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Maruti Suzuki’s Shashank Srivastava calls traditional auto marketing funnel ‘dead’
Our read
Maruti pushes dealers from lead-generation funnels to always-on customer journeys, making CRM and lifecycle data the next auto-retail battleground.
For operators
Shift from linear funnel reporting to always-on, omnichannel engagement that connects discovery, dealer interactions, test drives, financing and ownership data.
Watch
Maruti changes dealer marketing incentives or reporting metrics away from raw lead volume.
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What leadership moves matter this week?The report
Maruti Suzuki India executive Shashank Srivastava said auto retailers need to move beyond the traditional marketing funnel, describing it as dead and signalling a need for updated customer-engagement approaches.
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Why the change matters
Prioritize partnerships or acquisitions in automotive CRM, first-party data, retail-media and journey-orchestration platforms that help dealers manage non-linear buying behavior.
What to watch next
- New CRM, CDP, WhatsApp commerce or AI customer-engagement partnerships.
- Evidence of integrated online-to-dealer test-drive, exchange and finance journeys.
- Higher digital marketing spend focused on content, communities and customer retention.
- Dealer-level rollout of unified customer profiles spanning sales and aftersales.
Likely next moves
Our read of what comes next — analysis, not reported by the source.
- Expand first-party customer data programs linking website, dealer, service and finance interactions.
- Increase localized creator, community and vernacular content tied to model discovery rather than only lead-generation campaigns.
- Deploy conversational commerce via WhatsApp and AI-assisted dealer CRM for follow-up, booking and ownership engagement.
- Rework dealer KPIs toward speed-to-contact, appointment quality, test-drive completion, repeat visits and lifecycle value.
- Use service and exchange data to target upgrade, accessory and financing offers before consumers re-enter the market.
The counter-case
The case against this reading — not reported by the source.
Calling the traditional funnel "dead" may be more rhetorical than operationally meaningful. Auto purchases remain high-consideration, dealer-dependent and finance-driven, so awareness, consideration, lead generation and conversion still matter; the real change may be better attribution and more touchpoints, not replacement of the funnel. Without evidence that a new engagement model improves bookings, dealer productivity, acquisition cost or retention, the claim risks being a fashionable marketing reframing.
The source
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