 Tata Nano cars got sold through this outlet in February, which is close to 5% of their total sales in that month. Proper push and pull mechanism can only help Tata Nano in increasing its sales.
