Helping a passive thermal management solutions provider enter and grow in the indian market
When did it begin: In the year 2017
Technology under consideration: Passive thermal management for Li Ion batteries
The client was a mid-sized company well established in the US market and some Asian countries. Its innovative passive thermal management
for lithium-ion batteries had succeeded in these countries but it had no presence in India. Around 2017, India had just announced its aggressive e-Mobility plans.
The client company was interested in exploring the huge growth potential in this market. However, it had absolutely no idea about the market or method of doing business in India. They were clear that they needed a partner in this far away & complex market. The client had heard about Quanzen through a mutual contact. Initially, the client and our team had a series of video and tele conferences. These initial interactions, our track record and our references convinced them about our potential as a value enhancing partner and they decided to work with us for mapping their India entry.
A Roadmap Proposed by Quanzen
Around the time that our client wanted to enter Indian market, the Electric Vehicles industry was just about getting established. As such battery pack companies were coming in slowly. We advised the client to conduct a quick & clear market assessment and convinced them that that this approach would enable them to understand the market in depth and to work out an India specific
strategy. It also provided a safe exit possibility if the market assessment outcome did not turn out to be very positive.
Learnings from Phase 1
– Electric Vehicle OEMs, battery pack makers, start-ups were in an initial stage of battery pack development at that time. So, we happened to be approaching them at the right time and most of them were interested in exploring our client’s solutions. This was especially true for Electric Scooter & Motorcycle segment, which was growing the fastest and needed passive thermal solutions.
– Since EV market in India was at a nascent stage, OEMs were still learning and exploring different available solutions. They had a serious issue of deploying effective thermal management in the hot Indian ambient conditions with active cooling not being a feasible solution due to lack of space & budgets. So, they were interested in understanding the material and technology involved in our client’s product solution. However, it also became clear that for any further sales development, a lot of technical convincing and trials would be involved and therefore continued local technical support would be needed by all prospective customers.
– Apart from the major OEMs and Battery Pack makers, there was a huge pool of start-ups with successful funding rounds who were at a more advanced stage of development as compared to some of the big OEMs. We realised that we would need to reach all of them and fast.
Phase 1 Plan – Market Assessment
– approaching Each & Every potential customer in the e- Mobility sector.
– introducing our client’s solution and
– engaging in immersive dialogues.
At the end of Phase 1 which would be for about 3 months, the client’s team was to visit India and travel with us to the interested OEMs, Battery Pack Manufacturers, Start-ups and Regulatory Authorities. After such a road show, Quanzen and our client team were to sit together to review and decide the best strategy for the next phase. That is, if the client found the results from Phase 1 promising enough.
Phase 2 Plan – Target Marketing with clear strategy
Our team was to focus on certain target segments and customers for an assertive sales development programme based on a clearly worked out strategy. This was to continue for the following years for long term business development.
Development of a multi-pronged Strategy for Phase 2
a) Targeting Electric 2 & 3-wheeler segment
b) Engaging OEMs as influencers apart from direct users i.e. battery pack makers
c) Supporting sales with strong & continuous Marketing & Brand building
d) Aggressively promoting sample testing for customers to “actually experience” the result and for “spreading the good word”
Some Key Actions executed were:
As a part of strategy, we first started engaging with the OEMs as that’s where most of the battery pack development was happening or was being influenced. Multiple teams from Quanzen frequently met OEMs and provided them extensive technical support and hand-holding for understanding the right configuration & its application for their specific needs as well as during testing & trials. We got back to our client with customer inputs and their feedback to arrive at the most appropriate India specific product & pricing offerings.
Through marketing campaigns on LinkedIn, blogs, newsletters,
participation in conferences and exhibitions, we established our
client’s brand in India as the leader for Passive Thermal
Management and Safety.
Our client was also introduced to key government bodies like Niti
Aayog, DST and ARAI.
To our client’s credit, they supported us remotely in every possible way
on all technical fronts. Their sales & technical persons also made a
couple of visits per year to India over the period of three years in this
2nd phase.