Student's SIP Experience - My Audi Internship

I am super thrilled to get an internship with Audi in Pune.

The next 3 months are going to be my learning period - actual workplace learning

When I was contemplating about internship many thoughts came to my mind. I am specializing in Marketing. Marketing is very vast – product marketing, service marketing, digital marketing, space marketing as in the case of newspaper advertisements, outdoors, and so on. Finally, when I got through to an Internship with Audi in Pune I looked forward to learning about Cars, premium cars, and how they are marketed and sold.

Thanks to my institute – Sinhgad Institute of Management, I got the wonderful opportunity of interning with this auto giant.

My initial days were almost like my initial days at school. My mind was a clean blackboard. Good. There’s plenty to absorb and keeping a clean open mind is the first thing to absorb learning.

The showroom is located at Baner, Pune, and covers a floor space of about 8000 sq. ft with a team of over 90 individuals employed in different functions dealing with customer care, service, marketing and sales, finance, HR, and so on. I spent the initial days understanding my work, the persons I report to and in general, the entire layout and all models of Audi offered for sale at our showroom.?

My assignment with Audi consists of the following activities: -

1.????Compiling leads from all portals

2.????Generate new leads through the list of potential customers

3.????Post-sales follow-up after successful completion of a sale

4.????Stock Management of various parts across the Pune network

5.????Generating weekly reports through Management Information System

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For marketing Audi, you need to know Audi. This is a German Car Company founded by August Horsch on 25 April 1910 – meaning it is over 100 years old, to be precise over 112 years old, and growing stronger with each passing year. Since 1966 this Company is owned by Volkswagen AG and has around 11 Production facilities across 9 countries. It is spread across 110 countries and came to India in 2004, meaning it is less than 20 years since it is being marketed in India. The new emerging market of India seems to be generating enough demand for Audi, by the looks of the number of Audis one gets to see on the roads.

It is definitely a pricey premium segment car and probably considers only Mercedes as its strong competitor. I would also mention BMW.

Market strategy for a premium car like Audi would require market segmentation on Demographic lines – rural, urban as there are very many rural rich folks as urban rich folks. We also need to segmentize on Psychographic and Behavioural patterns of the targeted high-income group who are the potential customers for Audi.?One good thing I noticed is that Audi is always shown in Hollywood movies in a car race, and in action movies – this gets eyeballs as well as gets the high-income socio-economic youngsters to desire the Audi. Also, the sales pitch can mention Audi in movies – if the customer seems inclined to accept such a pitch. I remember movies like Transporter starring Jason Statham – the entire Transporter series had Jason Statham driving the Audi.

This all sounds fine. But I am also keen to learn how Audi keeps its customer intact, and how they can retain their customer choice to be repeated Audi buyers and not go for the next car as Mercedes or BMW.

Sales are definitely challenging and Car sales are much more so. Imagine the premium car segment especially Audi – the challenge is always economy – economic growth would mean more money in the market and more potential buyers.

This internship is definitely going to be very exciting.

I take this opportunity to thank my Director Dr. Daniel Penkar, my Academic Head Dr. Sagar Pawar, SIP Guide Prof. Amol Khandagale Sir, my Class Coordinator Professor Rajit Panickar Sir, the corporate placement team, and everyone who has helped me to reach here. And I look forward to a wonderful career hereafter as an Internship with Audi would give me better career options maybe with Audi itself or otherwise equally good.

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Pratiksha Khande

SIOM (MBA): Batch 2022-23?