The key to successful marketing

M. Ihsan Darius, Contributor, Jakarta

Few people know that Japan exported its automobiles to the United States as far back as 1957. The first U.S. region that Toyota, Japan's largest manufacturer eyed, was Southern California.

In the first year Toyota sold 287 Toyopet and 1 Landcruiser. In 1965 Toyota introduced its Corona, an automobile with quite a good engine and quite an attractive design. Then Coronas became popular in US automotive circles. In 1970, the U.S. imported more Toyotas than European automobiles.

Toyota's success in penetrating the U.S. market spread to other parts of the world. And now, Toyota's products virtually control the international market. In March 2003, Toyota booked US$8.13 billion in profit, much bigger than the combined profit of U.S. giants GM, Chrysler and Ford.

What's Toyota's secret? Tjan Swie Yong, an automotive observer with years of experience in the business, said that the key to Toyota's success was in its after-sales service.

Toyota has proven that the cutting edge in production technology and excellent marketing will be useless without proper attention to the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), the key to successful after-sales service.

"Aside from quality superiority, Toyota also has its research division and can therefore keep itself updated about its superiority standard," said Tjan, who headed three component factories under the flag of the Astra Group here in Indonesia.

After-sales knowledge and practices constitute the most important link in a marketing network. "Customers place a high demand on this aspect," said Tjan. Talking about consumers' behavior in Indonesia, Tjan said that when buying new automobiles, many customers usually would opt for the same make because if they had good after-sales service on the first one. It is often the case, he said, that owners of Toyota Kijang or Honda Accord, for example, will change their cars with cars of the same make and type. They feel satisfied with these makes' after-sales service.

Therefore, the role of the car service division or automobile workshop helps determine a particular car make's market share. Many consumers change their cars with automobiles of a different make or type because they are not satisfied with the after-sales service of their former cars.

Understandably, the market share of Toyota shows a continued upward trend -- proof that Toyota buyers change their cars with automobiles of the same make. That is why Toyota has successfully dominated the automobile market in Indonesia.

"It is not easy to establish an after-sales network. It has taken us dozens of years," said President Director of PT Toyota Astra Motor, Johnny Darmawan.

In Indonesia, Toyota's success in winning market share competition may be attributed particularly to its being a brand name supported by the best after-sales service.

At present, the after-sales service management of Toyota is handled under the Astraworld system. Aside from improving the quality of services, this system also enhances the capability of making spare parts available in a short time, ensuring, in particular, the availability of fast moving parts practically anywhere.

The system also ensures the availability of slow moving parts in the spare parts inventory stocks at the Toyota Parts Center.

Astraworld is not a system intended only for Toyota automobiles.

The management of PT Astra International has now provided a one-roof service in terms of workshop facilities to other makes: Daihatsu, Isuzu, Peugeot, Nissan and BMW. This one-roof service has become Astraworld's exclusive after-sales service for all users of Astra automobiles. "By merging the workshop services, our coverage in providing services to buyers of Astra automobiles will automatically be expanded. Besides, this system enhances efficiency for both the consumers and Astra itself," said Chief Executive Operations of Astraworld, Tong Po Liong.

Aside from this merged after-sales service system, each make has developed their own creative ideas in satisfying their customers. Peugeot, for example, has introduced Peugeot Assistance, a 24-hour Emergency Road Assistance service plus a call center through AstraWorld available in Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Denpasar and Medan. Besides, there is also Peugeot Home Service, which provides services at a customer's place, and a Service Contract, which costs Rp 4.5 million a year and Rp 6.6 million for a period of 3 years.

BMW car owners can also save on their service expenses through the BMW Service Inclusive program, which provides all BMW owners with free service and maintenance for either 5 years or 100,000 kilometers.

" The after-sales service in every official BMW dealer is now supported with sophisticated diagnostic instruments, the latest software and well-trained professional mechanics," said President Director of PT BMW Indonesia Josef Honsel.

Outside Astra, other automobiles makes are also competing to satisfy their customers. Korean car makers like Hyundai and KIA also try to maintain their brand image by improving the level of satisfaction of their customers. Hyundai sales network now covers nearly all of Indonesia.

"We have established 103 outlets all over Indonesia, except in Papua and Manado," said Promotions Manager of PT Hyundai Mobil Indonesia (HMI) Lindarto Raharjo. They have their weekend sales program, in which they approach their consumers with home visits to provide free service, check-ups, consultation and allow a special discount on the purchase of spare parts.

Several car makes are left behind in terms of their after- sales service and as a result their market share has considerably declined. Citroen, Alfa Romeo and several other makes, for example, can rarely be found on Indonesia's new car market.

"The difficulty for the after-sales service of these makes is that they do not have their workshops in the region," Tjan said. Their workshops, which have an adequate capability in maintenance and repairs and supply of spare parts, are found only in major cities. As a result, their market share continues to drop although their designs may be more attractive and their performance, more reliable.

CSI shows the level of customer satisfaction. Surveys for CSI, which involve millions of customers, are conducted by J.D. Power, a company based in California. In the U.S., where car buyers are quite critical, the CSI data from J.D. Power are monitored by both consumers and business players. That is why famous car makes always try to ensure that their CSI rating is high. Honda, Toyota and Mercedes are usually in tight competition to top the CSI list.

J.D. Power country manager for Asia and the Pacific, Hiroshi Hasegawa said that Honda effectively developed the interactive relationship between their customers and their service division staff. They always try to listen to their customers so that these customers will be satisfied with their Honda automobiles. --- The writer is an automotive marketing analyst