Prioritising conventional marketing in a digital world: Through the lens of Piramal Finance

New Delhi: Digital marketing has transformed businesses across sectors. However, Arvind Iyer, Head of Marketing Piramal Finance, pointed out that for the BFSI sector, “personalisation matters but in a way of face-to-face conversations and banking experiences for our consumers.” 

Thus, at Piramal Finance, the traditional or conventional ways of marketing take up a higher proportion of their marketing investments and focus compared to digital means – although, that does not disregard their aspiration to build an omnichannel presence.

Piramal Finance may be a relatively new player in the market — just three years old — but it has a clear mission: “to help those who work hard for a living but struggle to access financial resources.” 

Iyer explained, “We wanted to recognise people who have the ways and means to be able to earn their livelihood. But no access to funds.” 

He painted a vivid picture of local business owners, like the small grocery store operators, who often face hurdles due to the lack of traditional documentation.

“How digitalisation pushed the BFSI sector, is that the majority of the tedious processes became paperless and more convenient. Besides, our values at Piramal remain the same regardless of these transitions – as summed up by our Managing Director, Jairam Sridharan, ‘We underwrite people, not just papers,’” Iyer said. 

The company recently released two new advertisements for their maiden campaign of Hum Kagaz Se Zyada Neeyat Dekhte Hain, using storytelling to express their understanding of their consumers. 

The TVCs:

“We meet consumers every other day, and we find ourselves inspired by the stories we hear,” he said. 

Iyer elaborated on the challenge of selecting which stories to tell, saying, “We wish we could have made many more stories because we have so many to pick from.” 

The narratives chosen convey powerful themes of perseverance and aspiration, highlighting the brand's mission to help individuals achieve their dreams. “One story talks about not just living in a cocoon but stepping out, while the other speaks on dreams that can come alive.”

In a highly competitive market like BFSI, what helps Piramal Finance stand out is its understanding that “no matter how digital the sector becomes, at the end of the day, consumers settle down with digital means because they are too busy to travel across branches. 

“That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t prefer to. A lot of the consumers still go to the branch for their final onboarding, even though they started their journey digitally,” said Iyer.

“For us, the source of truth is always customer-back design. With around 500 branches across 30,000 PIN codes, face-to-face interaction is vital. People in these markets prefer engaging with a physical establishment when they need financial assistance,” he noted. 

Therefore, the brand’s grassroots approach includes local visibility efforts, such as wall paintings, community exhibitions, and even mobile announcements via auto-rickshaws. 

“We do use television and digital, but we approach them differently,” Iyer clarified. 

The television campaigns are designed to create brand awareness, while digital platforms like YouTube allow for more interactive engagement. 

Explaining further on their marketing disbursements and funnel, Iyer said, “For obvious reasons, we use it at the top of the funnel—it's a large enough medium now. We make substantial investments in the content we produce for social media. Everything you see is developed in-house.” 

In the middle of the funnel, Iyer explained how they track customer interactions. “When you watch our commercials, there's a call-to-action number at the end. Once someone reaches out, we find ways to create an ideal journey for them.” 

This tracking mechanism enhances customer experience, guiding them seamlessly from interest to engagement.

“For those who’ve seen the ad but haven’t acted upon it, we use different strategies to serve them relevant content. This approach allows Piramal Finance to engage both potential customers who prefer a hands-on experience and those who are more digital-native. We have customers from tier two cities who are comfortable navigating the process themselves, as well as those who require assistance,” he said.

Therefore, endeavours are undertaken to understand a customer’s preference as well as convenience in terms of their understanding of both digital and traditional means. 

However, the fundamental to either of the two choices remains utilising local intelligence. 

“We rely very heavily on our local intelligence. They tell us a lot about the kind of customers they want to find. This hands-on strategy helps build trust and familiarity among potential customers,” Iyer said. 

While the industry winds continue to blow the growth of the BFSI sector in forms both negative and positive, a challenge that Iyer highlighted, is yet to be addressed. “It’s almost impossible to know when your customers will need financial assistance,” he said. “In simpler words, Piramal only becomes relevant when someone is seeking help. But we cannot anticipate that in advance, predictive behaviour in this sector is difficult.”

“Another challenge that I have seen, is that as much as I would like to stand for something specific or create a brand recall in a more specific manner, it is tougher to do so in BFSI. We cater to such diverse consumer needs when it comes to backing them financially, that associating a specific need to our offerings is a little difficult,” he added.

With the initiation of the festive season, now is a good time for Piramal Finance to ramp up its marketing efforts although investments are consistent with their yearly plan. 

Although Piramal Finance’s primary audience skews older, Iyer sees value in connecting with younger demographics as well. 

“We do not see a big difference in behaviour between someone who’s 20 and someone who’s 35,” he said. 

Their focus on financial education aims to bridge this gap by educating their potential audience from the younger cohort – transitioning into the work-age cohort. 

Through informative content, Piramal engages younger individuals by helping them navigate the complexities of credit and financial literacy.

The latest TVCs therefore, target audiences from both the young cohort as well as the working group – where one ad iterates the company’s values and the other iterates the company’s offerings. 

“Not just for Piramal Finance, but marketing has outgrown its significance from just being an add-on to becoming a vital part of a successful business strategy. The goal isn’t just to attract customers but to keep them engaged and loyal.  This shift isn’t merely about convenience; it’s a fundamental change in expectations,” Iyer concluded.