“Post-pandemic normalisation, consumers have shifted towards branded products”

Sleepwell is a flagship brand of Sheela Group, India’s leading manufacturer of Polyurethane foam and an ISO 9001 certified company. It has 10 state-of-the-art manufacturing units, a strong support of over 100 distributors and over 8,000 dealers in India. Sheela Group commands approximately 30% market share of the Indian PU Foam industry. The brand has been very agile and a resilient player in the industry by staying ahead of the competition with their continuous innovations. For generations they have delighted the consumers and it continues to strive in attaining a perfect balance between technology and new designs. The company is set to foray into home comfort products with a wide range of premium bedding products such as a bed sheets, pillows, comforters, blankets and other support.

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In conversation with Adgully for their column Marketing Minds, Vishal Sharma, CMO, Sleepwell, speaks about how the sleep solutions business has evolved during the pandemic period, what consumers are looking for when they look to buy a mattress, creating a strong differentiation in a market dominated by both branded and unorganised players, and much more.

Consumers today are looking for branded and innovative products for sleeping solutions. What are some of the reasons for this and what kind of consumers go for branded mattresses and sleeping accessories?

Post-pandemic normalisation, consumers have firmly shifted towards branded products and innovative offering from reputed brands. The most important is the credibility of the brand promise in delivering the product. Brands like us do research and gather consumer insights from the local brand as well and then make innovative products and services.

We also offer pre-purchase where consumers can step into our experiential 2.0 showrooms and avail value adds like trial & education by trained sleep advisors, digital and instore scientific selector for arriving at the right product fit basis, home services, finance Options and a full suite of differentiated products that go along with the mattress and bedroom living room accessories all under one roof. Innovative offerings like Bedsets, which includes bundle of bedsheet, pillows, comforters, blankets, mattress protectors, furniture cushioning and refurbishing; Neem Fresche, a surface germ disinfectant, along with differentiated mattress like Cocoon, Spinetech Air Luxury, etc., which have no equivalent match in the industry. We at Sleepwell believe in offering strong post purchase services and value-added services like home demo & delivery, cleaning, extended warranties, etc.

What do customers look for when they go to buy a good mattress and what are their expectations when they enter a retail outlet?

The Internet provides mixed information about the mattress leading to indecisive consumer requirement. We provide the right guidance in terms of technology, innovation and best fitted product as per their need. The consumers seek for assurance for long lasting durability of the product along with comfortable mattress and additional accessories like pillows & bedsets to go with it, price, scheme, finance and warranty options.

The market today abounds in both branded products and products from the unorganised sector. How are you differentiating your products and bringing in value to your potential customers?

There are a lot of challenges in the unorganised sector, namely lack of experience, lack of guidance, lack of knowledge and consumer preferences. The pricing is non-transparent, there is also the problem of assurance and warranty of the product and the absence of after sales service, no assurance of claimed property and claimed benefit of material used. We are the market differentiators because our products are exclusively designed based on consumer data and insight. We have years of deep understanding of consumers choices and comfort. We understand the product need and expertise in materials & form factors to fit in all consumers’ lifestyles and segments. We have our specialised R&D, which helps us offer the right product as per the need of our consumers.

We have an experience-based selling format, both from our stores or at home, which via expert sleep & sales advisors who are armed with the best info via technology to advise and make you arrive at the right mattress for your need via your lifestyle needs, use case, trials and also explain the clear USPs, price & schemes, warranties and guide you through post-purchase services in a personalised manner. We also provide innovative and value added services like furniture refurbishment, innovate and beautiful looking bedsets to go with your mattress, Neem Fresche sprays & cleaning services to disinfect your mattress/ sofas and keep them looking new and germ free. We use tech enablement for things like website, online purchase, at home services, mattress selector online, instore, finance facility or the right fit scheme to help you buy or upgrade your mattress. Instore invites, events for potential customers under the umbrella of Today @ Sleepwell instore engaging events which involve your family and fun activities like learning interior decor from industry experts, kids activities, etc. While you can browse through our latest offerings without the pressure of buying anything.

The pandemic has brought about a shift in consumer behaviour and preferences. Have you noticed that in this category and if you could share some of the trends that you have seen?

The pandemic has brought a major shift in our lives and the trends have changed. The consumer is aware about the offerings in the market. They are researching and comparing online amongst the different websites before buying the product. They have vast options available in the digital space along with value-added services, which include expert advice and experience at stores before purchasing the product. Consumers are now preferring customised offerings and looking up to assurance of a brand through their lifetime value of using a product. Keeping up with industry trends, we are also offering facilities like finance, post purchase maintenance which includes cleaning and disinfectant services.

To stay ahead of the competition, you need to keep innovating your products. What are some of the new products that you plan to launch that will delight your customers?

We believe that innovation is the key and with fast-changing market and consumer preferences innovation is the only way to sustain in the market. We offer a variety of products:

• Cocoon– a mattress focused on his/her requirement of feel on the individual’s side of the mattress
• Comfort Cell Mattress – which work with an industry first foam cells technology to give your body adjusting “personalized feel”
• Launch of our “Bedest” concept which provide you an industry 1st Bundle offering mix & match of eclectically designed bedsheets, pillow covers, comforters, blankets and more
• Value added services like mattress cleaning at home or disinfection with our proprietary Neem Freschesprays
• Sofa cushioning and refurbishing services at the convenience of your home

We are the first one in the industry to launch a large new category to complete our bedroom space offering starting from top bedsets to mattress and surfaces below it. Additionally, we are venturing into the living space area to use our foaming expertise to bring you the best-in-class new differentiated product category in the very near future. All this will set us far apart from the mushrooming online or offline competitors as we will be the only integrated player, which will have all offerings for the “Sleep Space “under one roof.

How have you positioned your brand in the market and what kind of marketing and communication strategy have you planned to keep your brand top of mind in a cluttered market?

Sleepwell’s positioning in the market is as an industry leader in the sleep and comfort category. We focus on “Personalised Comfort” of our consumers through our varied range of products & services. Sleepwell’s marketing strategies highlight the digital presence, giving the consumers the comfort and experience of shopping online. Keeping the current Covid situation in mind, we have explored our wings by providing home services, approachable via online clicks, missed calls.

As a brand, we understand the changed consumer preferences. Sleepwell has ventured into customised offerings in each of the category, including – mattress, bedsets, furniture cushioning & other upcoming categories.

We aim to become the market differentiators, and in order to achieve the same, we have to build experiential stores with tech, expert advisor, comparators, trial, etc., which set  us apart from any other competition – offline or online. We also offer instore engagements with potential customers with Today @ Sleepwell program – customer interest activities like teaching home decor to women living in the catchment of a store – providing a safe and fun filled environment to experience our latest offerings at your own pace, time without any pressure to buy. Big consumer campaigns which appeal to a consumer’s contemporary lifestyle, stage of life and how we fit in their life are planned. Each category will have its own customised way of reaching out to people as each category has its own distinct market, customer and user case. Sleepwell’s offering includes value added services like cleaning, discount vouchers, Neem Fresche disinfectants also providing all accessories of a bedroom & living room under one roof.

To expand and incorporate the dynamic changes, we organise new category launches twice a year to highlight and drive focus on our product launches. We provide our consumers first hand experiences of buying our product range at a place of their choosing – at home, stores, online, as per convenience.