Innovate, evolve, acclimatise to beat COVID-19 impact: Minal Srivastava

The lockdown is being eased out in a phased manner. Cites are opening up and taking all careful steps to start their business operations. Companies have a huge challenge to bring their business back on track. At Shalimar Paints, business is slowly coming back to track and the company is very positive and optimistic that it will pick up pace in the next few months. The company has taken all precautionary measures to ensure business continuity by following all safety methods with the employees and their customers. The new normal will be the new norm of life and the company is fully geared and is streamlining its supply chain, distribution and business operations to be back in the market in full swing.

Also read: COVID-19 impacts 70% of start-ups, 12% have shut ops: FICCI-IAN Survey

In conversation with Adgully, Minal Srivastava, Vice President Growth, Strategy & Marketing, Shalimar Paints, speaks about the long-term strategy of the company going forward and how they plan to navigate in the post-lockdown world.

The pandemic has disrupted most industries. How did you navigate your sales and marketing activities during these times? What's going to be the strategy until the next financial year?

We have been taking all the required precautionary measures to ensure business continuity and safety of our employees and customers. It is the new normal, and we have accepted this fact. However, apart from the gloom, there is also a brighter side to this crisis. Those who innovate, evolve, and learn to acclimatise with it will sail through it.

In sync with this philosophy, we strive to make the most of this time and focus on training and development through clear communications with the sales team. The subsequent lockdowns gave us time to rethink and rework on our business, like distribution structure, discounting, etc., to make more informed decisions.

During the same time, we also connected with our key influencers (the painter community) through loyalty programs. All these measures have mutually benefitted us and helped us move forward with more confidence and courage. We will continue to add value to our business through the same innovative approach in the times to come.

With the economy looking still sluggish, and many factories still not working to full capacity, how have you been managing your factory production and supply chain activity?

We have been following all the precautions across our factory premises to contain the spread of COVID-19. Deep sanitization, masks, PPE, all these measures are in place, and that’s how we have been successfully ensuring business continuity without violating social distancing norms. Until a vaccination is out, these precautionary measures are the greatest prevention one can follow. The economy is gradually reopening its doors, and hopefully, things will normalise in the next few months.

The second quarter has started and so has the festival season, how and what are you planning to push your brands as many people plan to paint their houses this time of the year?

We have kept our focus intact on making the painting process safe and hygienic. For instance, products like anti-bacterial coating and contactless methods where consumers can continue using paints without the painter’s intervention are some of the aspects that are we are focusing on as of now.

These measures will help them continue their painting activities while keeping safety at the forefront and thus, enjoy festivals more seamlessly. While doing so, we are also creating awareness around how our products can help consumers maintain safety protocols at every step possible, hence keeping COVID-19 at bay.

Safety is the biggest factor everyone is looking at. Have you planned any educational drive to promote the safe way of painting with your painter community and your end customer?

The on-going pandemic has forced us to evolve and innovate faster. And communication at this critical juncture will play a significant role in attaining success. In line with this vision, we are creating a direct communication channel that employees can easily access.

Through this, they can contact senior management for any clarification regarding the changing work cultures or business models. We are also working towards a remote working model to ensure business continuity while keeping everyone safe.

Apart from this, we are already spreading awareness around COVID-19 and safe painting practices among our employees and customers. We explain how our products are safe to bank on and how one can continue their painting tasks by themselves with festivals around the corner.

We are also educating slum dwellers about safety and hygiene protocols to combat the on-going pandemic through initiatives such as ‘Project Suraksha’. Under this, we collaborated with Raah Foundation and deployed volunteers to offer prevention measures in the form of community wall paintings across slum areas while also adding various helpline numbers to the walls for use in case of emergencies.

How have you kept your brand top of mind during the last few months? Were any specific campaigns released during this period? What’s going to be the plan for marketing and advertising during the festive season?

As I mentioned earlier, we launched Project Suraksha in association with Raah Foundation. It was aimed to make slum people aware of COVID-19 and various prevention measures in the form of community wall paintings. These covered every information associated with the coronavirus, the do’s and don’ts, the importance of social distancing, etc. We displayed all the messages in colloquial language to make them easily understandable. This initiative also allowed painters residing in these areas to come forward and join the cause.

Every brand in the paint category is talking about anti-bacterial features, you also have a brand called Superlac Stay Clean. How is this performing, and how is the anti-bacterial feature being accepted in the market?

Yes, it’s a water-based premium emulsion with advanced stain guard technology that protects home walls from stains caused by tea, coffee, ketchup, etc. It also comes packed with an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal formula that prevents microbial growth on the dried paint film.

What will be your media strategy for the festive season to support your brand campaigns? How are you leveraging digital?

Digital is going to be the future, and COVID-19 has accelerated this push. To make the most of it, we will strive to make all our operations online so that no crisis can derail us. We will continue creating short product videos and those with social messages and leverage social media channels to expand their reach to promote brand campaigns. With time and technologies, social media tools have also evolved, and we must use them to strengthen our communication strategies and relationship with customers and stakeholders.