Complete Marketing Strategy of Balkrishna Industries – Detailed Explanation

Updated on: May 31, 2022
Marketing Strategy of Balkrishna Industries - Featured Image

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In our previous article, we learned in-depth about the marketing strategy of an enthralling brand called Asian Paints. This article will go over the marketing strategy of Balkrishna Industries Limited, a tyre manufacturer.

The goal is to provide you with insights into BKT’s transformation from a Tyre Manufacturing Industry Cooperative Society to one of India’s most recognized and respected tyre manufacturing brands.

Marketing is a component of a company’s DNA that can make or break it. As users around the world migrate to the digital realm, marketing has followed them. If you’re interested in cutting-edge digital marketing, then you must check out IIDE’s Free MasterClass on Digital Marketing 101 by our CEO and Founder, Karan Shah.

In this blog, we will go over the marketing strategy of Balkrishna Industries in detail. Let us begin our deeper analysis by learning about the company’s history, target audience, and digital presence.

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Overview of BKT Industries

Marketing Strategy of Balkrishna Industries

Balkrishna Industries Limited (BKT) is an Indian multinational tire manufacturing company based in Mumbai, India. Balkrishna Industries manufactures off-highway tyres used in specialist segments like Mining, earthmoving, gardening and agriculture in different places of India. 

On November 20, 1961, Balkrishna Industries Ltd was formed. In 1987, the company established its first plant in Aurangabad. During the fiscal year 2002-03, the company purchased Govind Rubber Ltd Auto Tyre Plant in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan. Tractor Radial Tyres were introduced during the fiscal year 2004-05.

Founder and late chairman Mahabirprasad Poddar, son Arvind Poddar, chairman, and managing director; grandson Rajiv Poddar, joint managing director. BKT is a family business. The name BKT stands for a unique asset representing the rich heritage of values passed down through traditions.

BKT has achieved success by focusing on niche markets such as agricultural, construction, and industrial vehicles, as well as earthmoving, port and mining, ATV, and gardening applications. As a result, BKT has grown into a global player in the Off-Highway tire industry, with a 6% market share and a sales volume of 850 million US dollars, a 30% increase in the last five years. 

BKT Europe S.r.l. in Seregno, Italy, BKT Tires USA Inc. in Akron, Ohio, BKT Tires Canada Inc. in Toronto, and BKT Tires, Inc. in Brentwood, Tennessee currently assist their head office in sales and marketing activities. Through a network of national distributors, they sell their products in 130 countries around the world.

Quick Stats on Balkrishna Industries
CEO Mahabirprasad Poddar
CMO Arvind Poddar
Area Served Worldwide
Industry Tires/tyres Industries
Market Share/ Revenue 5,919.37
Vision We intend to be the leader and benchmark in the global off-highway tire market.
Tagline “Growing Together”

 

Marketing Strategy of BKT

The company intends to expand into new markets. It intends to market products from its newly built facility in Bhuj, Gujarat, in markets such as Russia, the CIS, Canada, and the west coast of the United States, in addition to its existing market. It also intends to increase its exposure to off-the-road (OTR) tires. “We anticipate growth across all segments, whether agricultural, industrial, or heavy vehicle manufacturing.”

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

Segmentation is the process of breaking a targeted market into segments that may be contacted. Market segmentation divides a market into subgroups based on demographics, requirements, priorities, shared interests, and other psychographic or behavioural traits that help to better understand the target audience. Talking about the segmentation of Balkrishna Industries it has segmented its business into those who are seeking agricultural, industrial, or heavy vehicle manufacturing. 

Targeting a business’s choice of potential customers to whom it wants to sell products or services. The targeting approach requires segmenting the market, selecting the most relevant segments, and identifying the products that will be supplied in each segment. So here in this case the targeted audience of Balkrishna Industries is targeting automobile industries and other agricultural places. 

Positioning is the final phase of the ‘STP’ process, and it focuses on how the customer perceives a product or service in comparison to the competitors, which is critical for gaining a competitive edge in the market. To gain a competitive edge in the market, Balkrishna Industries always positions itself as a quality and affordable tyre manufacturer in the off-highway tire market with new thinking and positive change. 

Marketing Campaigns

Marketing Strategy of Balkrishna Industries - Campaign 1

Along with players beginning IPL 2021 training camp, all franchises are looking to fill sponsorship slots for the upcoming season. Balkrishna Industries (BKT Tires) has secured a significant deal for the new campaign, as they have agreed to become partners with seven teams in the tournament.

