Understanding what the customer wants is paramount to our R&D and innovation teams.
Wilfried Theissen Managing Director, Putzmeister India How has the pandemic impacted the company’s strategies of maintaining the customer-connect? How is the same evolving now? Putzmeister believes in being close to our customers’ business,
– Wilfried Theissen
Managing Director, Putzmeister India
How has the pandemic impacted the company’s strategies of maintaining the customer-connect? How is the same evolving now?
Putzmeister believes in being close to our customers’ business, all our teams are trained to keep customer at the heart of all our processes. Like every other business we faced mobility and logistics challenges during nation-wide and regional lockdowns over the past 1.5 years.
From being one of the first OEMs in our segment to offer equipment value retention guidelines when construction activity was at a standstill, to training our customers and operators on how to handle our equipment with social distancing norms our teams worked continuously to offer our customers support. We kept in regular touch with our equipment operators that migrated to different parts of the country and helped customers connect with operators available in their regions when required.
Virtual meetings, remote assistance and virtual training are now part and parcel of the new normal. We expect to see an uptick in the adoption of digitalization – the construction industry in India realised the many benefits it offers during these challenging times.
Brief us on the measures taken for effective and efficient customer engagement with newer technologies and revenue models and improved mechanisms for feedback on product improvements?
I have already touched upon measures taken to ensure customer engagement in the earlier question. Customer feedback is a continuous process at Putzmeister globally. Understanding what the customer wants is paramount to our R&D and Innovation teams. We are also in the process of rolling out our fleet management solution Putzmeister Machine Cockpit to our range of concrete equipment. All new Putzmeister Truck Mounted Boom Pumps are already equipped with Machine Cockpit. Customers are not only able to track machine location and operating status, they can also analyse machine data to help improve productivity and machine uptimes.
Can you brief us about your dealership network and the strategies adopted for strengthening this network?
In India, we follow a direct sales and service model. All equipment sales and service is managed by Putzmeister teams. To ensure parts availability across the country, we supplement our warehouses with parts dealers.
The consumer touch points that companies continuously attempt to influence is the relationship between the brand and the consumer. How do you nurture this relationship in terms of after-sales initiatives and customer care?
When a customer invests in Putzmeister, they don’t just get the right equipment – they get an integrated solution to help them make the most out of their investment and improve their profitability. After-Sales support is infact one of the top 3 reasons why customers choose Putzmeister over other options.
Our After-Sales team has deep experience and expertise across a range of applications and environmental conditions across India. Our teams support customers in installing and commissioning equipment and training operators and other staff on site to operate the equipment safely and efficiently. Through maintenance contracts and genuine spares, our teams ensure value retention while keeping the equipment in optimal running condition. We also offer Operations & Maintenance support for the more challenging projects.
What are the major challenges you face in sustaining the customer satisfaction levels, especially in today’s context?
Customer satisfaction is of utmost importance and our teams adapted quickly to managing expectations in the new normal. As I have mentioned previously, we put new systems and processes in place to ensure that our customers got the support they needed through the many challenges our industry has faced since last year. A continuous feedback mechanism ensures that our offering is in sync with customer requirements.
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