Since entering the market, the international brand of smart home appliances AENO has set the goal to achieve a comfortable and easy-to-understand interaction for the customer throughout all stages, from an advertising message to how-tos/instructions. For this purpose, many business processes were implemented and improved.
"The company has set a course to meet customer expectations throughout every stage of interaction with our brand," says Natalia Grishina, Marketing Director AENO. "Customer requests are formed depending on various factors. Regardless of what the customer is looking for, we strive to make the choice as easy as possible: we provide with the simplicity of online searching, the competence of consulting at the point of sale, feedback and service. Everything shall conform to the highest level of brand standards."
Smartization Evangelist
In a bid to be clear to the customer, it is preeminently necessary to understand who we are and what we are destined for in a general sense. Based on a series of strategy sessions, the mission, goals and values of the brand were comprehended and articulated, and the vector of its further development was outlined.
“Our mission is to release a person from routine and make the home a territory of freedom, safe and health. The development of digital technologies, increase in demand for remote control devices, voice assistants being necessary elements of household management, stimulates the implementation of smart technology. Smartization, in every sense of the word, is what a modern user is in need for. Thinking ahead and making the future available today is what you need to be guided by in order to move forward and set trends, - comments Elena Krochak, Business Development Director AENO. Increase in consumer expectations, change in lifestyle and demand will further drive brand growth and product line development.”
AENO is also engaged in in-depth study of consumer experience in order to adapt to changes and create products that will guarantee that the product line stays relevant in a changing ecosystem.
Additional consumer preferences are also revealed, for example, the trend of conscious consumption and preference for brands committed to the concept of sustainable development. AENO has reduced hard-copy instructions and digitized them, and uses 100% plastic-free eco-packaging, providing recycled packaging materials to be reused.
Feel the consumers
AENO has organised the entire customer service, defining customer focus as one of the key values. An illustrative example is the organisation of work with requests for device diagnostics started in mid–2022. Customers can order their devices online directly on the website for delivery to an authorized service center. If a fault is detected, the customer receives a fault report whereby he can order the same new device at the point of sale. Afterwards, the company carefully considers the claim. This approach has contributed to changing the characteristics of some products to meet the needs of customers.
In addition to the technical support and warranty services, AENO has also established a department that monitors consumer reviews and opinions about products at various sites. Based on data collection, aspects of possible product improvement are identified. Thanks to the Social Listening, the brand team studies industry trends and current consumer needs in order to develop its product line and innovate, enhancing the customer experience and expanding opportunities.
Additionally, customer surveys are regularly conducted, where the NPS (Net Promoter Score) and the CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) are defined.
“Nowadays it is no longer a service division, but a full-fledged management of customer experience. Analytics data collection from all sources allows you to see the big picture and identify key and priority areas for changes. We do not just collect feedback, but we analyze all requests and change in accordance with the expectations of our customers. We do not just solve the stated problem, but we look for the source of the nonconformance and eliminate the root cause. In fact, the entire company is in keeping with a continuous cycle of improvement,” comments Tatyana Domme, Customer care Director AENO.
Conclusion
Consumer behavior studies and market trends allow AENO to adjust plans in response to the economic needs. In particular, in 2022, the brand introduced the Premium ECO smart heater in response to a market demand that arose, among other things, in connection with the energy crisis in Europe. This smart heater consists of combined infrared and convection technologies. It will help consumers save up to 50% of electricity costs during the entire heating period.
A change in the economic situation adjusts the plans, but not the approach. The customer always has a high profile, and it is the customer who helps the brand to constantly develop. Sticking to this approach while developing business processes has yielded results: NPS growth, increase in satisfaction with the process of considering claims and applications, increase in the repeat purchases among customers. All of those things allow us to be on the right path and open up new horizons for growth.