case study of himalaya

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Case study: Himalaya Drug Company n e w s

29 December 2005

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CIM solution augments traditional communication channels with email marketing.

Cu stomer: T he Himalaya Drug Company, a leader in the Indian phyto-pharmaceutical (Ayurvedic)

products ever since its founder M Manal, while visiting Burma in 1930, discovered how elephants

were pacified and developed the world's first anti-hypertensive drug, Serpina.

It offers a wide range of pharmaceutical, personal care, consumer and animal health products. Over 250,000 doctors around the globe have endorsed Himalaya's products and consumers in over 60

countries rely on Himalaya for their health and personal care needs.

T he company has pioneered the use of modern science to rediscover and validate the secrets of

Ayurveda, the centuries-old Indian system of medicine. It employs cutting edge-technology to create



pharmaceutical-grade ayurvedic products.

R eq u irements: Himalaya receives a large number of queries from consumers, doctors and

distributors. As a company that promotes wellness and a rich and healthy lifestyle, it is important to

reply to those queries in an informative and efficient manner.

Queries arrive through various channels (email, phone, fax), creating a large volume of invaluable

customer data. But this data was not getting converted into useful and actionable information:

y Himalaya's Customer Service Cell was unable to get an integrated view of all interactions

with customers, resulting in sub-optimal replies to queries. For example, a customer who

corresponding over email would have to repeat queries all over again if (s)he were to make

a follow-up phone call.

y Managers were not able to streamline customer data and identify trends. For example, what

were the most frequent concerns doctor had? What do consumers most want to know about

Himalaya Honey?

Himalaya was already exploring ways of using email to pro-actively communicate with their

customers. T he company already had a very strong mass-media communication program, through

the print media and TV , but customers increasingly preferred email, which is not only far more cost-

effective than advertising, but a lot more product information can be given out.

Himalaya's dilemma was 'build or buy' - building an in-house system or opting for a third-party

solution. A systems integrator at Himalaya recommended a CIM solution from T alisma Corp, the

Bangalore-based subsidiary of T alisma Inc, USA.

S olu tion: T he I T team at Himalaya determined that T alisma's service and marketing modules could

meet Himalaya's requirements out-of-the-box, without any customisation. T his enabled Himalaya to

be up-and-running with its CIM system in a matter of two weeks.

Incoming phone calls are now routed to customer service representatives (CSRs) by Himalaya's

telephony system. Once an agent receives a call, T alisma helps categorise the caller based on

whether the is a consumer, doctor or distributor. T he system can categorise the query into a pre-

defined category (product information, brochure request, etc). At this point, the CSR gets the

customer's entire interaction history, enabling a more informed response. Finally, the CSR indicates

the required follow-up action (call back with more info, query resolved, etc). T he software then



tracks unresolved queries, reminding the CSR and the manager as reply deadlines approach.

Incoming emails often require responses from product specialists, such as in-house researchers.

CSRs can forward these emails to the concerned specialist, and also keep track of replies sent by

that person.

T he system enables Himalaya's marketing people to segment the customer database using a variety

of parameters (like profession, location, etc) in order to send out targeted campaigns (to all doctors

in India, to all female consumers who enquired about a personal care product, etc). With little or no

help from the I T department, they can send out colourful H T ML email campaigns, with the ability

to track the number of replies, the number of people that read the mail, the number that bounced

back, etc.

Cu stomer interaction points

Implementation



R esu lts: Himalaya's customer contact program was just amassing a database. Now, it's a dynamic

two-way communication program with consumers, distributors and doctors. T alisma has allowed

Himalaya to standardise all customer data collection and integrate all processes. It has enabled CSRs

to provide the same level of service, regardless of the channel of communication -- email, phone or letters (some sent by consumers through Himalaya's 90-plus retail stores).

T he software also gives Himalaya ample opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell both through

marketing campaigns, and by helping CSRs understand customers and their needs better through

their interaction histories. It also helps managers to easily analyse trends in customer queries and

complaints, and stay in touch with the market.

T alisma solutions are deployed in 32 countries throughout North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific,

in B2B eCommerce, call centres, telecom, distribution, education, BFSI, government, healthcare, hi-

tech industries, etc.

Its Indian customers include Daksh, Aviva Life Insurance, Birla Sun Life, Citibank, Ford, HDFC

Bank, Hewitt, ICICI Bank, Rediff, Samsung, Sony, U T I Bank, iGA T E, iSE V A, Cholamandalam

AMC, Himalaya Drug Co, etc. T alisma is headquartered in Bellevue, with operations spanning

across Los Angeles, New York, London, Geneva, Brisbane and Bangalore.

also see : CIM: T he force multiplier for customer relationships

case study of himalaya

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