Apart from Sunrisers Hyderabad, BKT Tyres will be the tire partner for all teams during the IPL 2021. They had previously worked with six IPL teams during the previous season. The Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise is the latest addition to the tire manufacturer’s sponsorship portfolio. 

AgriHorti Tech India 2016

Marketing Strategy of Balkrishna Industries - campaign 2

Balkrishna Industries did a physical advertisement of their products at AgriHorti Tech India which took place in 2016. Balkrishna Industries displayed their products on a counter along with several other companies that manufacture products related to agriculture. The Balkrishna Industries exhibition was successful as many farmers and people linked to agriculture visited the tech workshop and showed interest in purchasing BKT tyres for their agricultural vehicles. 

The Youtube video by HYBIZTV which is picturizing Balkrishna Industries’ counter at AgriHorti Tech India 2016 exhibition also got immense views of more than 1 Lakh.


Social Media Marketing 

Balkrishna Industries can be found on the following social media platforms

  1. LinkedIn with 37,000+ followers
  2. Instagram with 24.3k+ followers
  3. Facebook with up to 3 lakh+ people likes

As we can see, BKT tires have a massive reach on Facebook and LinkedIn. On Facebook, the company posts are related to achievements, awards and information about their upcoming exhibition in different cities. Through their content, they also appreciate the hard-working farmers and expressed their gratitude.

On LinkedIn, you can see them talking about more on a sustainable front. The LinkedIn page is associated with the BKT operation in Seregno (MB). BKT tires also posted several job openings in their organization. Overall the quality of content on all the social media platforms is superb and the visuals seemed appealing to us.


SEO Strategy 

Marketing Strategy of Balkrishna Industries - SEO

As per SEO ranking, it is said that the Number of keywords – below 500 is bad, above 1000 is good, and 10,000+ is amazing. As we can see, its website has 18,401 organic keywords and it’s outstanding. That means the digital marketing of Balkrishna Industries is gaining a good number of insights. Balkrishna Industries’ digital marketing is attracting a large number of visitors. The monthly traffic is in the 58k+ range, which is considered as good.


Influencer Marketing

Marketing Strategy of Balkrishna Industries - Influencer

The Indian multinational group and global player in the Off-Highway tire market, Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT), has appointed superstar, Ranveer Singh, as its Brand Ambassador. Roping with Ranveer Singh is working great in amplifying awareness of BKT tyres as Ranveer Singh has established himself as the category leader through sheer hard work and excellence which led to a huge number of youth and mid-age people accounts as his fans.


E-commerce Strategies

E-commerce doesn’t take up much space in the marketing strategy of the Balkrishna Industries. Balkrishna Industries does not have an E-commerce portal through which they can allow their clients to order their products, However, they do have ample information on various offices through which a potential client can reach out to them for any business-related inquiry.


Mobile App

Marketing Strategy of Balkrishna Industries - Mobile Ap

Balkrishna Industries (BKT) has launched a mobile version of its website optimized for smartphones and tablets, providing customers with information on its products and services via a streamlined interface.

The mobile version is immediately available in six European languages: English, Italian, French, Spanish, German, and Portuguese – and BKT has already announced plans to open additional languages in order to cover the 130 countries where it is present.


Content Strategies

Content Marketing is yet another important aspect of a good marketing strategy. Content marketing is a very important and effective aspect of the marketing strategy of the Balkrishna Industries. Balkrishna Industries has been relatively much more active in this section than others by posting different articles on their website. They have an amazing feature of posting blogs on their website which keeps their clients and investors engaged in their activities and deals. They also share some amazing content on LinkedIn as we’ve already seen above. A good content-producing medium can build goodwill and give you a unique spot among your competitive peers in the industry. 

This ends our elaborative marketing strategy of Balkrishna Industries. Let us conclude our learning below from the marketing strategy of Balkrishna Industries.

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What’s unique about Balkrishna Industries’ marketing strategy? 

The marketing strategy of Balkrishna Industries is one of a kind. I have mixed responses to this, as the marketing strategy of Balkrishna Industries is good compared to other companies in the same business, but since Marketing gives life to a business and is an important aspect of a business, an effective system of marketing and promotion is necessary. 

With the increasing importance of digital marketing, learning about the growing field is an important step. If you would like to learn more and develop skills, check out IIDE’s 4 Month Digital Marketing Course to learn more.

We hope this blog on the marketing strategy of Balkrishna Industries has given you a good insight into the company’s marketing strategies.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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