In the smartphone industry, we've become masters of the tangible. We fine-tune processors, calibrate camera lenses to perfection, and pour crores into marketing campaigns that glorify bezels and battery life. And yet, despite all this sophistication, the industry continues to falter in one of its most fundamental promises: the experience after the sale.
The global smartphone market was valued at USD 607.8 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to USD 649.13 billion in 2024, reaching a staggering USD 1098.76 billion by 2032. In such a high-growth, hyper-competitive space, brands are constantly innovating on hardware and features. But the true battlefield is shifting. At Lava, we've always believed that the true measure of a brand isn't how well it performs on stage, but how consistently it shows up offstage, where problems are real, human emotions are raw, and reputations are made or broken not in launch events but in living rooms.
When we began to pivot our lens toward customer experience, we didn't do it to tick a box. We did it because we recognized a truth that the industry at large had ignored: that real differentiation no longer comes from hardware. It comes from how you make people feel once the hardware falters.
A Brand’s Responsibility to Go the Extra Mile
Today's consumer has evolved. They don't just want performance, they want presence. They expect a brand to behave less like a manufacturer and more like a partner. And this expectation doesn't come from entitlement; it comes from the deeply personal role smartphones now play in our lives.
We wake up with them, work on them, and sleep beside them. When something goes wrong with that device, it's not just a technical fault, it's a disruption of life. And in those moments, the kind of service a brand offers reveals the truth of what it stands for.
Most brands have trained their focus on pre-sales, marketing, influencer tie-ups, flash sales. At Lava, we've reversed that lens. We believe our reputation is defined not by how well we launch, but by how well we respond. Going the extra mile is not an edge; it's an obligation.
From Transaction to Trust, Redefining Service
Let's be honest: the service ecosystem in the smartphone industry has largely been an afterthought. Service centers are often understaffed, under-resourced, and culturally positioned as cost centers, not customer touchpoints. This mindset is broken.
The average Indian consumer has grown more informed, more demanding, and significantly more vocal. Social media has democratized outrage, and brand loyalty is now only as deep as the last service interaction. Yet, the industry continues to rely on archaic models that force the burden onto the customer: "Visit us, wait in line, follow the process."
That might have worked in 2012. It doesn't work now.
Lava’s customer service journey is a story of steady disruption and bold bets. From 2009 to 2019, we followed the conventional service center model, a system that served its purpose in its time. But as customer needs evolved, so did we.
In 2020, we introduced Service on Wheel, expanding our reach by taking service to the customer instead of the other way around. This laid the foundation for everything that followed. In 2021, we launched Agni Mitra, a personalized service model, and began to build a service experience tailored around real user context.
Service@Home was born out of empathy. We understood that for a vast majority of Indians, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, reaching a service center was more than a hassle. It was an obstacle to even engaging with the brand. So, we flipped the script.
As a concept, Service@Home was the first-of-its-kind in the industry. Designed to bring convenience directly to the user's doorstep, the program today spans over 9000 pin codes across the country. More than just doorstep repairs, it represents a holistic, multi-layered approach to customer experience. Each service interaction is followed by weekly product experience feedback call and supported through multiple communication channels to ensure follow-through and accountability. The result? A premium service experience, not just in promise but in performance.
The impact has been undeniable. Since its inception, Service@Home has directly contributed to a measurable uplift in customer satisfaction, with Lava's CX rating climbing from 3.90 to 4.23 across all smartphones. The program now covers over 9000 pin codes nationwide and ensures that each service interaction is followed by a structured feedback loop, including weekly product experience calls and touchpoints across multiple communication channels. This level of attentiveness has significantly elevated the overall service quality, creating what many consumers now describe as a premium brand experience. The ripple effect has been visible across all sales channels, with positive sentiment growing steadily, amplified by organic endorsements from influencers and tech reviewers. Importantly, 59% of Lava smartphone users surveyed cited Service@Home as a decisive factor in their purchase decision—a powerful validation that experience is indeed driving choice.
Launched in 2022, Service@Home brought our technicians to the user's doorstep, equipped to resolve issues right then and there. Not only did we manage to serve over 86,000 customers through this initiative, but we transformed customer perceptions in the process.
Then came Replacement@Home, launched in August 2024, a step few dared to take. This wasn't just about repairs anymore. This was about eliminating waiting times, paperwork, and the loss of confidence that typically follows a hardware fault. If a customer's device had a genuine hardware issue, we replaced it, on the spot, in their home. No questions. No runarounds.
This initiative is a statement. We don't blame customers for product failures, we fix them. And in doing so, we change what service means.
Our OTCR (Over the Counter Replacement) program is another proof point in that journey. We built it not for convenience, but for dignity. We trained 59,000+ retailers and thousands of DSEs and distributors, not just to service devices, but to own relationships. We ensured stock availability, built backend tech, and created seamless workflows. Lava became the first Indian smartphone brand to launch an Over the Counter Instant Replacement program, redefining customer service by turning resolution time into real-time, and setting a new industry standard others are now racing to follow.
Because when someone walks into a retail outlet with a problem, they should walk out with a solution. No excuses. No bureaucracy.
Loyalty is an Outcome of Integrity
We live in a high-churn economy where acquisition is cheap, and retention is expensive. But here's the irony: every rupee spent on service saves ten in marketing. A satisfied customer doesn't just come back, they bring others with them.
At Lava, we've seen that happen. We've seen customers in small towns become vocal advocates because someone showed up on a two-wheeler, diagnosed an issue, and fixed it with care. We've seen communities form around shared trust, not shared discounts.
Loyalty is not a marketing metric. It's an emotional contract.
Specs can be copied. Prices can be undercut. But trust? Trust must be earned, one moment at a time.
A Call to the Industry: Make Service Your North Star
The smartphone industry has built its empire on innovation, but only in product. It's time we brought that same urgency, that same audacity, to the way we treat people. Service is not an operational burden. It is a brand's soul. If we are to endure as brands, especially in a market as layered, complex, and emotionally rich as India, we must stop treating customer service as an endpoint. It is the beginning of a deeper relationship. One where empathy is the interface and trust is the outcome.
A smartphone isn't just a tool. It's a lifeline, a memory bank, a connection to the world. When it fails, the user feels vulnerable. Our responsibility, then, isn't just to fix a bug or replace a screen. It is to restore confidence.
At Lava, we aren't building phones. We're building a philosophy of presence. A commitment that goes beyond warranties and SLAs. A belief that every customer deserves not just a product, but a promise. And that promise lives in every doorstep visit, every replaced device, and every user who felt heard.
Because true innovation isn't just about what we put into our phones. It's about what we stand for when they break.
Contributed by: Mr. Sourabh Raghuvanshi, SVP Supply Chain & Customer Service, Lava International Limited
