Mazda cooperates with Mazda Group companies, dealers and distributors both in Japan and overseas to raise the level of customer satisfaction (CS) and fulfill its role as a company customers can continue to rely on. The Company grasps the needs of each country and region promptly and accurately based on customer feedback, and develops products and services tailored to each market. In addition, the Company strives to raise CS further through awards programs, training programs, and opportunities to share best practices.
Believing that listening closely to customers' voices is the foundation for developing better products, Mazda has opened two channels for communication with customers: the Mazda Call Center and the Mazda Official Website. Inquiries, opinions and requests from customers are shared among relevant divisions of the Company to reflect them in product development, sales and customer services.
Examples of Customer Feedback Reflected
- Improvement of product explanations in catalogs
- Revision of cautions in operation manuals
- Examination of user-friendliness of vehicles and accessories
To listen to inquiries and opinions, and consult with customers within Japan
To listen to inquiries and opinions, and consult with customers both within Japan and overseas
Dealerships both in Japan and overseas are working to create a comfortable shop environment for customers.
Mazda promotes Shop Cleanliness*1activities from the following three viewpoints:
- Product layout that encourages customers to comfortably see, touch, and feel the attractive features of each product
- Easily understandable display of customer's desired information
- Comfortable shop environment featuring a sense of hospitality
To create a more open environment, the show rooms for new models and the waiting room have been combined. Also, each shop has a space for kids to offer customers with children a comfortable time.
- *1Cleanliness: To keep the shop always clean and tidy
Soliciting customer opinions through questionnaires, which are implemented in cooperation with dealerships, is the most important way to improve day-to-day customer service at dealerships.
In Japan, using the Mazda New Customer Satisfaction Web Survey, an online questionnaire survey, Mazda analyzes customer opinions and reflects the results in operational improvements. In the United States, questionnaires are distributed to customers who visit dealerships for purchase, maintenance or repair, and efforts are made to improve or enhance operations based on the opinions obtained.
With the aim of making Mazda a company customers can continue to rely on, in 2011 Mazda introduced the Mazda Sales Approach, which encourages employees of the Mazda Group engaging in sales in Japan to self-initiate actions from the customer's perspective. Under this approach, the following efforts are being made.
- All members of each shop, irrespective of whether they are in sales, service or administration, discuss how they should act to become a shop that customers can continue to rely on. They share ideas and translate those ideas into specific actions.
- Based on close communication with each shop, the Mazda head office and each dealership jointly decide specific improvement activities for human development, corporate culture, etc., so as to create an environment that gives customers a feeling of comfort and reliability.
Since the introduction of the Mazda Sales Approach, communication within each shop and worksite has been invigorated. Customer appreciation has increased, which has resulted in raising employee motivation and growth, as well improving customer trust.
Mazda works to provide all its dealerships in Japan with information on mid- and long-term strategies, products, and services in a timely manner, and also makes proactive efforts to collect information from them. To cultivate relationships of trust, the Company strives to deepen communication among dealerships, and between dealerships and Mazda, via the Mazda Dealership Association and Mazda Autozam Dealership Association.
Participants |
Frequency |
Objective/Contents |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Conferences for dealership representatives | Representatives of dealerships and Mazda directors | Twice a year | To communicate Mazda policies |
| Mazda Dealership Association in Japan Executive board of directors meeting | Executive board members and others from Mazda Dealership Association in Japan (with Mazda representatives also attending twice yearly) | Four times a year | Information concerning product development, service and parts requests, quality concerns, and other topics is exchanged and discussed. |
| Mazda Dealership Association in Japan Specialized committees | Committee members from Mazda Dealership Association in Japan and Mazda representatives | As needed | |
| Conferences for division and department heads of dealerships | Representatives from each region and Mazda | As needed | Meetings regularly convened for relevant departments of dealerships to exchange information and opinions on specific topics including new models, used models, customer service, insurance, etc. |
| Board meetings for Mazda Autozam Dealership Association in Japan | Board members from Mazda Autozam Dealership Association in Japan | Four times a year | Discussion of marketing plans and provision of opportunities for training and professional development, as well as exchange of information and opinions on topics such as requests related to Mazda Autozam services and parts, and quality concerns |
| Mazda Autozam Dealership Association in Japan Specialized committees | Committee members from Mazda Autozam Dealership Association in Japan and representatives of Mazda and Mazda Autozam | Four times a year | |
CS Initiatives Presentation Meetings are held annually, hosted by Mazda Dealership Association*2 in each region to share examples of best practices from dealerships and shops, in order to boost the level of customer-satisfaction efforts throughout the Mazda Group within Japan. In November 2011, 40 dealerships took part in these meetings held in eight regions.
CS Initiatives Presentation Meetings, presenting outstanding examples (FY March 2012)
Tohoku Mazda Tomiya Shop "Brush up on the basics to become a professional customer service team."
