Brother aims to reward consistent achievers

Nelson Johny

Mumbai

Multi-Function Printer (MFP) and Fax machines specialist, Brother
International, has revealed its plan to form a loyal partners' club called the
"Brother J Class Privilege Partner (JCPP)" with an aim to reward
consistent achievers.

"We have entered the second phase of our presence in the country,"
says RS Anand Kumar, Country Manager, Brother. "The first phase was
announcement and launch of products which we did last month and now the second
phase is of rewarding and recognizing consistent performers."

One can become a member of JCPP by participating in a points-based scheme,
wherein channel partners from A & B-class market are required to earn 1,000
points and partners from C & D-class markets are required to earn 800 points
to qualify.

And 60% of the points have to be achieved in the next quarter
onwards to remain a member of this club. Points can be earned on purchase of
fax/MFPs from its distributor - Godrej. Currently, Godrej has around 250
partners selling Brother products across the country.

"Every point is worth Rs 10," says Anand. "Partners can redeem
these point at the end of every quarter even if one has not qualified for JCPP,"
he adds.

50% of the points earned will be redeemed in cash and the remaining 50% can be
redeemed as advertisement subsidy. "Ad subsidy would mean expenses incurred
by partners for exclusively promoting Brother products through visible media
like newspapers, magazines, hoardings and Yellow pages," says Anand.

However, all those who qualifies as JCPP, will get additional benefits of
priority listings in advertisements, access to sales and marketing materials,
invites for free sales/service trainings, and a presence in the mailing list.

According to Anand, the trend in the Indian market is similar to international
market, albeit a little slow in terms of shift towards MFP from stand-alone
printers. Brother currently has four inkjet models and six laser models of MFPs
made available in India. Commenting on the presence of many competing players,
Anand says, "India is a huge market with place for every player. We have
the right product at the right price, with the advantage of our own technology
being used in our own product."

From next month, Brother also has plans to start its brand awareness campaign.

Nelson Johny

Mumbai