Martech tools enable sustainable, profitable business models, says Neelima Burra of Luminous Power Technologies

Artificial intelligence has now become a mainstay for marketers, with AI-powered tools driving various marketing and advertising functions. Furthermore, AI is empowering businesses to boost their e-commerce capabilities and online retail presence.

For instance, Luminous Power Technologies is building an in-house conversational AI to build its inverter battery category online, reveals its chief strategy and transformation officer, Neelima Burra.

It is also piloting an AI tool for pricing management - which has always remained a manual process.

“With the help of AI, it makes it easier to drive better profitability. As marketing moves towards marketing-technology (martech), it is going to be far more beneficial for running a sustainable, profitable business model,” she adds.

In this interview, Burra further talks about the company’s growth plans, marketing strategy, summer growth, and how the ‘Make in India’ proposition is helping it build a stronger brand.

Edited excerpts:

What remains the major focus area for Luminous in 2024?

In 2024 there have been clear milestones on the growth and expansion plans we have. For the last 35 years, we have been known to be an inverter battery company but as part of our 5-year strategy and growth plan, we are strengthening towards repositioning ourselves as a leading global consumer technology company.

So, the focus area this year involves strengthening newer capabilities including solar, technology, alternate chemistry, power electronics, and digital engineering. For this change in brand positioning, we are investing in brand building, retail, and introducing local partnerships while also getting into battery manufacturing locally.

Overall, more than 25% of business is coming from solar today, which will continue to be our growth driver going forward. Also, nearly 15% of business is international and continues to be our priority and focus.

Talk to us more about the brand-building activities.

We have invested heavily in brand-building and channel engagement programs for this year. As part of those investments, the India Premier League (IPL) has been one of the biggest brand investments and channel engagements for us. Channel engagement has always been our strength in the growth and expansion story.

This year's partnership with Rajasthan Royals provided us with the opportunity to reach out to millions of cricket fans and create a substantial impact on our current and prospective customers. Our values are deeply aligned with the social impact that we intend to create through effectively activating solar energy and enriching livelihoods in communities across Rajasthan. Brand preference and awareness were at their best during this time more than 96% as per the Brand Track report conducted by a third-party agency.

And what is your media plan?

Being a legacy brand with brand awareness of close to 95%, it becomes important for us to choose a medium that reaches this audience. Therefore we have Sachin Tendulkar as our brand ambassador and utilize media vehicles like the IPL. We generally do a mix of digital and offline marketing that includes TV, print, and OOH to reach our target audience. Digital media offers many options to advertise; especially with connected TV homes which are very visible and engaging. TV has been one of the highest-reached media and has been an integral part of Luminous’ growth journey.

However there has been a recent consumer shift to digital-led marketing activations. So I would say that we are focusing on a mix of both TV and digital.

To what extent does the ‘Make in India’ proposition help strengthen the brand?

We are a 100% 'Make in India' company and it is one of our selling propositions globally. It also helps strengthen the brand—all our inverters and batteries are being manufactured in India at our seven manufacturing units. The newer expansion is planned in Odisha to strengthen our position in the East market.

As a marketer how do you look at ad tech trends this year?

I would say marketing is at a pivotal stage where technology is at the forefront. I would say it's no longer just marketing; it is ‘martech’. As more marketing moves towards technology it will be far more beneficial for running sustainable profitable business models. With AI coming into content development and management along with personalisation mapping consumer data has become easier which is a boon for the industry. It’s overall a great tool for marketers if they can segment their market well.

Take us through your retail strategy and expansion plans.

Currently we have close to one lakh retail points; we continue to grow there. Our e-commerce arm operates two kinds of businesses: our brand shop along with retailing through platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. This segment continues to grow as online searches increase; I see this business gaining momentum while purchases remain both online and offline.

How was the summer season for your company?

2024 is significant for Luminous Power Technologies as we aim to establish ourselves as a complete energy management solutions provider beyond just being an inverter battery company. It has been a great year so far with sales growth of around **30%** Y-o-Y (January – June). Last year was affected by unexpected rains leading to unpredictability in business.

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