“Learn” Comes Before “Earn”

When you read it without context, it sounds like a father just spoke those wise words to his child. But for T7E, the company I co-founded more than seven years ago, it means so much more.

As a marketing technology company in the automotive aftermarket, opportunities abound to observe some of the predicaments of mechanics, retailers, and brands in this space. Being able to win over the mechanic and the retailer is a common challenge for brands in this meta-market.

Brands that are the biggest spenders on sales promotions & brand building in the aftermarket invest in building equity with mechanics and retailers through cash coupons, on-ground marketing, and loyalty programs.

In a market cluttered with such initiatives, T7E launched Puraskar- the first and only coalition mechanic loyalty program in the world- a concept that benefited mechanics and leveled the playing field for smaller brands in the space. Puraskar offered mechanics the opportunity to earn loyalty points across multiple brands and categories of spares & consumables, and gave aftermarket brands one common loyalty program, operated by us.

After some initial hesitation on the part of brands to try something untested, we got a few quick wins- an international bearings company, a renowned tyre brand, an Indian battery brand, a chain & sprocket wheel brand, and a house of brands offering a basket of electrical & other parts.

Puraskar was not just a win-win, it was a win-win-win! The mechanics could earn credits much quicker in Puraskar. For the participating brands, the program offered access to a broader base of potential users, minimal operational involvement in running the program, and cost savings. For T7E, it was a profitable program that yielded unparalleled insights into the industry!

In January 2019, the five brands, across their 20 product categories, offered loyalty benefits to over 8000 two-wheeler and car mechanics in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, and Bengaluru, serviced by a 25-person strong field team managed by T7E. Seeing the new entrant brands in the program gain quicker acceptance from the users was a strong early validation of the concept.

But Puraskar had to be shut down after remaining operational for close to 2.5 years. The auto-industry downturn in 2019 triggered the premature exit of two partners from the program. Two of the other partners were unable to stay on in the program because they had not invested in unique product identifiers on their packs. Withoutthat tracking mechanism, it was cumbersome to track consumption and was not ascalable operating model, for them and us. One of the earliest partners, whowitnessed growth in market share in the four cities, stayed on and Puraskarcontinued as an exclusive loyalty program for them.

In retrospect, the program was way ahead of its time. An absence of an end-user mobile application for mechanics to engage with the program hindered rapid mechanic reach growth. The program needed a fast-moving product like lubricants, friction parts, or cables on board to stabilize it, but we did not get enough time to sign up the right partners from these categories before the downturn hit us.

Operating Puraskar and having a field team did give us rich insights into the auto aftermarket and the mindset of the mechanic. But it also made us realize that there are bigger problems this community faces that need tackling. For instance, mechanics in the independent aftermarket often find themselves flying blind when it comes to new technology in the industry and is one of their biggest challenges.

This brings me back to the title of this article- “Learn” Comes Before “Earn”. It can mean many things, even in the context of this article. But its most profound interpretation for us was that while running loyalty programs was great for mechanics, what was needed was a systematic approach to help them stay on top of tech upgrades and the paradigm shifts. So, when the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the switch to BS6 emission norms, T7E was ready to make a fresh start.

In April 2020, T7E launched MechaniK TV- the first-ever digital content platform for mechanics. The app provides technical videos in Hindi, helping mechanics troubleshoot service-related issues; and live webinars that cover the latest automotive technology relevant to mechanics right on their smartphones, free of cost!

MechaniK TV seems to have struck a chord with the mechanics, gaining more than 30000 downloads in the first ten months. At 10+ minutes of average daily time spent, engagement is high and growing steadily. Feedback from hundreds of our two-wheeler mechanic users that we equipped them with the right knowledge to service BS6 bikes that have already started flowing out of franchised workshops to their garages has been our high point.

The content-led approach has ensured a continued space on the mechanic's smartphone and stickiness to the application. The intent is to soon bring in more relevant services to mechanics on the app. The ask of the task is too big for T7E to pull off on its own. But we have potential partners with a shared vision who are stepping forward to help us with content ideas and ways to reach out to more mechanics whom we can help.