Price wars don't build brands; trust does: Lava MD Sunil Raina

Lava International Managing Director Sunil Raina believes India's smartphone industry has spent years fighting the wrong battle. Instead of chasing customers through specifications and discounts, he has reshaped Lava around customer experience, authenticity and long-term brand building. In this conversation with exchange4media, Raina explains why trust has become Lava's biggest competitive advantage, how tech creators helped rebuild the brand's credibility and why he believes marketing begins long after a consumer buys a smartphone.

Excerpts:

The smartphone industry has largely become a race over specifications and pricing. Lava chose a different route. What prompted that shift?

When we found ourselves in a difficult position around 2017–18, we asked a very basic question: why were we struggling and why were several other brands disappearing from the market?

One thing was clear; we weren't leaving this business. But passion alone isn't enough when you are competing against some of the world's biggest technology companies.

We realised that fighting on price and specifications was a battle we couldn't win. Larger players have significantly greater resources. If we followed the same playbook, we would simply become another participant in a red ocean.

So, we decided to compete differently. Instead of asking how to sell more phones, we asked how to create a better experience for people who had already bought one. That completely changed our strategy.

You have often said the industry spends too much on acquiring customers and too little on retaining them. Why do you think that's a missed opportunity?

Look at how most companies operate. Nearly 80 to 90 per cent of their effort goes into acquiring a customer.

Once the purchase is complete, the customer stays with the product for the next two or three years, yet very little attention is paid to that journey. We thought there was an opportunity to reverse that approach.

If we can create an outstanding ownership experience, customers won't just stay with the device, they'll stay with the brand. That relationship eventually becomes the strongest acquisition tool.

For us, post-purchase experience is no longer a support function. It's part of our brand-building strategy.

Has that customer-first approach translated into business growth?

Absolutely. The smartphone industry has remained broadly flat over the last few years. That means growth comes only by taking market share from somebody else.

Our growth has largely come because consumers have shifted from competing brands to Lava.

I would attribute nearly 70 to 80 per cent of that success to our revised strategy. The remaining growth comes from strengthening our capabilities across manufacturing, product development, sales and distribution.

Marketing budgets across categories are increasingly under pressure. How do you decide where to invest, R&D or brand building?

Research and development will always remain our biggest investment.

When you compare ourselves with global players, there is still a gap in engineering resources. That gap has to be closed through sustained investments in software, hardware and product development.

Marketing is dynamic. It depends on what competitors are doing and how the market evolves. But product capability isn't something you can compromise on. Without a strong product, marketing can only take you so far.

You describe Lava's brand philosophy through three words—visibility, credibility and pride. Could you explain that framework?

Visibility is the starting point. People must first know that Lava exists. Credibility comes from consistently delivering quality products and standing behind them.

The third pillar is pride. We want consumers to feel proud of carrying an Indian smartphone. Buying a phone today is not just a functional decision; it's also an expression of identity.

Building that emotional connection is just as important as building better technology.

Customer service isn't usually seen as a marketing lever. Why has Lava made it a strategic priority?

When we looked at customer service from the consumer's perspective, we realised that a faulty phone creates far more inconvenience than companies often recognise. A customer may have to travel, spend money and lose a day's income simply to get a device repaired.

That made us rethink the entire experience. If the problem is ours during the warranty period, then solving it should also be our responsibility. When you start thinking from the customer's point of view rather than the company's point of view, your response changes completely.

You made an interesting observation that 'a brand is who you are, not what you communicate.' What do you mean by that?

Many people think branding is communication. I don't. Communication is only an outcome.

A brand is fundamentally who you are: your values, your behaviour, your product and the experience you create.

Technology will continue changing. Marketing channels will continue changing. But if your purpose and values remain consistent, people begin trusting your brand over time. That trust is what ultimately creates long-term brand equity.

How do you balance short-term performance with long-term brand building?

If we ever have to choose between short-term gains and long-term brand building, we will choose the long term every single time.

We have seen many companies chase immediate opportunities only to disappear later. Our ambition isn't to become successful for a few years.

Our ambition is to build an Indian brand that can endure for decades. That requires patience, consistency and the willingness to keep improving every single day.