The Hindu Business Line : Listening to customers

In 1986, a team of Toyota designers and engineers came to southern California to “live the good life.” And the expense accounts which they sent caused near-fainting spells back at the home office.

Toyota had decided to make a giant leap and get into the elite-car business alongside Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes, and Cadillac. It realised it knew virtually nothing about the typical buyers of these special cars, and so it sent them to live among those pe ople and see firsthand what they cared about, narrates K. Dennis Chambers in Toyota ( www.macmillanpublishersindia.com).

“What they cared about was luxury – the feeling, aromas, and ambience of luxury. These customers could buy any car they wanted. Their choice hinged around service and image: How will I look driving the machine?” After living among elite buyers for a year, and after designing a car that would appeal to such people, Toyota unwrapped its first independent brand, the Lexus, and even the name, highly researched, suggested special-ness, Chambers continues.

“It was an instant hit. Twenty years later, Business Week cited Lexus as among the top 10 ‘customer service elite’ brands in the world. Now that is what people mean by listening to your customers – hangovers and all.”

Engaging account.