Mitsubishi claims Kantar 2022’s top award for car brands and comes third overall.
Mitsubishi Motors NZ (MMNZ) has been crowned the best automotive brand for customer experience and third best overall by Kantar.
The leading data, insights and consulting company – and its consumer leadership index – ranks brands on overall experience, including customer-centricity, service delivery, offer excellence and brand clarity.
The results are compiled from extensive surveys and, for 2022, MMNZ has been ranked the best motor-vehicle brand and third best brand overall across financial services, online shopping, retail and grocery, media and entertainment, travel, telecommunications, energy and automotive.
Sharesies was the top-ranked brand in the Kantar index, followed by AA Insurance. The AA was fourth in the standings while Toyota and Ford took the eighth and ninth spots respectively.
On average, MMNZ scored seven points higher than any other marque when it came to delivering good value, which has always been a hallmark of the brand’s offering.
That’s the view of customer experience manager Tafaoga Kamoto, a two-time favourite customer services representative winner at the CRM Awards.
“Good value doesn’t just mean the price of the vehicle and what it does for your money, it’s just as much about after-sales support and all-round customer care,” says Kamoto, who was an integral member of MMNZ’s multi-award-winning customer care centre before heading the company’s customer experience team.
He adds the company’s latest success reflects its legacy of award-winning customer-service practices, as well as significant changes implemented during lockdown.
“In 2020, we decided to use the Covid-19 lockdowns as an opportunity to overhaul our CRM system. We moved from a vehicle-centric system to one that’s customer-centric at its heart, which has allowed us to tailor our service messaging and talk to clients across multiple channels.
“We’ve surveyed up to 1,500 Mitsubishi customers – both new vehicle and servicing – every month, which has resulted in actionable outcomes. Our dealer network is also provided with live-survey scoring, so it can respond through day-to-day interactions on the ground.”
All customer-service metrics are “evaluated, discussed and resolved” at monthly meetings attended by an executive committee, which includes senior management, the CEO and president.
Daniel Cook, chief operating officer, says: “As a brand, we recognise that aside from purchasing a home, buying a vehicle is one of the largest purchase decisions Kiwis are likely to ever make.
“That’s why we have a singular focus in providing industry-leading service throughout a customer’s journey – from enquiry, to purchase, vehicle handover and the years of servicing that follow. That service focus is what we believe leads to more than 50 per cent of our sales each year coming from customers who are already part of the Mitsubishi family.
“Also, you can’t look after your customers if your staff feel like they haven’t been looked after. That’s why staff welfare and culture are at the top of our priority list.
“During the lockdowns of the past few years, we maintained full employment. We have ensured our staff share in our success as a company with financial rewards, wage growth, work flexibility and an extra week of annual welfare leave.”
The company is the first automotive brand accredited as a living-wage employer in New Zealand.