Their presentation featured PDCA activities to determine problems identified from customer opinions and their approaches at the shop, and the solutions they found.
- *2It consists of 63 companies including 49 sales companies from Mazda-, and Mazda Enfini-channels, parts companies, logistics companies, Mazda Chuhan Co., Ltd., SMM Auto Finance, Inc., Mazda Auto Leasing Co., Ltd., etc. Through specialized committees, they have close communications about various themes.
To encourage staff self-improvement, meetings are held on a periodic basis to award sales and service staff members depending on their degrees of achievement of targets, improvement of technical skills, and contribution to improved vehicle quality. In October 2011, about 700 staff members were awarded for their achievements during FY March 2010 and FY March 2011.
The Walk-Around Contest, a competition of customer-service role-plays, is held with the aim of encouraging sales staff to acquire product knowledge and improve their customer service skills. At the 15th competition held in FY March 2012, representatives from 58 shops of 39 dealerships participated in the regional competitions and 10 shops of 9 dealerships joined the final national competition.
When a new model is launched, all sales staff should be able to provide customers with correct and detailed answers to any questions posed to them. To this end, sales staff execute training before new models are introduced. In FY March 2012, before the launch of the SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY models, the new Demio (Mazda2 overseas), the new Axela (Mazda3 overseas) and the CX-5, introductory training for each of the three models was provided throughout Japan. In particular, to enable sales staff to actually experience the innovative features of the CX-5, which is fully equipped with SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY, and communicate them to customers, test-drive training sessions were held for approx. 3,000 sales staff members at nine venues throughout Japan.
Mazda arranges the opportunities to share best practices among Group companies and distributors overseas to foster the initiatives for customer satisfaction.
<Examples of Initiatives in FY March 2012>
- CS/CRM News, a bulletin to share CS/CRM*1 best practices in various countries, is issued six times a year.
- CS Best Practices, a bulletin aimed at sharing improved CS best practices, is issued six times a year
- Distributors are awarded/accredited for the points below, to encourage their efforts to improve customer satisfaction.
- Remarkable contribution to sales of Mazda vehicles (in terms of sales volume, share, etc.)
- Comprehensive capacity including growth potential of the service parts business and response to quality issues
- Achieving first place in a CS survey for the sales service segment
- Excellent achievements in CRM or marketing activities
- *3CRM: customer relationship management.
- At Mazda (China) training centers (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen), dealership presidents and sales managers underwent training in basic CS promotion activities and improvement methods.
- A National Sales Skills Contest was held targeting sales staff and sales managers of all dealerships. The staff of the 13 best dealerships that had won the preliminary contests in five regions competed at the National Contest in Beijing.
- Since "boosting customer satisfaction and strengthening owner loyalty" was made the top priority at the US dealers association in 2010, distributors and dealers have jointly strengthened continuous efforts in these areas.
In 2010, Mazda introduced eight principles for service quality, collectively titled the Mazda Service Quality Commitment, to all dealerships in the United States, to encourage continuous efforts under the principles below:
- Schedule a convenient appointment
- Offer a friendly and timely greeting
- Perform a complimentary Full Circle Multi-Point Inspection on every customer visit
- Provide the customer with a competitive price
- Maintain a clean and comfortable waiting area
- Conduct a quality-check of every service performed
- Ensure that the customer's vehicle is ready when promised
- Thoroughly explain all repairs performed and charges when the customer picks up the vehicle
Mazda holds the following communication meetings on a periodic basis, to encourage Mazda Group-wide efforts to improve customer satisfaction.
Participants |
Frequency |
Objective/Contents |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Product Launch Events / Brand Summit | Representatives from major overseas bases of operation, such as the United States, Europe, China and Australia | Irregular | Opinions are exchanged on a wide variety of topics including products, marketing and brand strategies. The event was held three times in FY March 2012 at the head office (Hiroshima) with approx. 100 participants. |
| 4A Distributors Meeting | Representatives from Southeast Asia, Central and South America, Middle East, and Africa regions | Annually | Discussions covering a wide range of topics including business, marketing, product launches, etc. In FY March 2012, the event was held in October, with approx. 110 participants. |
The 4A Distributors Meeting featuring the CX-5 and the new BT-50 was held in October 2011.
About 110 representatives from overseas dealerships in the 4A region attended the sessions for presentations on concepts and product features of the new models, and test-drove the CX-5. Also, they were able to communicate with the staff in charge of development of the SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY, which helped deepen their understanding of SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY.
To help sales staff members increase their knowledge about SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY and explain in their own words the details of the technology when asked by customers, videos, educational presentation materials, pamphlets, etc. were prepared. These were put together into the Heart of Mazda/SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY Communication Guide, which was provided to distributors in the 4A region. The guide was used for the CX-5 product trainings, with the aim of promoting its use in local operations.
- *4Areas except Japan, US, Europe and China
