Deep Diving into TC’s 4,000 km Journey to Empower Customer Acquisition in Small Towns
Following our recent Series A investment in VitusCare, a dedicated dialysis chain targeting India's Tier 2, 3, and beyond markets, Tomorrow Capital is leveraging its expertise to propel the company into its next phase of growth.
What exactly are we doing?
VitusCare carefully selects and plans new dialysis centres in small towns across North India, such as Kangra (HP), Phoolpur (UP), and Chittorgarh (Rajasthan). Our goal is to accelerate patient acquisition for these centres. For example, if a centre needs 25 patients to break even (covering monthly expenses) and it currently takes about 8 months to reach this point, we aim to achieve this in under 5 months. Faster breakeven means quicker profitability for the centre, enabling the company to open new centres more rapidly, benefiting the business!
However, this challenge needs to be addressed at three levels:
1. Access:
Centres should be accessible to our target audience. This is achieved by selecting the right hospital partner who attracts the most patients in the town and has good connectivity.
2. Affordability:
Dialysis needs to be done 2-3 times a week indefinitely, costing around Rs 2.5 to 3 lakh annually. Many patients reduce the frequency of dialysis to save costs, risking their lives. Thankfully, government health schemes (Ayushman Bharat, state-level schemes, and insurance) largely address this problem.
3. Awareness:
Awareness is crucial for attracting consumers and involves three parts:
Why do I need dialysis?
Why do I need frequent dialysis?
Why should I get it from a branded centre?
We are working on this awareness aspect with the core team at VitusCare and measuring success by the number of patients onboarded.
How are we doing this?
We started with various initiatives and have streamlined them into a playbook. The key phase is when we go live and execute unique activities:
In Kangra, one of our most successful activations has been a guerrilla marketing drive at the town's medical hospital, targeting patients waiting for their slot at a government hospital.
In Udaipur, we secured free outdoor space on large facade buildings, with owners willingly allowing us to promote the cause.
In Chitrakoot, we leveraged the local sentiment of 'Jai Shri Ram', and their key 'Dhaam' permitted us to do branding at their main temple.
In most cities, the traffic police are happy to let us advertise at key hubs as long as we publish their social messages, giving us prime locations for this gesture.
Small towns offer unique media options, such as wall paintings, free media, and post office-led campaigns. Conventional media options like Instagram, radio, outdoor, and print ads can also be used if needed. This variety of options allows for flexible budgeting and creative marketing strategies.
Some snapshots of our progress:
Kangra: Increased from 75 to 150 monthly sessions in 1 month, achieved breakeven, and is now adding more machines to accommodate expected growth.
Udaipur: Reached 50 sessions in the first month, on track but slower than expected.
Upcoming centres: Phoolpur (UP), Chitrakoot (UP), Chittorgarh (Rajasthan), Jalandhar (Punjab).
These are early days, and results may not be definitive yet, but we have learned that different types of towns require tailored interventions. For example, Kangra responded well to communication from the Post Office, while Udaipur required building long-term relationships with the local medical community. In the next 3 months, we aim to finalize our approach based on the type of market and develop a clear playbook for new VitusCare centres. This will help as the company plans to add 5 new centres monthly.
Understanding this consumer segment in parts of India (Bharat) is eye-opening, as the world expects the next billion consumers from here. Cracking the marketing code for this company will open up many investment opportunities focusing on Bharat in the future for our fund.
The above learning took me 45 days and 4,609 km of travel across North India. The next step is to automate this playbook and replicate our success, minimizing the need for extensive travel.
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