Ecodan (Mitsubishi Electric)
Case Study
EWA utilise extensive experience to deliver effective crisis management for Mitsubishi Electric
The Brief:
As a world leading researcher and manufacturer of electrical equipment Mitsubishi Electric serve the needs of various industries and market sectors. Ecodan are a specialist Heating Department within Mitsubishi Electric which develop and manufacture heating technology and appliances.
In 2007 Mitsubishi Electric brought the revolutionary Ecodan heat pump system to the UK market. This product, developed specifically for the UK housing sector harvested renewable energy from the air and used this to provide heat and hot water within the home.
After the failure of a single unit in July 2010, Mitsubishi Electric, as a highly responsible manufacturer, wanted to instigate a voluntary recall of potentially affected units, sending letters to every household where one of the new heat pumps was installed.
As well as letters, Mitsubishi Electric required an inbound and outbound contact centre to provide additional customer care, in depth reporting and data management. The design and build of a contact management system was also required for the capture of all customer details, effective insight into enquiry types and daily activity reporting.
Through their marketing agency Square Bear, EWA were recommended to Mitsubishi Electric for what was essentially a crisis management project; a project which required the highest levels of customer care and data management within a demanding timescale.
The Strategy:
With time as a factor, EWA developed a clear and concise strategy:
- Rapidly build a dedicated team of contact and customer care professionals.
- Build the knowledge of this team through training with Mitsubishi in order for enquiries to be answered effectively.
- Design and implement a bespoke contact management system which would track all email and telephone enquiries.
- Deliver insight through proven data management and reporting systems.
- Ultimately, reassure customers in accordance with Mitsubishi’s technical information and in direct response to their concerns.
This strategy was developed using EWA’s extensive crisis management experience and proven techniques for reactive contact and data management.
The Execution:
EWA were able to implement a live customer care helpline in just 5 days. Within this restrictive time period EWA worked closely with Square Bear to recruit and train a professional contact team. EWA also developed a bespoke contact management system which would capture all inbound enquiries (email and phone) and deliver daily data extracts to Ecodan for administrative processes.
On an operational level members of the EWA management team held daily conferences with Mitsubishi Electric senior personnel and Square Bear directors. As a result of these conferences, and the nature of crisis management generally, the guidance given to Ecodan customers evolved on a daily basis.
This required EWA to give members of the contact team daily training updates so that they could adhere to the very specific instructions provided by Mitsubishi Electric. It also required the creation of an outbound contact team, responsible for maintaining communication with customers so that they were provided with the latest guidance.
The contact management system provided Mitsubishi Electric with customer information in order for them to schedule technical call outs in direct response to the priority of the enquiry.
Throughout the product recall EWA invested considerable project management time to ensure that the project ran smoothly and that Ecodan’s changing requirements and requests were responded to quickly, efficiently and successfully.
The Results:
The project culminated in January 2011 with EWA having successfully dealt with Ecodan customers and all affected units being replaced. The success of the project can be attributed to the creation of a constant communication channel between EWA, Square Bear, Mitsubishi Electric and their customers.
This constant communication allowed Mitsubishi Electric and EWA to provide the most relevant and up to date guidance throughout the timescale of the recall. As a result, customers received the best service possible and Mitsubishi Electric’s reputation for excellent customer care was maintained.
EWA added value by:
- Handling the frontline of communication so that Ecodan could focus on administrative and logistical aspects of the product recall and replacement process.
- Ensuring that Ecodan’s customers were handled in line with the highest customer care standards so that the product recall did not escalate and negatively affect brand reputation.
