Hobart Corporation had its focus on becoming a leading foodservice and retail equipment industry through a focus on technical innovation, operational excellence, superior customer service and unsurpassed value. They intend to do this by emphasizing on an 80/20 strategy, which meant they would concentrate on the needs of 20% of their strategic customers who in turn generate 80% of the revenues for the company.
Internally, Hobart has tremendous product and application knowledge and a broad perspective of the food industry. By putting this knowledge to work, the company can focus its ability to service the customer more effectively. Hobart developed a program to address subjects that customers care about that is aligned with areas in which the organization has expertise: food safety, energy consumption, labor costs, shrinkage and application of new technology.
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The initiative by Hobart had it move from being just a product leader but a though leader in the industry. It became known for the quality of its product plus more; the service offered to its customer business concerns. To achieve this, Hobart developed a customer care service that catered for the different concerns of its customers who were business owners.
The service was intended to address every day questions that any business owner would have to deal with such as eliminating costs, keeping food safe, reducing shrinkage, providing customers with enticing dining experiences, enhancing growth and also being able to find, train and retain good workers. To address these questions, the firm brought together knowledge base system.
The result of the move to solve every day concerns led to the building of a powerful brand under the tag line Sound Equipment, Sound Advice. This venture proved successful to the point that it resulted in a customer magazine known as Sage which was later availed to the internet at Sage Online. The magazine provided the food industry professionals with seasoned advice. The success of the magazine and its ability to provide business people with solutions to everyday challenges made it more of a publication that a promotional tool for Hobart.
Hobart also took advantage of the trade shows to reach more to its customer. During the trade fairs, Hobart provided a stall named the Idea Center where people could walk in and talk their business concerns with experts in the field. The customers appreciated this move because they felt that their concerns were addressed by experts in the industry.
Hobart conducted seminars for the same purpose. The workshops brought together business owners and experts, and the topics of discussion were varied addressing many of the concerns of business owners. This provided an avenue for business owners to interact directly with experts and having their concerns addressed to their satisfaction (Aaker, 2013). Internally, things were kept in check through leadership messages which were reinforced during departmental and company meetings as well as through newsletters.
On its website, the company also provided useful insights. Visitors to the website could find question-and-answer sessions as well as papers and publications which were updated weekly. This initiative produced over 1000 publications relating to frequently asked questions and concerns especially about saving labor, technology, reducing shrinkage, growing sales and cost management.
The goal of the public relationship initiative became placement of ideas rather than product placement. This led to a change of marketing strategy. The products developed were presented to the customers with emphasis on the fact that it would solve customer problems rather than focusing on the features of the product themselves. This program propelled Hobart to new heights, becoming a leader in the industry for decades.
Hobart sought to become a leader in the industry not by providing better products than its competitors but by offering something a little extra than what its competitors offered. It succeeded in this attempt by launching a customer service system. The system employed the service of experts in the industry. The service targeted customers in the restaurant business which was the field it engaged in.
The customer service catered to the needs of its customers, and it became a marketing strategy for the company. The company had not ventured into advertising as a marketing strategy. Engaging with customers directly became a powerful marketing tool. The seminars and the magazine initiative, as well as the utilization of the trade shows, proved a successful venture.
The way the company marketed its products changed since the introduction of the customer care service. The company did not market its product by focusing on the features of the products but rather, the ability of the product to cater to the needs of its customer base. This was seen by the customers as a personal approach to marketing and not one aimed at improving sales for the company. While the profile of the company grew, the customers felt that their needs were addressed by the company resulting in a win-win situation for both the customers and the company.
This goes to show how important a strategic plan is for any business (Mahoney & Qian, 2013). The way the plan is structured can totally transform a company for the better or the, worse. It also goes to show that the center of any strategic plan should have the customer at the center to get the most out of any business.
References
Aaker, D. A. (2013). Strategic Market Management. John Wiley & Sons.
Mahoney, J. T., & Qian, L. (2013). Market frictions as building blocks of an organizational economics approach to strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 1019- 1041.
