Nestle’s Suresh Narayanan on marketing agility in the age of uncertainty

Suresh Narayanan, CMD, Nestle India and Chairman, CII National Committee on Food Processing Industries, made an appeal to return to the roots while also being relevant in the fast-paced, digitally-driven society that we live in, while speaking at the 6th CII Marketing Leadership Summit 2022. Speaking on ‘Marketing Agility in the Age of Uncertainty’, Narayanan noted how people connected digitally throughout the system during the pandemic pandemic. “The world around us is getting very digital. Everything is connected – there are a billion mobile phones, 750 million people on the Internet, 400 million people who are on WhatsApp, Facebook and different platforms. As I have always said, the likes on Facebook are more important than the face-to-face likes or dislikes. That is the generation we are living in. Self is no longer important. Selfie is the way that the world is moving – and if that’s the way the world is moving, adapt to it, buy don’t lose some of the core that I am talking about,” he appealed.

Adding further, he said, “While digitising campaigns, there is a need to make them more relevant to the consumer and personalise them. There are ways in which digital technology today constantly keeps involving the consumer over a period of time. This is the way in which agile marketing organisations need to move with relevance in the context of the consumer journey. If you don’t get the consumer journey, unfortunately, you have lost it. So, as marketing officers, spend time in understanding the consumer, look at your Nielsen reports, look at your Kantar reports, go and talk to consumers, retailers and your stakeholders to find out what is happening. That’s when you get the best insights.”

He highlighted Nestle’s efforts in tackling pandemic difficulties and quickly going digital. In Punjab, the company collaborated with 100,000 farmers; including 60,000 dairy farmers, 60% of whom were women. With limited sources and everything moving to digital overnight, Narayanan recollected, “We connected digitally across the spectrum, because that was the need of the hour. That was volatility at its best. And yet, who were the ones who rose to the challenge? It’s the people, and that’s what is important in this story. Many things have changed around us. The landscape is changing. Food has become an extremely important aspect of existence, especially during the pandemic. There are 250 million searches for recipes on platforms today. There are more than 10 million subscribers to food channels. That gives an opportunity to a company to really mine that space and see the relevance and seek the relevance of the brands.”

Narayanan concluded his address with two concepts of agility – one is transformation, which has boomed over the years; and the second is the value chain. What you need to emphasise is the entire value chain. Don’t look at one element of the value chain, look at advertising and marketing and communication. The whole chain has to work towards you.”