In the competitive smartphone category, Damyant Khanoria, CMO, Oppo India is clear that consumer experience doesn’t end at the point of purchase but in fact goes well beyond, which is where after-sales service comes in. Khanoria walks us through the brand’s focus on after-sales service, its product differentiation strategies and consumption trends in the smartphone segment.
Q] You recently released three digital films on the brand’s after-sales service. Take us through the insight and objectives for these films.
With digitisation being the need of the hour, businesses are looking for different ways to stand tall in the ever-evolving online market. As per the Counterpoint study, Oppo was ranked the No.1 brand in customer satisfaction for aftersales for two consecutive years. The chronicles of the ‘Sharma-Verma’ digital films campaign have beautifully showcased what makes Oppo the leader in after-sales service. It highlights the brand’s customer-first approach, attention to detail, and quick resolutions which our customers always count on. The three films aptly connect different aspects of everyday situations while tying back to the importance of convenience and ease in a customer’s life. This engaging campaign also promises to take its viewers on a journey with the duo to experience Oppo’s after-sale service and also highlights how easy and reliable the repair or inspection process is for any customer.
Q] What are some of the other initiatives the brand is taking to ensure customer satisfaction, both offline and online?
Oppo strives to provide a comprehensive customer experience across its customer base. We currently have 500+ service centres and we aim to strengthen this service centre network to 600+ stores by the end of 2022. Keeping customer ease in mind, free inspection, 30 days replacement, and quick service and repair are key tenets of our after sales service promise. Oppo customers have rated us to have the lowest waiting time with being attended within 15 minutes of arrival. We also provide customer support status updates through WhatsApp and SMS. OPPO India has also introduced a dedicated AI-powered Chatbot called ‘Ollie’, available 24X7 for consumers to resolve 94.5% of the queries. There is also a platinum care hotline exclusively for Reno and Find users providing 24x7x365 days support in Hindi and English. It provides customers with an express solution to their queries or complaints.
Q] The marketing for a smartphone company goes beyond the camera and the hardware. What are some of the ways in which you’re creating differentiation for Oppo in a competitive smartphone category?
Recently, Oppo has driven multiple meaningful campaigns like live sales with Flipkart and a one of its kind unboxing of the Reno6 with Ranbir Kapoor. We also did an integrated campaign featuring design, look, feel, a social teaser campaign, an e-commerce launch and an unboxing film for the Reno6 Series.
We also found a fresh take on the #EmotionsinPortrait global brand idea for India for the Reno6 Series. For this, we collaborated with Instagram to launch the quest for the next generation of emerging video creators across India. Through this, we aim to engage with Instagram’s ‘Born on Instagram’ community, an initiative kick-started in 2019 to discover and grow the next generation of content creators across India. These campaigns were in sync with our efforts to drive a deeper emotional connect with the audience.
We continue to partner with celebrities in fields like sports and entertainment. The idea is to highlight the same value and determination as Oppo and create an experience that will help our audience resonate with the brand. Basis our robust marketing strategy, in 2020, Oppo grew in a declining market. We remain the market leader in Southeast Asia. In India, our sales continued to rise with a 33% increase in brand preference, which is testimony to all the relentless work we have done.
Q] What is the media mix you’re employing for your latest campaign, and what are the kind of budgets you’re allocating to it?
The previous year has been a catalyst for innovation and digital adoption across all industries. Marketers and advertisers are leaning towards forward-thinking and creativity to give consumers a personalised and interactive experience. Even though Digital is paving its way, Print still holds ground to help brands build credibility and leveraging it helps build trust and credibility. This is why all our campaigns hold a healthy mix of Digital and Print to help reach out to a larger audience.
Q] New launches are the hallmark of the smartphone industry. How is the brand performing in terms of new launches and what can we expect from Oppo, going forward?
We launched nine smartphones in 2021, which saw a great response from our consumers. The pandemic led to an increase in smartphone consumption and Oppo ensured that the demand and needs were met with the latest technology and smooth distribution of our products. With the Oppo Reno6 Series, we experimented with a one of a kind live sales marketing on Flipkart. The intent was to drive engagement for the latest offering, the Reno6 5G through an interactive format in which the hosts talked about the device and presented exclusive offers for the people attending the live sales. The format reached close to 33 million people in the country and even secured a huge spike in orders for the device.
Q] What are some of the emerging trends you’re seeing in the smartphone industry? How will these shape the sector as we move ahead?
In consumer research, we realised that consumers are looking for a smartphone that is not only future-ready but also provides high-end performance, and a 5G enabled device will provide them with the best of both worlds. The 5G era will see the rising importance of the video era, and it will enable more growth and opportunities for innovations in advanced technology for short-form video creations and video editing tools. Through our industry-first innovations, while designing more appeal to our audience and upscale customers around the world, we aim to establish a unique position for the brand.
The coming era will also see the perfect integration of software and algorithms, which redefine the future of smartphone innovations. Possibilities in this arena are immense, and they do hold the real power to elevate the user experience. For example, computational photography is an area that lives at the intersection of computer graphics, computational vision, and optical sensors. But with their emergence, smartphones have been able to leverage the growing computational power of devices and improved cloud technology to break through the traditional limits of smartphone camera hardware. At Oppo, our core belief is ‘technology for mankind, kindness for the world’, and we are working relentlessly to bring meaningful innovations that will make the lives of all our users better and smarter.
