Lenovo’s focus has shifted to mostly virtual properties: Amit Doshi

Lenovo has been supporting 4 million IT employees throughout the lockdown period and has also been focusing on services and support initiatives for customers and businesses during these difficult times.

As a brand, Lenovo is bringing out more and more innovation out for customers through privacy features and support. Lenovo is making PC solutions for ‘everyone’ in India.

Also read: Design is not a self-serving self-expression: Ashwini Deshpande

The company recently launched the IdeaPad Slim 3i. In conversation with Adgully, Amit Doshi, Chief Marketing Officer, Lenovo India, speaks about the brand’s vision with the new device and how it fits into today’s device ecosystem.

What made you launch a new series of laptops in the current situation? What’s the idea behind it?

As an agile brand, we have been able to quickly adapt to the COVID-19 situation by supporting our customers by ensuring their productivity, learning and business continuity is maintained. We also saw a huge uprise in the demand for laptops and PCs during the enforced lockdown, which propelled the launch.

Lenovo has been consistently introducing new form factors and experiences for all consumer segments to meet all demands. Speaking about this new series of laptops, we launched the latest range of IdeaPad Slim 3i and IdeaPad Gaming 3i for the consumer lifestyle and gaming sectors, respectively. We launched the IdeaPad Slim 3i to ensure the ‘Thin and Light’ form factor is accessible to customers from every segment. With extra attention to security, this laptop is extremely suitable in the current situation for users who are studying virtually or working from home during this pandemic.

Tell us about the communication done to support this launch.

We believe in having a flexible approach, with the right mix of traditional, digital, and social media platforms which are suitable for the current times. Our communication for this launch revolved around informing the consumers to get ready for #TheSmarterFit with the FIT defining the Fast, Intuitive and Trust elements which IdeaPad Slim 3i boasts of.

What are the challenges faced in distribution in the current scenario?

We are looking at various initiatives across purchase and after sales support to ensure that the customer experience does not get compromised. Keeping all government guidelines and safety norms in mind, we are emphasising on services such as contactless delivery and in-house repair options. We also initiated an extended customer support service for all PC brands during the lockdown.

What are the marketing channels that are working best for Lenovo? How have your media plans changed since the onset of the pandemic?

Our long-term marketing strategy is hinged on the right equilibrium between traditional and digital media. Since the onset of pandemic, television and online channels have seen a tremendous surge in consumption and our focus has shifted to mostly virtual properties.

How has your sector been affected and has reacted to COVID-19 pandemic?

The PC and laptop industry has seen exponential demand during this pandemic. We observed a spike in demand for PCs as “work from home” and “learn from home” trends started emerging and paved way for edutech opportunities. Lenovo’s priority has been to fulfil these customer requirements at the earliest and help them seamlessly adapt to such unnatural situations. During the lockdown, we had also launched a free online education platform, ‘SmarterEd’, which matched learners from classes V-XII with volunteer teachers.

Since laptops aren’t essential products, how are people taking to this new launch?

The pandemic and lockdown has increased the overall adoption of laptops due to the work and learn from home needs. Individuals are treating it as an essential device as it is one of the key tools for staying connected while being productive virtually. We have also seen a steady increase in the demand for thin and light consumer laptops such as IdeaPad Slim 3, ever since the lockdown was lifted. This is because of the growing dependency on online classes and remote learning methods for school students.

How has Lenovo’s performance been since the pandemic began? What have your sales/spends been like?

Our online sales have seen a significant increase during this pandemic. We have also observed a spike in both online and offline PC sales, since the market opened up post the national lockdown.

What is the kind of communication that Lenovo is maintaining with the consumer keeping the pandemic in mind?

Our customers are our utmost priority, and we had introduced a number of services to support our customers during these unprecedented times. During the pandemic, we launched the free OEM support for all PC brands (not just Lenovo). We also recently launched PC Pal: https://www.lenovopcpal.com/#/, which is a brand agnostic offering, where we advise buyers on the right configuration and they can then choose the brand of their preference.

What does the Post-COVID-19 era look like for Lenovo and what’s the way forward for you?

We believe it’s still too early to state any long-term commitments. However, we will ensure that we and our partners are fully prepared to support customers and adapt to the forthcoming situation.