A Comprehensive Consumer Experience and CRM Strategy

BACKGROUND

From espresso machines to portable air conditioners, De’Longhi is literally a household name found on virtually every category of small domestic appliances. Renowned for its award-winning design, the Treviso, Italy based company sells its products in more than 75 countries worldwide. Its U.S. division, finding that its customers were sharply polarized between those with highly positive attitudes toward the brand and those with negative attitudes, asked Fidelum Partners to help develop a comprehensive CRM strategy that could dramatically improve customer loyalty.

SOLUTION

Because lasting consumer loyalty starts with a positive brand experience, Fidelum Partners undertook rigorous research on customer satisfaction and customer experiences with all of the division’s after-sales resources: Customer Service, the Service Center, an accessories resource, and the two websites DeLonghiUSA and ShopDeLonghi. Fidelum Partners discovered that consumers who had no contact with any after-sales resource had much better product experiences, higher brand loyalty, and greater purchase intent than other De’Longhi customers. A third of consumers indicated that their after-sales experience conflicted with their expectations of the De’Longhi brand name, further indicating that the problem was not with the company’s elegantly designed, high-quality products, but with critical customer touchpoints. Fidelum Partners also assessed suppliers and technology systems behind after-sales operations to understand how they might be affecting the customer after-sales experience.

Fidelum Partners was then able to develop a CRM strategy to align disparate business processes and systems to deliver significantly improved and more satisfying consumer experiences. Its focus on customer self-service, end-to-end product support, and experience management included a greatly simplified process for consumers. Enabled by a centralized consumer database that is integrated with customer registration, product support, and warranty, the process simplifies customer contacts, speeds resolution of issues, and creates strong relationships with De’Longhi. Its Web-based, self-service product support, embedded within the existing web frame, not only improves the experience for customers but also cuts costs. The strategy includes performance metrics, feedback management, and campaign management capabilities that will enable the division to continually refine the customer experience – strengthening long-term loyalty and increasing the revenue it brings.

BUSINESS RESULTS

With a new senior management team in place, De’Longhi is now in the early stages of building on this strategy and making major infrastructure changes that will greatly enhance the after-sales experience, generating increased sales through stronger consumer loyalty and purchase frequency. At the same time, the improved after-sales experience will benefit the bottom line by reducing customer service calls and Service Center costs. De’Longhi’s new CRM capabilities will also strengthen the effectiveness of marketing through improved consumer insight, targeting, brand awareness, and purchase intent, ensuring maximum return on investment in marketing efforts – and on future CRM investments.