The customer journey as a starting point

Robert van Seumeren - Director of Sales and Marketing Kitchen Retail BSH Household Appliances

To excel as a company in a competitive market, it is -if you ask me- much more important to focus on the customer instead of the competition. How the customer's needs are met and how you treat them is crucial. I am convinced that the customer experience really is the key to success in this respect and you should take the customer journey as your starting point.

Even in the kitchen industry, the average customer journey consists of several phases. First, there is the awareness phase: the customer realizes that a new kitchen is needed. Then comes the orientation phase, in which the customer searches for a suitable kitchen. Social media (including Pinterest and Instagram) play an important role here. Then comes the deliberation phase. Remarkably, while customers in neighbouring countries are increasingly deciding where to buy a kitchen online, in our small country this is done primarily offline. Perhaps the proximity plays a role here: there is always a retailer or inspirational store nearby that serves the regional market. In addition, research shows that trust and personal contact are crucial in deciding where the customer will make his purchase. Opinions and experiences of others, such as neighbors, acquaintances or family, can create or confirm a reliable image of a retailer, which ultimately leads to the actual purchase phase.

Customer journey continues

But the customer journey does not end with the purchase of a new kitchen! This is where I think we as a kitchen industry are still missing many opportunities. Things like service, repairs or maintenance, as well as offering workshops and instructional videos can improve the customer experience. If you execute the after-sales phase well, you finally reach the loyalty phase, in which the satisfied customer becomes an ambassador and actively promotes your product or company in his environment. And so the circle is complete again!

Digital developments

Still, I think kitchen retailers should be alert to digital developments. Make sure you also inspire, address and inform the customer online and that you can be found online, because more and more other parties are going to influence the search behavior of the consumer. Don't see it as a threat, but as an opportunity! The kitchen industry has had grandiose years, despite all the corona issues and delivery problems. But there was little time for reflection. My advice: use the coming time to set yourself up optimally for the better times to come again. Given the scarcity in the housing market and the pressure on housing construction, I just know that the market will turn positive again. 

So: re-examine everything: are the things you are doing the right thing or do new ways of working fit the times we are in? See this as an opportunity to reconsider how you can take the leap the market is about to take and make the most of it. Don't forget the customer journey in the process huh!