"Moving closer to customers"

“Moving closer to customers”

Innovation has been the biggest driver for KBL’s sustained leadership position in the global pump market for not a few decades, but more than a century. KBL is at the heart of agriculture, industry, and the economy. KBL’s aim is to empower people, enhance business, strengthen infrastructure, and create new opportunities for growth through Total Fluidity Management. KBL’s capabilities span from large infrastructure projects such as water supply, power generation, irrigation, oil and gas, and marine and defence to small pumps for domestic and agricultural use. In business, the key to success has always been developing and maintaining the loyalty of our valued customers. And we do that by getting to know our customers' needs, creating services that satisfy those needs, and going the

extra mile to deliver beyond the customer’s expectations. Integration and service diversification into business make for a foundation of success by leading to what is needed before it’s known. Here, the saying by Steve Jobs relates very closely, namely, "Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves."

Customer-centricity matters to us

More than ever before, customers are now discussing their preferences, needs, likes, and dislikes in an open environment, accessible and easy to analyse if equipped with the right tools. Embarking on this journey, we, at KBL, understand the emotions and motivations behind customers’ behaviours, which allow us to effectively strategize

and use those insights to inform business decisions, build better products, and tackle customer inquiries more efficiently, not forgetting that customer-centricity is a trait, not a task. KBL has 17,000 channel partners in India and 80 overseas and is supported by a best-in-class network of authorised service centres and authorised refurbishment centres across the country. KBL’s dedicated and extensive service network, spare dealers, and authorised service centres across the country are well-equipped to meet any service need for all Kirloskar pumpsets. Service ranges from installation and commissioning, supervision, annual maintenance contracts (AMCs), overhauling, Replacement / refurbishment, reverse engineering and In-house and on-site trainings.

Maintain connection and loyalty

KBL has unique and innovative options to maintain customer connections and loyalty. We expand the reach by operating Authorized Pump Set Original Equipment Manufacturer (APOEM) with channel partners along with state-of-the-art testing, repair and maintenance facilities. Apart from the legacy, we have always upgraded time and time again. KBL always strives for lean manufacturing principles and delivers an enhanced customer experience. This enables us to keep moving forward with technological advancements and invest in the future for the benefit of our customers.

Digitalisation is the new marketing trend

In today’s digital world, customers are socially

connected, and along with accessing information, they can also share it on demand. Our continued investment in next-generation technology, including 3D printing, IoT, AR, VR and AI is helping us provide our customers with more value-added products, faster delivery, and prompt service. Also, our remote monitoring system (KirloSmartTM) is a cloud-based intelligent solution that helps a person view the process parameters through the Internet. We strengthen our presence on social media platforms by consistently communicating, listening, and engaging with customers. Integrating various touchpoints like websites, social media, email marketing, digital campaigns, and other channels has helped us understand the customer journey better and improve marketing ROI.

Knowing the customer closely

The earlier a customer’s trend is identified, the more valuable it is. However, while consistency is critical, we, at KBL, have always been distinctive in our ways of communicating with our customers. At KBL, what the customer says about our brand matters. If any customer wants to be heard, they don’t have to wait until a market researcher comes knocking, calling or emailing; we are available 24x7 on the toll-free number for every customer, and all a customer care executive needs to do is listen and engage.

If we’re all following the same trends and developing the same insights, the resulting homogeneity will lead to ineffectiveness. Although more subjective, social insight can provide more of a directional understanding, making it particularly valuable in uncovering emerging trends as we reach out to our customers closely.