Toyota Indonesia: Remarkable Relationship Marketing

Customer satisfaction and service success are one of Toyota Indonesia major commitment in conducting their business. Customer interviews and survey has been continuously conducted in order to create better performance in the future that would lead to greater customer satisfaction in the future. Toyota Indonesia had been aware of the importance of maintaining their precious customers (www.toyota.co.id). As customer, there are several aspects that generate perception of Toyota Indonesia as company which conduct great relationship marketing.

Ability To Give Confidence
Toyota Indonesia had deliver confidence since the first time customer search information regarding the product they plan to purchase. Consumer confidence is created by making every consumer well informed regarding any information in which they concern. Toyota Indonesia focuses on satisfying the customers’ demand of information. This could be seen from the way Toyota Indonesia utilise every possible network in which customer would seek for information.

Toyota Indonesia are aware of the importance of online media. Because of that matter, Toyota Indonesia had given complete information regarding their companies, their products, and their contacts in their official websites. However, Toyota Indonesia are also aware of the importance of interacting with their customers and fully involving their customers in communicating information. From their official website, Toyota Indonesia creates media in which potential customers and current customers could input their questions and queries regarding to the product to consult with Toyota Indonesia staff. This media is created for those customers who prefer to conduct conversation using sentences without direct interaction or face to face interaction.

The 24 hours hotline service of Toyota Indonesia is also available to answer customers’ questions at any time and inform customers regarding the newest information available. The hotline service applied the companion system where every customer will be handled by the same staff which they first interact with until their problems, questions, and queries had been answered completely. Toyota Indonesia insures that every hotline staff members has the same level of expertise that would guarantee the ability to handle every type of situation.

In store service is also conducted by Toyota Indonesia in every dealer they have all over Indonesia. Customers are welcome to come to the store dealers in order to ask information regarding products and services that they willing to gather more information on. Continuous improvement, training and development programs are conducted continuously in order to improve the quality of the human resources which will maintain and increase the customer satisfaction.

The way Toyota Indonesia communicates with their customers from various touch points to keep their customers well informed had generate trust to the provider. Customers would be well informed about what to expect and receive. Enough information would give the customers lower anxiety when purchasing the product and services. Moreover, the way Toyota Indonesia maintain its customers trust on its quality through VDQI (Vehicle Delivery Quality Improvement) had been able to create greater confidence of the customer toward the issue in which the company would conduct correct performance. Also since 1982, the spare parts dealer in all over Indonesia has been managed with computerised system that are directly connected to the spare parts centre in Japan which would ensure the availability of any spare parts that customers need. “Collaboration with distribution channel intermediaries and suppliers to achieve the value each end-customer wants” is one of a best practice example of companies that pursue a good relationship marketing (Gordon, 2002, pp.3). Utilising “sophisticated computer and telecommunication technologies” which allow companies to “directly interact with end-customers” would create a meaningful “databases and direct marketing tools” that enable the company to “individualize their marketing efforts” which fits to their customers needs (Parvatiyar and Sheth, 2001, pp.6).

Ability To Build Social Relationship
When dealing with Toyota Indonesia, the company will ensure to retain positive long term relationship with their customers. This action is conducted with the basic philosophy of “customer first” in which Toyota Indonesia treat their customers as the centre point of their business. Sales representative will keep in touch with their customers for a long term period. When customer purchase cars from Toyota Indonesia, the relationship with the company does not end as soon as the car leaves the dealer. After some time period, the sales representatives will contact their customers to ask about the cars they purchase and listen to the customer experience and questions. When things go wrong after the car had been purchased, Toyota Indonesia will ensure solution for the issue.

Customers’ information is also managed in a computerised customer database that are connected throughout every Toyota dealers in Indonesia. By that, the company would be able to observe and connected to the after sales behaviour of the customer. The company are well informed if a particular customer forgot to conduct their car periodic service. When this condition occurs, the sales representative which got in touch with the customer will let the customer informed and remind the customer regarding to this matter. Every data collected from this customer database are treated by the company as knowledge and insight. This is the approach where “company uses to add value to customer data so that they acquire the knowledge and insight needed to deepen the relationships that matter” (Gordon, 2002, pp.2).

Toyota Indonesia also aware of the differences between buyers and users. They are aware that not every car that a buyer bought will be used by them. There are cases where a buyer bought the car for someone else. For example, my father bought a Toyota Yaris on 2006 which makes Toyota Indonesia treat my father as a buyer. However, the Toyota Yaris is given to me. I have been using the Toyota Yaris from 2006 to the end of 2011. In this case I am treated as a user by Toyota Indonesia. Being aware that the users are the individual who had direct experience with the car, Toyota Indonesia also keep a good relationship with the user. The company maintains a good relationship with the user through the Toyota Owners Club. By creating a community, Toyota Indonesia is able to create mutual recognition and friendship which are an important factor of relationship marketing (http://toyota-ownerclub.com/).

Ability To Give Special Treatment
Managing a combination of pull and push strategies in the management could be very challenging task (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). However, Toyota had conducted a smart way in combining these strategies in order to create customer satisfaction. Pull strategy is conducted by Toyota Indonesia when the first time customers come to the company to gather information regarding their future purchase. In this stage, the sales representative that communicates with the customer would gather information and insight from the customers. The information and insight are gathered when a customer requested for certain information. The requested information is the opportunity for Toyota Indonesia to better understand the customer. The information about the customer that the company gathered from this stage would guide the future touch points when the customers reach the next level of interaction (the purchase process).

Toyota Indonesia would utilise the information that they had already understand from the customer to create offerings and further information that would persuade the customer that they are making the right choice. This is the example of the smart way in which Toyota Indonesia conducts the push strategy. In this stage, Toyota Indonesia could adjust customised offer to the customer that would enhance the satisfaction of the customers. For example, Toyota Indonesia could offer a pre-approved credit offer to the customers that they judge to be trustable to fulfil requirement for credits. By combining the pull and push strategy, Toyota Indonesia is able to customized offerings that better meets each of the customers need and wants. In this way, customers are able to feel treated in a special way by the company that enhance the feeling of exclusivity and satisfaction.

This article has been written by HANDINI AUDITA and assessed by UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE, UNITED KINGDOM. This article are assessed for the subject of Consumer Management 1 by Dr.Fred Lemke