Wakefit.co Co-founder & Director
Chaitanya Ramalingegowda talks about the brand journey and marketing strategies
for the company
For some entrepreneurs, business is about
more than simply earnings and margins; it’s also about providing consumers with
unrivalled experiences and value. These firms begin their journey with the goal
of solving a problem and providing clients with something that no one else can.
Wakefit.co, one of India’s leading sleep solutions and home decor providers, is
included in today’s edition of e4’Pride m’s of India Brands 2021′ series — a
one-of-a-kind collection of top SMBs revolutionising the market. Since its
launch in 2016, the company has amassed a 40 percent market share in the
premium, inexpensive mattress category, with annual revenue growth of about 2X.
“It all started when Ankit (Garg) went
out to the market, shortly before his wedding, to buy a new mattress,” Co-founder
and Director Chaitanya Ramalingegowda said of Wakefit’s beginnings and journey
thus far. He had previously worked for a German multinational and had a
thorough grasp of foams and their subtleties, so he noticed that there was a
significant disparity between the prices of all premium mattresses on the
market and what it would cost any brand to manufacture them. That’s when he and
I started looking into the market, the options, and how we might supply
high-quality mattresses at affordable pricing for the Indian middle class. And
so, in 2016, Wakefit was formed.”
The brand began as a digital D2C-led
company with consumer interest at its core, and it quickly became a huge hit
thanks to its great products. “We made Rs 09 crores in revenue in the
first year itself,” Ramalingegowda proudly boasts, “the next year it
was 27 crores, then 81 crores, then 199 crores, respectively.” We brought
in 415 crores last year because to our fantastic offerings. Our primary goal
has always been to provide high-quality items at reasonable prices so that the
Indian middle class may live in homes that are beautiful, aesthetic, and
ergonomically designed. They should not accept low-quality mattresses simply
because all of the brands are prohibitively expensive.”
Ramalingegowda feels that apart from a
strong product catalogue, which has now diversified into several other SKUs
including bed linen, furniture, recliners, etc, the right marketing strategies
have also helped the brand in scaling quickly.
“When we started, we knew that we don’t
have enough money to go big on traditional media like TV or print. But what
worked in our favour was that the internet was peaking simultaneously. We could
use Google and Facebook for more targeted ads, and use YouTube for our video
campaigns. With the increasing proliferation of the internet, we were
connecting with the right set of consumers. I would say we were very fortunate
in terms of timing as well.”
Ramalingegowda elaborates on the marketing
strategy that they employ, stating that they have always wanted content to be
the star of every campaign. “If a customer gives us the gift of their
time, we need to be able to offer value to their life through our
content.” As a result, the brand took a back seat in all of our efforts,
with the content taking centre stage. If the customer believes we were able to
entertain them while also teaching them something new or giving value, they
will spread the word about the campaign.”
It is important to mention here that
Wakefit, over the past six years, has worked with a bouquet of agency partners
including GenY Medium, Spring Marketing Capital, Essence (GroupM), and
Logicserve digital.
When asked if the company has grown its
marketing costs after numerous rounds of investment and revenue growth,
Ramalingegowda responded, “We never see our marketing expenses as a
proportion of revenue since, as a startup, we don’t have the correct
comparables to gauge it against.” Second, we don’t believe we need to
start throwing money around just because we have it. We don’t believe in
solving problems by throwing money at them. We’d rather use it to gain a better
understanding of consumer behaviour and curate solutions that will genuinely
help them. When we identify a solution, no one is more willing to spend than we
are. But we’d rather spend our money on finding solutions.”
He concludes the discussion by elaborating on
the key pillars that define their marketing strategies which include the intent
and thought processes of the leadership, the voice of the consumers in the
forms of reviews & testimonials, and the authenticity of the campaigns. Courtesy:
www.exchange4media.com
