On the development of a new training- and customer experience offering

Abstract

Yanmar is currently redefining its strategy within the market of construction equipment. Yanmar CE EMEA aspires to focus on delivering the best customer experience. Owing to this, the concept of trainings - sales and technical trainings - as well customer experiences, such as product demonstrations must be defined for the future. The crux of the matter can be formulated as a single question. What is the most efficient, attractive, and convenient way to offer product training, technical training and a customer experience to the dealers and end-customers in a financially sustainable way? To answer this research question, data is gathered from a wide range of sources. The data was gathered by internal- and external interviews, customer surveys, and desk research. Its aim is to understand the competitive landscape, Yanmar’s positioning within this landscape and opportunities for Yanmar’s future training- and customer’s experience. Hence, the 3C framework is adopted as a comprehensive foundation. Four main trends could be identified among competitors. First, there is a clear trend or preference for customer centers to provide trainings and organize customer experiences of different types. The centers are situated at accessible locations. Simultaneously, they are often close to plants. The practice is most often supported by a strong online training platform that offers sales training and technical training, among other features. The customer survey revealed that communication is the main reason why dealers are currently not joining. When their view on the important parameters for training was questioned, three parameters stood out. The physical access to machines, the opportunity to share expertise and, for product trainings, the opportunity to benchmark with competitors. For customer experience, the overall experience grew immensely in importance, yet the access to machines and demo remained the most important parameter by far. The company interviews highlighted different hurdles and opportunities. An urgent demand for systematic product trainings came to light which could provide additional homogeneity. The technical training consists of elements which require physical training, yet digital solutions are currently developed and can be expanded in the future. The importance of customer experience was highlighted by the connection of it through the whole customer journey. From sales to after-sales, there is always a customer behind. Delivering the best customer experience constitutes an influential goal with implications for all activities. The key recommendations are presented as five scenarios in which product training, technical training and the customer experience are envisioned with an extensive business plan. There are three categories, i.e., one online scenario is introduced, two local scenarios and two center scenarios. The online scenario focus on the development of online capabilities by launching a digital platform. The platform aims to establish three features, namely connectivity, e-learning and on-demand learning. The on-demand learning serve as physical back-up that support the digital content. The first center scenario proposes to build a center near a production site. This leaves two options, either close to Saint-Dizier or close to Crailsheim. The financial analysis confirms the feasibility. The quality of trainings, the low HR implications and low operational complexity are the main benefits of this scenario. Minor changes are required compared with the current way of working. Nonetheless, synergies would be created by concentrating efforts on a single center instead of two independent locations. The new customer center could include promising customer experience options if incorporated in the building’s design. The second center scenario considers a new accessible location. This aims to boost the overall experience with a more attractive location or more neutral location in between the existing premises. Different locations come with different advantages. Some focus on the customer experience aspect, while other prioritize the potential strain on Yanmar’s workforce due to relocation. In general, the same considerations of the former scenario are applicable here as well. The first local scenario aspires to optimize the currently held local trainings by clustering dealers based on, among others, distance and size. This clustering ensures close relations within the cluster and with a market specific training team. Scheduled trainings would be offered, but the improved proximity could empower two-way communication on demand. Next to trainings, demo fleets and the customer experience can be localized too. The scenario would require a highly mobile training team that is willing to work remotely. Lastly, the second local scenario is based on the cluster scenario. The concept of the Yanmar Tour as organized in 2021 is added mainly to the core markets to boost the customer experience and local product training with an additional brand injection. This could truly realize the vision of customer intimacy and delivering the best customer experience. However, this introduces a considerable added operational cost which has to be overcome to make this scenario feasible. The scenarios are evaluated using 16 KPIs that cover the interests of Yanmar, the dealer networks and compare the solution with the competition. Weights are assigned to the KPIs using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Using a decision matrix, a quantitative evaluation of all scenarios is made. The resulting decision matrix prefers the center scenario near a production site, i.e., to build a center at Rothenburg/Crailsheim or at Saint-Dizier. There is a small favour for Rothenburg/Crailsheim. Next, the online scenario ranks third due to the estimated low upfront investments and operational costs. Building center in a new accessible location would imply a relatively higher operational cost, more HR implications and more overall risk; this causes this scenario to be valued fourth. Finally, the local scenarios come in last. While they score great on dealer and competitor related KPIs, the financial strain for Yanmar significantly lowers the score of the scenarios. In short, a center scenario near a production site or a focus on online capabilities is recommended considering the evaluation of the decision matrix.