Schneider Electric goes out to meet its customers via the "Green Route", a travelling scheme deployed in partnership with distributors. Karine Amiel, Director of Home & Distribution Marketing for France, provides an update.
How is customer relationship management organised at Schneider Electric and what is the strategy?
Schneider Electric, a specialist in digital transformation, energy management and automation, has a multi-channel customer contact centre (telephone, email, chat) which manages customer relations for 4 BUs (Home & Distribution, Secure Power, Digital Energy and Industrial Automation). This centre has 215 employees, all located in France. It comprises four departments: pre-sales, sales administration (orders, logistical follow-up, support for digital tools, particularly the mySchneider app), after-sales (technical support, troubleshooting, assistance) and project support.
In our Home & Distribution France BU, we manage customer relations through physical and digital channels. We target 55,000 electricians in France, knowing that this population has a turnover of between 10 and 15% per year, it is important for us to keep in touch via our sales representatives and via our distributor partners. We communicate with them directly via e-mail, Facebook (via the group "Fiers d'être électriciens") and our website. We organise numerous webinars to meet their training needs. In terms of strategy, we are working on brand preference, both through our products, service and customer experience.
Can you explain the "Green Route" device and what are its objectives?
It consists of 4 identical capsules touring the whole of France to present new products, give demonstrations and discuss with Schneider Electric experts. We have scheduled nearly 300 stops, the objective being to meet more than 6,000 customers. The event runs for three months, until July.
The electricians visit the points of sale three to four times a week on average because they need advice. The aim is to create links and enrich the customer relationship. In concrete terms, the products are displayed in a capsule, a structure that can be unfolded at the meeting point, a sort of "POS on wheels", towed by a hybrid vehicle. At the stopover point, the customer can handle and test the new offers, take advantage of the good deals (tailor-made sales promotions) and talk to the experts.
The first stages took place in April, with what results?
With this initiative, we want to personalise the customer experience and allow sales staff to listen to their customers directly. The first few days have confirmed the relevance of this initiative, and we have already met with more than 200 electricians throughout France. Our capsules have been in the North, Normandy, Corrèze and Dordogne as well as in the Allier and Loire regions. We have had very good feedback and our customers appreciate these exchanges.