It is crucial to empower employees by granting them the freedom to experiment and make mistakes if innovative thinking needs to be fostered, said Shashank Shrivastava, Senior Executive Officer- Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki.

Speaking at the Pitch CMO Summit held in New Delhi on Wednesday on the theme ‘Reimagining Purpose in a Tech-Enabled World’, Shrivastava said technology is exciting and a supportive culture can promote inter-organisation innovation.

“How can we foster innovative thinking in our own teams and leverage the incredible power of technology for generating growth within our organisation. The answer lies in creating a supportive culture that promotes and champions inter-organisation innovation.

“To achieve this, first, it is crucial to empower employees by granting them the freedom to experiment and make mistakes. Second, invest in our communication system and make sure team members feel comfortable. Third, clearly defined goals with constant supportive feedback and guidance are essential in achieving an innovative culture. Finally, encourage supportive collaboration among employees by opting for tools such as online communication systems, document sharing services, virtual project spaces etc.” Shrivastava said.

He said that these are exciting times as far as technology is concerned as it presents huge opportunities for businesses and customers alike.

“I cannot help but marvel at the wonderful age of technology we live in. It is truly a time brimming with potential and opportunities for both customers and businesses alike.

“One of the most significant ways digital transformations have accelerated innovation in marketing is through the emergence of powerful research tools that enable vast amounts of data to be processed quickly and efficiently. Today marketing professionals have a wealth of information on their fingertips which allows them to make more informed decisions than ever before,” he said.

During his fireside chat with Vivek Malhotra, Group CMO and COO - Consumer Revenue, India Today, Shrivastava spoke about digital transformation in Maruti Suzuki and stressed on the need to shift mindset.

“Shift in mindset is necessary. Fundamentally, history has shown, data-led decisions have the highest probability of success. If you imbibe this philosophy, you would like to have as much data as you have before making decisions. If you are convinced about it, you will build a good database to start with. That is the transformation we are looking at.

“Technology is very exciting and you must keep up with its pace of change. We started with NEXAverse with the Grand Vittara launch and spread it to ARENAverse. We have more than 100,000 sessions so far and it is great. We want to do more things like 3D comparison of vehicles, virtual test drives, POC etc. We are hopeful it will get very big,” he said.

Shrivastava said that Maruti Suzuki has 17 models in its portfolio.

“10 in ARENA and 7 in NEXA. One of the challenges is geographical reach. We have 3800 physical showrooms and 9000 digital showrooms. In the ‘phygital’ world we live in, physical showrooms are also important. People now in villages also want cars. We have 650,000 villages in India and Maruti Suzuki has sold at least one car in 410,000 villages. But I wonder why the remaining villages have not bought a single car so far,” he said.

Speaking about the advantages of technology in marketing and innovation, Shrivastava said it has empowered businesses by expanding market sizes exponentially by reducing entry barriers for new players with information that is available at a click of a button and social media democratising communication.

“People from across the globe can access markets which were considered out of reach. Creating a culture of innovation in the age of technology is not just a choice but an imperative for organisations to thrive and stay ahead of the curve.

“Let us embrace diversity faster, open communication and leverage technology to pave the way for the future where creativity and technology intertwine seamlessly,” he said.

He also told Malhotra that Maruti Suzuki will continue its visibility at Comic Con as GenZ and millennials are the ultimate buyers.

“GenZ and Millenials are about 83-84 % of the total sales in the industry. GenZ are a large chunk in our case about 28 % of our total sales. Median age of people in Comic Con is 21 years. They have such a huge reach. We will continue our digital content creations there as GenZ and Millenials are the buyers of the future. So better to build brand image with them,” Shrivastava said.