BANGALORE, July 7: Manufacturers are now being forced to look at innovative marketing strategies to push even for the staid tractor. This is particularly true of the most competitive 35-40 HP segment of the domestic industry. The segment accounting for almost 40 per cent of the total tractor sales also accounts for most of the new product launches by different players.

Eicher Tractors launched Shahenshah, a 39 HP tractor, in December last year, while HMT's 35 HP model launched in October last year is the fastest-selling tractor in the popular segment, accounting for 40 per cent of the company's tractor sales since its launch.

It is this segment which has seen marketers flex their muscles the most.HMT has taken the lead by hiring a marketing agency, HTA, to carry out its marketing campaign for a product that is targeted widely at rural areas.

Set to reverse the traditional door-to-door marketing approach, all major manufacturers including Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), HMT, Eicher, Tractor and Farm Equipment (TAFE) continue to rely heavily on their field agents and ground-support activities. The field staff not only conduct spot market surveys but also campaign door to door.

Market leader M&M continues to depend mainly on word of mouth advertisement for maintaining its leadership position. HMT and Eicher are now adopting innovative marketing to carve a niche in the industry dominated by referral purchases to the extent of 70 per cent.

Apart from marketing, even selling platforms are undergoing transformation with Eicher customising its tractors to a large extent. According to an Eicher spokesperson, "For the first time in the country, a farmer can choose the colour of his tractor.''

This styling has added an unexpected strength to Eicher's product. In spite of no brand being mentioned on tractors, the product and brand awareness ranges between 75-80 per cent and enjoys an over 50 per cent recall rate on advertisements, according to surveys conducted by the company.

However, as company sources acknowledge, ``The main challenge lies in extending this brand awareness to brand switch.'' Reiterating this, a spokesperson from M&M said, ``With an average lifespan of 10-12 years, there is a very high incidence of repeat purchases for our tractors.''

The repeat purchases account for as much as 60-70 per cent of tractor sales in Raichur district in Karnataka, according to an M&M survey.

M&M also tried playing with colours some time ago, but failed to encash the strategy. ``Our customers have always associated red with our brand.'' M&M is banking on the fact that Eicher's stragetgy may fail since dealers will have to enhance their stocking capacity based on colour and delivery time may also be higher.

Though M&M figures prove the insignificant role played by colour for an established manufacturer, Eicher being a new player is hoping to exploit M&M's failure to its advantage.

``With most of the products offering similar features, M&M will need to retain its market leadership through its strengths like dependable service quality,'' a leading city dealer said.

M&M, with a 300 strong dealer network, the largest for any tractor manufacturer, promises speedy and ready service. "Tractors being slow-speed vehicles, need service centres in close proximity, and our huge dealer network puts us in a position of advantage,'' the M&M spokesperson said.

M&M will also need to pull up its socks on the pricing aspect with all major players pricing their tractors competitively and offering reduced delivery schedules.

Having already established a precedent through its marketing stragegy, HMT is using technology not only to cope with recurring losses but also growing competition. According to an HMT tractor division spokesperson, ``HMT has tied up with AVL of Austria to provide modern engines for its 27, 35, 45 and 58 HP tractor engines.''

HMT is also marketing its specialised tractor models aggresssively. These have been designed specifically for coastal regions, hilly areas and the plains respectively.

While M&M's growth rate at 11.6 per cent for the previous fiscal is slower than the industry growth rate of 14 per cent, other players like Escorts and Punjab Tractors are exhibiting much higher growth rates at 20.6 per cent and 23.9 per cent respectively.

With tractors being increasingly used as a multi-purpose vehicle, the competition in the popular segment of this industry is set to hot up. Although Eicher has already sold 2,059 Shahenshah tractors from December 1996 to April 1997, there is little room for comfort with M&M all set to announce its reactive marketing strategy soon.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.