Maruti Suzuki & Its Impressive Digital Growth Over The Years — Digitisation Goals?

We live in a digital age, and it's no surprise that our lives are now technology-dependent in many ways. In fact, technology has played a big role in redefining automotive experiences, transforming the way we use and engage with our cars.

Maruti Suzuki is one of those brands that has embraced 'Digital' to stay in sync with the modern car buyer. Over the last three decades, the brand has built a unique connection with its buyers through its revolutionary technologies and robust digital approach.

Digitisation in the automotive world doesn't always have to do with just the cars getting advanced tech features. There are several platforms, products, and services that need digitisation for a brand to grow in this space. Maruti Suzuki seems to have cracked the formula for this growth.

It was more than a decade and a half ago that Maruti Suzuki made its first strides in digitisation. Since then, there has been no looking back for the brand. From deploying robots in 2005 to now introducing a virtual assistant in 2021, Maruti Suzuki has time and again democratized technology in the Indian automobile industry.

Though the brand had made significant strides earlier, Maruti Suzuki's digital growth peaked during the lockdowns induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The brand proactively introduced digital platforms that allowed buyers to customise and book their car on the brand's website.

This convenience and product visibility came in handy during the COVID-19 lockdowns. These digital platforms ensured that Maruti Suzuki had an alternative sales channel apart from physical showrooms in this difficult phase.

Bringing Technology Into Mass Mobility

The S-Assist app for NEXA customers is an all-round mobile app that functions as a 24X7 car assist for post-purchase services. From quick navigation to workshop assistance and DIY videos, the app is capable of helping Maruti Suzuki Arena and NEXA owners in almost every aspect related to the functioning of their cars.

Maruti Suzuki also has the Hams Technology which came about as a result of Maruti Suzuki's work with Microsoft. This is an automated driving license test process and is useful for safe driving training. Then there's the Hyperlocal program that covers more than 1,000 online dealerships.

Maruti Suzuki recently launched its Smart Finance service as well. More than Rs. 6500 crore auto loans to over 1 lakh customers have been disbursed within 9 months months of its launch. The application process for loans has also been pushed to online platforms.

In addition to these platforms, there is always the convenience of choosing your Maruti Suzuki car from the comfort of your home thanks to the integrated website. Buyers can take a good look at the body colour, interior colour, seat cover patterns, feature additions, and more on the website. This configuration can then be sent to the dealership and the car can be booked.

Maruti Suzuki also provides the cutting-edge technology of Suzuki Connect, an advanced telematics solution that offers connected car experience to Maruti Suzuki car owners by using cloud-based services along with over-the-air updates. It enhances customers' on-road driving experience through features like security alerts, geo-fence, vehicle status, navigate to car and many more.

Suzuki Connect empowers customers to be better informed with dynamic attributes like live vehicle tracking, driving analytics report, functional alerts and road side assistance. All Maruti Suzuki showrooms equipped with state-of-the-art modern gadgets allow customers to customize and get detailed information digitally about the specifications and attributes of the cars.

A state-of-the-art AR-VR platform allows customers to effectively and efficiently explore products in a digitalised format. To avoid physical contact, customers are being encouraged to adopt all digital means such as e-mails, phone, video calls, use of websites, and a dedicated mobile application to search and shortlist their preferred cars.

With all this put together, it is obvious that Maruti Suzuki is well-prepared to welcome the new generation of car buyers. It goes without saying that Maruti Suzuki has upped the game when it comes to digital growth and the results are seen in the sales numbers.

Maruti Suzuki is India's largest online sales network that is transforming customer's online retail experience with enhanced convenience at the last mile 1000+ online dealerships.

In terms of digital growth as well, Maruti Suzuki seems to have outdone its competitors and is at the top. It does seem like the brand will remain there for many years to come. The awards won by Maruti Suzuki's brands for its various campaigns are further proof of the effectiveness of Maruti Suzuki's digital growth.

Some of the notable awards won by Maruti Suzuki in recent times with respect to digitisation include:

- IDMA 2020 Bronze Medal for Always on SEM (Maruti Suzuki)
- Maddies 2020 Bronze Medal for MMC Launch (Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza)
- SAMMIES 2021 Silver Medal for AR/VR - Wink to Explore Vitara Brezza (Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza)
- IAMAI 2021 Bronze Medal for Best use of AR/VR - Wink to Explore Vitara Brezza (Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza)
- IAMAI 2021 Silver Medal for MMC Launch 2020 (Maruti Suzuki Dzire)
- IAMAI 2021 Silver Medal for MMC Launch 2020 (Maruti Suzuki Dzire)
- IAMAI 2021 Gold Medal for Mobile Search Campaign (Maruti Suzuki)
- IDMA 2021 Bronze Medal for Best use of AR and VR (Maruti Suzuki S-Cross Petrol)
- E4M Impact Digital Influencer Award 2021 Gold Medal for Best automotive campaign (Maruti Suzuki Baleno)
- E4M Impact Digital Influencer Award 2021 Silver Medal for Best automotive campaign (Maruti Suzuki Swift)