For decades, after-sales service was often outsourced to local dealers or retailers. You’d buy a washing machine or a microwave, and if something went wrong, you’d haul it back to the store or pray someone from the shop would show up.
It was a dealer’s job, and service quality varied wildly. Today, after-sales has become a brand-defining, revenue-driving, loyalty-building engine.
OEMs Take Control: Decoupling Sales from Service
OEMs bore the brunt of customer dissatisfaction—73% of customers say service experience heavily influences repeat purchases, according to the “State of the Connected Customer” report.
Recognizing the growing dissatisfaction, leading OEMs began decoupling sales from service to protect their brand reputation and customer relationships. This shift led to a more centralized and standardized after-sales infrastructure.
By Vipul Jain
Product & Technology Evangelist
What Modern After-Sales Looks LikeFor today’s customer, the journey is just one click away through omnichannel:
- Register service requests via phone, app, website, WhatsApp, or chatbot.
- Receive technician visits at home.
- Get timely updates and transparent billing.
Why This Matters Now
In an era of hyper-competition and skyrocketing customer expectations, after-sales service is a differentiator. Consider this:
- 88% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products or services.
- Companies that excel at customer experience drive 4-8% higher revenue than their peers.
- And yet, only 23% of service leaders say they’re fully satisfied with their current systems.
(Sources – Salesforce, Brain & Company, Gartner)
The CIOs’ & Service Heads’ Crossroads: Fragmented Tools vs Unified Vision
For CIOs & Service Heads, the pain is real. The market is flooded with point solution tools for ticketing, inventory, and technician management, but few offer a unified, end-to-end system. Integration becomes a nightmare, and agility suffers.
What Today’s CIO & Service Heads Need
To meet modern expectations and internal SLAs, they need:
- A single, integrated service CRM that handles everything from customer requests to resolution.
- Customizable workflows tailored to product lines, service agreements, and customer tiers.
- Localization support to serve technicians and customers in native languages.
- Advanced reporting frameworks with configurable dashboards for actionable insights.
In India alone, there are over 50 million serviceable consumer durables annually, and growing. Even a 5% improvement in service experience can translate into millions in customer retention and upsell opportunities.
It’s time for leaders to ask:
- Are we enabling frictionless service?
- Are we protecting brand loyalty through experience?
- Are we empowering our CIOs & Service Heads with the tools they need to deliver?
Because if we’re not, someone else will.
My final thoughts
In a world where products are increasingly commoditized, customer experience is the last great battleground. And in that battle, after-sales service isn’t just a support function, but it’s your frontline. Up next, we will explore the opportunities and how forward-thinking OEMs, CIOs & Service Heads are turning these pain points into competitive advantages.