Changing Face of Apple India

In one of my earlier posts, I had mentioned about “Rotten Apples”; how Apple had whiled away an opportunity to strike big in India. Apple India clearly lacked focus and marketing skills with a moribund office staff. In fact, it was without a functioning head until recently, where in as many as five different people left in a short span of time. The very existence of Apple was in doubt.

Before I mention anything about its changing fortunes, the first, and the foremost question is: Why Apple Macs? Arguably, it is a question that has been debated long while with the Microsoft camp crowing about the choice available across board. The fact is that Microsoft, using monopolistic trade practices, was able to capture almost 90% of the Personal Computing market. Linux is eating in its share and piracy woes for Microsoft are rampant. Given the inherent flaws in its design, it is a sitting duck for hackers. Apples are a breed apart. One cannot compare a thoroughbred stallion with a limping mule. Plus of course, it is all about bonds that Apple users share across board. It gives the feeling of exclusivity, the feeling of ownership and I have hardly seen any Apple user migrating to Microsoft for that matter.

Now coming to the changing face of Apple India. For long India was ignored with a smattering of resellers representing the only face of Apple. I planned to buy an eMac, the entry-level system about a year back. In that regard, I sent an email to the resellers who had their email addresses displayed on the Apple website. There was no way, I could have any idea about their track record or after sales service. After numerous phone calls and follow-ups, I did meet a reseller, who wanted money upfront even before he showed me the system! Of course, I did not have anyone to turn to complain at that time- I tried emailing Apple India office but mails bounced back. It was in disgust that I had to settle in for a PC.

Fast forward to 2005. I was surprised when I stumbled across Apple’s redesigned website giving out the toll free numbers and email addresses of their marketing heads. It was even a bigger surprise when I got a reply from someone in Apple India!

Feeling brave, I called up the toll free number and for the first time in my interaction with a call centre “executive”, the person knew what the product really was. It only goes on to show that Apple hired the right brains; paced them through the products and perhaps given a taste of what Apples actually are. I strongly believe in this fact that until the time one is actually convinced about the product, it is difficult to sell it. Compare and contrast the experience with other call centers and it was my pleasure all the way to know about various changes that Apple has brought about.

In my free wheeling interaction, I realized that Apple has woken up to the reality that India can be a sizeable market indeed. Given the thrust of animation and the growing number of majors outsourcing content to India, there is an increased demand for Macs. It would be perfectly logical that they focus on the retail customers too for achieving synergy in their operations. Hence, increased focus on the pre and post sales with a 250-seater call centre that has come up in Bangalore.

Apple has a vast range of products to suit every pocket. Whether you wish to have an entry level eMac that remains good enough for day-to-day use or the high end PowerMac G5, which is a powerhouse for the animators, everything is available in India. However, my grouse is that Apple does not consider India to be at the forefront of launches. Tiger has been lapped up across the world and would make its debut only by second week of May if everything goes well. This remains a sore point; one that they could look into it.

India is a price sensitive market as far as selling computers is concerned. The recent spate of price and tax cuts has spiced up the market with up to 34% increase in PC sales from last year. Despite the encouraging statistics, most of the PC’s are underpowered for routine jobs, specially running Windows. Shift to Linux has not really taken place across board. The investments do not justify the purchase, given the disappointing performance of these PC’s. There is no word on the after sales service parameters. Apple’s justify the price performance aspect largely, with a 1 GHz model more than enough for an average users needs. Apple needs to focus on its ad spend; direct mailers to prospective clients is one thing. However, it would make more sense to create awareness about the superior computing platform. Be it as a developing platform or security, Apple needs to communicate its strategy effectively. Majority of people opt for Windows because the software is easily available; read piracy. I doubt whether anyone would shell out extra cash for the same. However, the best part is that Apple bundles the required software in its operating system. (Details on its website)

Apple is planning to come up with Apple Centers and Corners across India where they would sell their products a.k.a. Lifestyle stores. Would the focus be on company owned outlet? The plans are not immediately known though. In my opinion, I would be far more comfortable dealing with a company outlet than a dealer because trust takes time to build up. Though it would not make business sense to loose customers based on shabby past record (with no independent means of verification), I feel that instead of having resellers across board, Apple India could increase it’s focus on setting up stores on it’s own. This way, I would be sure of getting my investment’s worth. There have been unofficial warnings that refurbished or used products are at times sold by unscrupulous dealers to unsuspecting consumers.

Ultimately, this is a disclaimer here. I have not been paid or there has been no dealing with Apple India to write this post. The fact is that I worked on an Apple about 5 years back and was floored by its looks and usability. As a first time user, it was easy enough to navigate without having the fear of crashes. I was using iMovie, a Mac based movie editor; in less than an hours’ time, I had a 5 minute featured movie ready with the sounds, light effects and rolling credits. Not bad for a person who used it for the first time without having an idea as to what is what. This is the kind of snootiness that Apple users can claim; it is indeed a state of mind to experience an excellent product. A little word of detail that one person from Apple India pointed out; I cannot reveal my sources here though. If you look at the LCD screen of other laps, it appears to be black when viewed from a side angle. In Apple’s they are uniformly bright. Such is the attention to detail and manufacturing standards that Apple’s can claim. Incidentally, this is not mentioned anywhere on the website.

As they say, see it and experience for yourself. Before you handle an Apple, make sure that you are attuned to your senses. It needs full indulgence from your side to reveal itself.

This post was submitted by Dr. Abhishek Puri on Techwhack.