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Main Topic: De Lai Scooter Store

Hosts: James Stanworth , Clyde Warden

James shares a recent case study he has completed on a family run motorcycle shop. Locally known as scooter shops, these dealers are mostly small scale--easy to find on nearly every street. The big manufactures, like Yamaha and SYM depend on these businesses to build relationships with customers. The result is that these small business are the life blood of the producers, assuring everyone in Taiwan is supplied with a scooter or two. For consumers, the need for maintenance, yearly required checkups, and emergency solutions, is satisfied by the family down the street.

This topic has an accompanying research show (show 56) for marketing researchers. It includes the PDF case study, details on research methodologies and findings mentioned in this show. To view the supplement and other research related shows, register and/or sign in.

Touching Your Heart is the Taiwan tourism tag line that is pasted all over the island, signaling friendly service locations. James uses observations and semi-structured interviews to gather information about the service orientation at DeLai Scooter Shop, located in central Taiwan. Clyde and James review some recent developments in the market, including a push by the manufactures to created updated servicescapes at all their dealers. The service procedures are quite surprising. Well planned and executed, the results do not match our traditional view of small family shops in Taiwan. This trend reflects an approach of some businesses. This combines a systematic and structured approach to service delivery with a strong local Chinese flavour.

The principle is similar to the Wang Ping Group (See our shows 47-50) where they have adopted a very structured approach to delivering service that matches closely to local customer expectations and needs. It is important to appreciate this is not a question of modern versus old. It is an issue of management and customer preferences and learning. In many Chinese situations it is easy to think modern and 'Western' without understanding local preference. This has lead many foreign business to misunderstand the local market place and believe that they want something 'modern and Western'. Consequently, they miss the opportunity to create a systematic approach with a clear localized flavour.

This is what we are good at, getting right down there, getting the real stuff, getting the local stuff, getting the reality of the whole business space.

The Show:

Length: 33 minutes. Download MP3 16.10MB (Right click->Save As).

Photos:

Show Links:

Bottom Line:

  • Started out as a family shop, then joining in to the Yamaha network.
  • The manager's wife runs the finance.
  • Staff are loyal and have worked for many years.
  • There is a service procedure, from entering the store to leaving the store. This is not an accident.
  • Upgrading of servicescape is related to an emphasis on service.
  • These examples give a signal about the direction of the whole China market.
Category: Podcasts

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