“Our big 360 degree campaign has just been unveiled and will be on for a few weeks now. In continuation with the current campaign, we plan to concentrate on building the brand and increasing visibility in the coming months.” Said Kashyap Vadapalli, CMO Pepperfry.
In an interview with MediAvataar India, Kashyap talked about the brand and what it takes to seamlessly fulfill all the promises made to their customers. Here is the Q&A……
MediAvataar: Please tell us more about your new TVC.
Kashyap: We have received a very positive response from our customers across the country post the release of our TVC. Pepperfry has successfully managed to enter millions of homes this festive season with the recent 360 degree campaign which includes the TVC.
Our Pepperfry TVC has been conceptualized by Saatchi & Saatchi and consists of a theme film and two supporting films that highlight Pepperfry’s value propositions of “Free Delivery and Assembly” and “100% Satisfaction or Money Back Assurance” for consumers. And, is running successfully on a bouquet of English Infotainment, Entertainment, Movies, and Lifestyle channels and select HD channels/properties.
MediAvataar: What was the idea behind it?
Kashyap: The TVC was conceived based on insights that furniture shopping for consumers can be a tedious process and is often beset with quality and service related apprehensions. Discerning new-age Indian couples are looking for an alternative that helps them to buy the best for their homes without any of the hassles involved. The TVC showcases the hassles consumers have to undergo juxtaposing it to how Pepperfry will undertake the necessary efforts to ensure that the consumers’ needs and expectations are met.
Thus, establish Pepperfry’s value and service proposition in an impactful manner. Our focus was to build a campaign that resonates our core value proposition and we have managed to do so in an impactful manner.
MediAvataar: How do you look at your competition?
Kashyap: Pepperfry has built a leadership position in the online furniture market on back of scale, significant strengths in sourcing / logistics, and great customer experience, ably supported by a strong and experienced management team.
We are leading the online home and furniture segment and through this TVC we have expanded our coverage and are reaching out to millions of Indians, as of today.
MediAvataar: What is the mechanism you feel set you apart from other furniture/home decor shopping websites?
Kashyap: Our differentiated product range and value proposition has enabled to establish our leadership in the furniture, home and living products segment. We work closely with 1,000+ SMEs and artisans from across the country to source our differentiated Home and Furniture merchandize and have a tie-up with over 70 leading furniture brands in the country.
We sell a product every minute today and a furniture item every 5 minutes. We have shipped to a 1,000 cities and towns across the country
MediAvataar: How do you deal with negative feedback especially in the age of social media?
Kashyap: We are enabling our customers by providing a hassle-free shopping experience and will continue to provide them with a good experience.
We have a dedicated team of social media folks, who are constantly monitoring our various social media channels. Online shopping is relatively new channel, so it is a mix bag of customers we are dealing with on a regular basis. They go through myriad experiences and are actively expressing their views on social media. We are constantly striving to offer them a good experience.
MediAvataar: Has the business risen after airing of your TV commercial?
Kashyap: Business is soaring and we have seen an increase in the traffic on the site and this is just the beginning. At this rate we are confident to achieve our targets.
MediAvataar: How many people visit the website in a day and what should be the base of your loyal customers?
Kashyap: We have successfully built a huge customer base of more than one million registered users and are adding onto it on an ongoing basis.
MediAvataar: What is your customer service wing like?
Kashyap: We have built a fairly large team of highly dedicated customer service folks. It forms an integral part of the business.
MediAvataar: Please share your overall marketing agenda for the next year.
Kashyap: Our big 360 degree campaign has just been unveiled and will be on for a few weeks now.In continuation with the current campaign, we plan to concentrate on building the brand and increasing visibility in the coming months.
MediAvataar: You have certainly upped your game by introducing wide range of products on your portal. What is there is the pipeline?
Kashyap: We are looking at launching our Brick and Mortar presence very soon. We plan to introduce 4 Experience Centres in key cities by the end of the year.
Each Experience Centre will be a 2000-2,500 sqft store that will showcase about 25 pieces of sofas and dining sets. While the iPad-wielding staffers will engage customers taking them through see the entire 10,000-odd Pepperfry furniture range online, it will also have design professionals with around 10 years of designing experience to offer interior design tips to customers. From customization to assistance on dimensions the design experts will enable every Pepperfry customer to make the right purchase decision.
We are looking at these Experience Centres as an integral part of our marketing initiative. The idea is to build confidence for our products in our customer’s minds and enable them to make the right purchase decision. These centres are an extension to our recent marketing campaign and will help us to break barriers of shopping for high-value items like furniture online.
The first such Experience Centre will be launched in Mumbai at Powai in October.