2024.03.22
Up-close View: The Power of the Frontline
Showing the Way as an Expert in Uncovering
Customers’ Latent Needs: Showroom Advisor Tanaka
Series:
- Home & Personal Solution
We take an up-close and personal look at the people who are supporting the Panasonic Group’s growth at their own operational frontlines.
Vol.1
Showroom Advisor
Sales Division, Panasonic Housing Solutions Co., Ltd.
In addition to customer service, Tanaka is involved in a wide range of other work such as personnel development and product planning. In 2019, she acquired Gold Meister certification in the lifestyle reform and kitchen segments. There are only three people nationwide with Meister certifications in two segments.
My boss once told me that, in Japanese, the word “show” in showroom has three different meanings, and since then these definitions are something I have always placed importance on.
1. To value actual showroom displays and experiences, and use professional techniques to garner interest
2. To view showrooms as a platform for business, and value sales and other B2B connections
3. To position a smiling welcome at the center of customer service
At the showroom, I engage in thorough communication with the customer to discover lifestyle challenges they have yet to discover and to gauge what kind of lifestyle they lead. Perspective drawings are a key tool in visualizing and sharing the customer’s lifestyle challenges, and I use these drawings to make specific improvement proposals. I also make sure to work with a sense of speed, sending them thank-you letters as soon as they leave the showroom, for example.
I previously had trouble communicating my experience and knowledge to younger employees, particularly at a time when I was trying to get results while juggling childcare and work. Just when I was thinking about the importance of making a change, the company launched the Meister System*, and I knew this was the solution. In line with a clear definition of what an ideal advisor should look like in terms of customer service, product knowledge, and customer evaluations, for example, I was able to take stock of my own experiences and skills and carefully communicate them to those around me. In doing so, I believe I was able to boost morale in the workplace.
＊A certification system for advisors to enable them to make excellent proposals. Advisors are granted the title Meister when they meet specific internal standards regarding expertise in customer service.
I’m currently focusing on how to improve advisors’ ability in making renovation proposals. The equipment we provide must take into account wiring, piping, and many other building restrictions, and so product knowledge alone is not enough to make high-quality and specific proposals. I am therefore encouraging employees to visit actual worksites so that they can intuitively learn useful skills. I have also encouraged my team to take the initiative in actively working toward the acquisition of public certifications. An advisor’s job is to listen to customers’ challenges, connect the dots, and then bring shape and color to the solution. It is rewarding work that really makes a difference to customers’ lifestyles. By sharing this idea with my team members, I hope to further boost their desire to contribute towards the customer’s best life. Moving forward, I will make every effort to envision and propose customers’ ideal future lifestyles and to ensure customers are glad to have consulted with Panasonic.
＊Japanese only
My Leisure Time
With my second daughter now in junior high school, I’ve been able to get back to going on girls’ holidays with my childhood friends. These extraordinary experiences with friends who I’m completely comfortable with are like a reward for my hard work, and are ideal opportunities for me to recharge my batteries. When I get back, I often find that my family have gotten even better at housework. I’m eternally grateful for their support and understanding.
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