Kazutada Kobayashi  
President & CEO 
Canon India


Brand Projections 2019

Canon always strives to delight its customers. It has continually introduced best-in-class products in India and has built a loyal customer base in the country. Canon remains committed to the Indian market which has been one of the best performing markets in the APAC region. The year 2018 has been great for the company where it was able to achieve double-digit growth and is confident of maintaining the same momentum in 2019 too. It is noteworthy that an equal contribution has been made to this growth from both B2B and B2C verticals.

From a business perspective, India holds a huge potential for Canon and it will continue to delight its customers with newer and better products. As part of its strategy, Canon will continue to focus on high-quality products along with providing a great customer experience and after-sales support. It is also focused on expanding the sales and service network in tier-II and tier-III towns through small kiosks, besides expanding the retail platform Canon Image Square in the relevant markets.

Canon is equally focused on its B2B and B2C offerings and believe that both these segments together will drive its growth. It has a diverse portfolio of products and solutions, including cameras and consumer segment printers that form the B2C business. It also has a strong focus on B2B business as well in the office segment and commercial printing segment.

Transforming Customer Journey                    

At Canon, the belief in ‘delighting you always’ translates into creating a memorable customer experience for its customers. This experience starts at the time, when customers enter their retail platforms to experience a product, when they buy the product and even afterwards when the customer connects with Canon for after-sales service. At all stages, Canon’s endeavour is to build a strong connect that helps build customer loyalty.

Canon always believes that alongside bringing innovative and quality products to the market, it is also imperative to understand customer needs and challenges and accordingly reach out to them real time, to resolve their issues. It constantly communicates with its audience through these channels to showcase them its products, along with understanding their sentiments, which enable Canon to innovate further.

Canon has invested in creating multiple touch points for its customers at every stage of their buying journey to ensure that they have a memorable experience with Canon. Its multiple platforms including Canon PIXMA zones, BIS Lounges and ASF Level III centers along with its digital footprint, have helped Canon strengthen its customer connect.

Canon takes pride in the fact that its services don’t end at the point-of-purchase, but continues for years to come.

Action Plan

Canon has been working very closely with its retailers, distributors, channel partners and Value Added Resellers (VARs) in all major cities to bring forth its portfolio of cameras, printers and related services to SOHO consumers. It also plans to reach out to tier 1 & tier 2 markets through sustained marketing campaigns, easy upgrade offers and add-on solutions. 

For its product offerings, Canon’s strategy is to be available at every point of purchase for its consumers, be it an IT store, national retail chains, online shopping platforms or even tele-shopping. From a channel perspective, it also has new dedicated partnership programs for VARs and SIs namely Canon Corporate Reseller Program (CCR) and Office Cartridge Reseller Program (OCR) to target the B2B markets. With their help, Canon will be focusing on cities namely Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.

New Tech vis-à-vis R&D

Being one of the global leaders in the imaging solutions, Canon is driven by innovation. To ensure that it meets the specific requirements of the markets, Canon relentlessly works towards improvising its product offerings, thereby being committed to its motto of ‘Delighting you Always’.

With respect to its product portfolios, in the camera segment, Canon’s strength lies in what it calls “Trinity of Imaging”, which implies that Canon is developing and producing major components such as lenses, processors and sensors. Similarly, it has a wide offering in its printer segment: Canon has Wi-Fi enabled and non-WiFi printers. Canon’s ink tank model has redefined the inkjet business with lower running cost and high capacity on ink. 

As part of the R&D, Canon continues to innovate across all domains – be it security, speed, capacity, ease of use, precision, print or image quality, etc. As India is one of the key markets for Canon, it is committed to keep meeting customer requirements in the country through its diverse product offerings.