Time is Ticking for Watch Brands to Scale up Their Sales' Effort, Not For This Brand Mathur details #4 tips that marketers must follow to up their marketing game.

The advice from a marketing professional with 14 years of experience in some of the top companies of the world such as Samsung, Tata Sky and LG is worth noting.

Anupam Mathur, who has served as the head of sales at Timex India for the last five years, says India is very different from other markets because people here still want consumer service.

"Even if you bought a watch for INR 1,000, people still want consumer service. As Indians, we like to retain our watches. Our parents would have still kept their wedding watches."

In India, Timex manufactures watches at its manufacturing facility that employs 300 employees in Himachal Pradesh. Timex Group India has one of the most powerful portfolios of brands Timex, Marc Ecko, Nautica, Opex, TX, Salvatore Ferragamo, Versace, Valentino and Versus.

Mathur details #4 tips that marketers must follow to up their marketing game.

Identifying Your Customer Group

You may not be getting the value from them, but identifying what your aspiration should be is important, finding who your actual target is. That's what is the bottomline for every marketer.

For Timex, Mathur details the company's go-to-strategy. When we are competing with other brands, we still tell consumers that we are targeting an age group of 18-25 and not only are we traditionalists in nature, but we are also high in fashion says Mathur.

"Not only are we traditional watch-making company, but we are also trying to be both fashionable and youthful from a consumer perspective."

Media Vehicles

Media can be very expensive on different platforms. Everyone in India wants to do these high-visibility campaigns, big launches. A lot of new media vehicles have come in the last 2-3 years that essentially help you reach your target audience compared to the traditional media.

Smart watch industry is divided into watch makers who want to be smart players or very strong hand-set makers who are selling an extension of their product says Mathur.

"Pure play smart watches that the traditional handset makers are trying to make, traditional GPS brands and old electronic companies are all getting into wearable technology. But the actual point is most of them are struggling with either battery and if a watch can do much more than your phone."

If you are just trying to mirror your phone to your watch, it doesn't make sense. Hence, the right projection is important says Mathur.

How Do You Manage Your Product Communication & Clutter

Most companies now don't do brand building, they do product advertising. That is the right way to build aspiration instead of building the umbrella brand and then trying to sell products. Ultimately, the product will sell and the brand can take you so far says Mathur.

Data points suggest watch penetration is still 35 percent in India. The number of people who actually own another watch is not more than 5 or 6 percent. "What is happening unique in the last 3 years in India is that watches are moving from a traditionally time keeping device to a fashion accessory. And that's the bridge we are trying to gap."

Last-mile Execution

The moment of truth is very very important. Especially for watches, when people want to have a look and feel of the product. As a marketer, it is very important to own the consumer and the store. In a watch business, they will build great displays but when you actually go and purchase the watch the actual journey is very poor. How do you turn consumers from shoppers? That's key.

Our pillar of strength is that we are one of the traditional watch making companies in the world. In a way we are also supporting Make in India because most of the watches that are made in India are sold in India. We are also supporting skill development in a way because we are training women of very ordinary background says Mathur.