Abstract

The case “Rural Service Push of Samsung India: Venturing into New Avenues,” talks about Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd. (Samsung India)’s initiative to provide customer service to rural customers in order to differentiate itself in the market. The case provides details about the mobile service vans called ‘Customer Delight Service Vans’ that the company launched to provide the rural customer service. It also discusses the various factors that prompted Samsung India to revamp its customer service and focus on the rural customer. Details are also provided about an ad that focused on the company’s rural customer service and service vans– a move away from the norm for an Indian consumer durable company, which mostly talked about product features in their ads. The case also provides information about the company’s other customer service initiatives that were constantly being upgraded in keeping with changing customer requirements. Can Samsung India’s rural customer service gamble help it further consolidate its market position in India’s highly competitive consumer durables and mobile phone markets?

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the strategies for services marketing
• Identify the various methods of delivering service
• Know the service requirements of a rural customer
• Recognize the service differentiation strategy of a consumer durables company
• Scrutinize the new service development process

Keywords

Rural Marketing; Service Differentiation; Consumer Behavior; Customer service touchpoints; Services Marketing; Service Operations; Service Delivery; New Service Development Process; Service Promise; Service Advertising; Customer-centricity; Service Channels; Business Strategy; Service Enhancement; Customer Trust