Indian peculiarities in sales in India. Today's commentary from Dr. Wamser + Batra GmbH is dedicated to the service concept in India.

Over the last twenty years there has been a lot of reporting about “Germany as a service desert”. In few economies in the world, attention to customers is as poorly developed as ours. In our area, additional services that go beyond the core services of a product are usually only provided against the payment of additional fees.

In the last ten to fifteen years, the Internet has not (only) been used to create customer benefits, but in particular to transfer tasks to customers that were previously taken care of by the companies themselves. Think of internet banking, self-booking of flight tickets, self-check-ins, all the machines at trains, post offices and banks or e-government.

The Germans, as a “do-it-yourself and DIY (do-it-yourself) nation”, can probably be expected to do more work than, for example, the Indians, where the idea of ​​service is more pronounced for cultural reasons. It starts in the private environment: shopping, cooking, washing, raising children - the “maid” does everything.

Indian companies are increasingly setting global benchmarks in terms of service - for example in the area of ​​Internet commerce.

A private experience report:

“A few weeks ago late one afternoon I was sitting in a small, dusty office somewhere in a narrow side street of a medieval bazaar, drinking a cup of chai with the owner, when his cell phone rang. A delivery person called. He is standing on his motorcycle in the alley in question and is now looking for the exact address to deliver a package. My friend explained to him how to find his office using a few “landmarks” and hung up again.

So while we were waiting for the delivery service, my friend told me that he had ordered a pair of shoes this morning using his smartphone app. I wondered why he bought shoes online when there were what felt like hundreds of shoe stores in his immediate area and you could just try on a pair there. His explanation was simple: “Why should I go out when someone can just come to me with their shoes?” As we continued to talk about the pros and cons of online shopping, the boy was already standing in the doorway with his motorcycle helmet in one hand and the package from online retailer Flipkart in the other. The customer accepted the package, opened it, took the black leather shoes out of the box and tried them on immediately. While I was taking the last sip of tea, he made a face and said “Sorry, they don't fit well, I would like to return them”. He quickly put the two shoes back in the box, handed them to the errand boy from Flipkart, quickly signed a note and closed the door.

Pure service philosophy: Flipkart.com (like all major Indian e-retailers) offers same-day delivery by courier “to try on”.

Since the advent of Zalando, it has also become fashionable in Germany to order something on a “lucky chance” basis and then return it. We are not far behind India in this respect. What is remarkable, however, is that someone in a medieval bazaar somewhere in India orders a pair of shoes using their smartphone and then has them brought over by courier after a few hours for them to try on.

Service as an integral part of a successful India product

Despite the existing infrastructure, no one in Germany can offer such a service. Such services are a given for Indian customers. As a consumer in India, you constantly notice this: from the hotel staff, to the chauffeur, the maids & servants, right up to all private and business offers across the board.

“Because service is omnipresent in India, you as a company cannot afford to offer your “German” product and service offering – without additional service – 1:1 to your Indian customers,” says Mike D. Batra, head of WB market solutions ® Dr. Wamser + Batra GmbH. “This explicitly applies not only to business with Indian (private) consumers, but also to B2B business – no business without service!”

Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is not possible in India without personalized service. Your Indian customers will not pay extra for this service.

But use the opportunity to differentiate yourself from your global competitors through services in order to win Indian customers: German brand quality paired with Indian service philosophy!

WB market solutions ® – the quality brand from Dr. Wamser + Batra GmbH for all sales questions in India. Find out about the special features of Indian B2B and B2C business. Work with us to develop your individual market access, review your previous sales performance and identify service opportunities. [further]