Motorola’s Second Innings In India – Will It Work?

Companies come and go, and at times, they come back. Many of us were shocked to hear Motorola’s decision to exit India a couple of years ago. The company left many of its phone users in utter confusion as to who would be providing after-sales service for their Moto phones. Motorola was not doing great at that time but now, things seem to have changed for the better, especially after Google took over the mobile major.

The Moto G, a new budget phone from its stable, has got rave reviews from tech enthusiasts all across the world. The news is that the phone will come to India this month and with it, Motorola will step back into the country. However, there are some immediate questions that come to the mind. What will be its sales module? How will the company sell its products – online, offline or both? And what about the after-sales service?

Google’s recent sales module, where it sold phones such as Nexus 4 and 5, along with the Nexus 7 tablet, on the Google Play Store has worked wonders for them. This is probably the way it should adopt when it comes to Motorola. To test the old-yet-new waters, Google should apply the same working methodology for Motorola in India. This should take care of most of the sales headaches and it will be left with just one major issue – after-sales service.

This is something that players like Nokia and Samsung can deal with brilliantly. They have a wide network of servicing points in India. To bring back the trust in their brand, Google and Motorola need to join hands with a service partner quickly, so that people won’t consider after-sales to be a problem. The other way to plug this hole is adopting what Apple did. If a Motorola phone needs repair or has an issue, the company should just replace it. This will satisfy customers and restore their faith.

The road ahead for Motorola in India is a bit tough and will require a little more-than-usual consideration for the phone and sales models here. Between its exit and now, many new Indian players have emerged in the market with a lot of budget to mid-level smartphones. Motorola, with the help of Moto G, is trying to grab a bite of the pie in an already populated market. But we do believe that people will still connect with the brand and loyalists may just return to it with a smile.