Work from home has significantly impacted the sleeping pattern of people: Vinod Khandelwal

Vinod Khandelwal Sr. GM (E-com head and Buying), Nilkamal Ltd shared insights on Doctor Dream’s brand-building, positioning strategies, expansion plans in line, synergies with the parent company, etc The on-going pandemic has led to greater

by Ritika Raj
Published - January 07, 2021
6 minutes To Read
Work from home has significantly impacted the sleeping pattern of people: Vinod Khandelwal

Vinod Khandelwal Sr. GM (E-com head and Buying), Nilkamal Ltd shared insights on Doctor Dream’s brand-building, positioning strategies, expansion plans in line, synergies with the parent company, etc The on-going pandemic has led to greater emphasis on health and wellness. With physical hygiene taking the centre stage in both the lives of consumers and brand communications, Doctor Dreams, a sleep solutions company from the house of Nilkamal, proposition of ‘Happy Sleep Delivered’, intends to work towards being a service brand rather than a product brand. With consumers seeking solutions to solve their sleep-related products, Doctor Dreams - leveraged social listening to understand the numerous sleep-related pain points of consumers to develop products & accessories.  In an interaction with pitchonnet, Vinod Khandelwal Sr. GM (E-com head and Buying), Nilkamal Ltd tells us about Doctor Dream’s brand building and positioning strategies, expansion plans, synergies with the parent company, and much more.  Edited Excerpts Q. A lot of impetus is being given to health and hygiene post Covid-19. Also, with the blurring of lines between work and private life, what is the consumer sentiment to sleep solution products? Sleep is everybody’s happy hour and the body’s intrinsic need. It has always been an important aspect of healthy living. Work from home has significantly impacted the sleeping pattern of many people. Hence, cautious consumers are now actively ensuring that they have restful sleep. Consumers are seeking solutions to solve their sleep-related issues, and are particular about choosing the right mattress that suits their lifestyle. Doctor Dreams mattresses and the other product offerings have been curated to deliver peaceful and happy sleep to the consumers.    Q. What are the consumer insights that have been utilized in the development of the products? Recognizing the importance of sleep in the overall mental and physical well-being of a person, Doctor Dreams leveraged social listening to understand the numerous sleep-related pain points of a consumer. Based on this understanding and driven by the passion to offer the best sleep solution, Doctor Dreams developed a host of products & accessories. We have also introduced softer solutions such as sleep stories and sleep music to aid peaceful and happy sleep. Doctor Dreams mattresses have been designed keeping in mind the sleep patterns, body ergonomics, and India’s prevalent weather conditions.   Q. How are you positioning Doctor Dreams by Nilkamal? Doctor Dreams is positioned as a holistic sleep solution brand delivering happy sleep. Our focus is on the digital-savvy millennial audience. As a team, we are on a mission to deliver the happiest sleep. We are working towards a comprehensive sleep ecosystem where we look beyond products and leverage technology and services to ensure that our customers get the most comfortable and happy sleep. With our proposition of ‘Happy Sleep Delivered’, we intend to work towards being a service brand rather than a product brand.   Q. With experience becoming an important part of the buying process, how are you creating an experience, particularly when people are still cautious about going out? Doctor Dreams products can be effortlessly accessed by consumers at their convenience, at the click of a button, through our website. We have created a visually pleasing website to ensure the consumer can understand our product offerings. Not everyone is well versed with the digital world, so keeping that in mind the website is extremely user-friendly. Doctor Dreams Mattress further comes with a 100 nights free trial to ensure that every customer is fully satisfied with our offerings. To enhance the sleep experience, we have further introduced softer solutions on our website and social media pages such as the Sleep Journal which enlists interesting articles on sleep, the Snooze Zone which features soothing music and audio stories (Sleep stories) to aid in better sleep.   Q. What is the marketing mix that you are using for the brand Doctor Dreams? Doctor Dreams is a digital-first brand and hence it's marketed predominantly in the digital space. We have leveraged a complete 360-degree digital campaign to reach out to our customers. We have further associated with key influencers such as Vir Das, Kusha Kapila, Beyounick, and many more, to connect with their followers. We have also leveraged content marketing through our association with Filtercopy.   Q. What was the insight behind adopting omnichannel for a segment that is dominated by retail? Consumers today are seeking convenience in shopping. Consumers expect the brand to be present at multiple touchpoints so that accessing the brand is not a problem. Hence, we adopted an omnichannel model to ensure that the consumer can explore and experience the brand as per his/her convenience.    Q. What are the synergies and expertise drawn from the parent entity? Doctor Dreams is backed by the technology, quality, and logistics might of Nilkamal Ltd. This has helped the brand to bring international quality products curated for the Indian consumer, at an affordable price. The last mile service is facilitated by the Nilkamal infrastructure to ensure a seamless experience for the customer.   Q. What is the role that innovations play in delivering the promise statement? Innovation is the key to every endeavour at Doctor Dreams and Nilkamal. Our innovative Doctor Dreams Max orthopaedic mattress is layered with green gel foam to keep it cool followed by the memory foam which adapts to one’s body shape. The mattress is enveloped in anti-microbial TENCELTM fabric, making it resistant to dust mites, fungus, and bacteria. The Doctor Dreams Bread pillow is made up of extra plush luxurious responsive textile fabric, which has a Tencel and Nylon blend that is more absorbent than cotton and softer than silk. This exclusive technology used in the fabric cools five times faster than regular polyester fabric.  The Tencil fabric mattress protector is tailored using exclusive microfiber and Tencel blended fabric that provides better moisture management to ensure a cooling effect on top. This mattress protector is water and stain-resistant. All our sleep solution products have innovation and technology at their core.   Q. Looking ahead, what can we expect from the brand - in terms of products in the pipeline, expansion, etc? Going forward we intend to expand the Doctor Dreams basket of offerings to cover every aspect of sleep by influencing all five senses. We will be introducing multiple products that will help our consumers enjoy a peaceful sleep.   Q. Looking at the parent company Nilkamal, what is the GenNext of Nilkamal strategy? As a brand, we are focused on our consumers and are constantly tracking their changing buying behaviour. We are working towards developing new products which suit the ever-evolving lifestyle of our consumers. Digital transformation is creating newer opportunities for the category and hence Digital is and will continue to be our key strategy. We are working towards creating a seamless experience for our consumers across online and offline channels by leveraging technology.

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