A Rendez-Vous with Toyota!
As I was strolling along the Champs-Elysées, I came across a customer experience that is worth talking about. Le Rendez-Vous, Toyota has taken automobile showroom where virtually no cars are sold and created a true, “hip” customer experience. They have created an opportunity to showcase Toyota’s vision of the future.
According to Toyota’s website, Le Rendez-Vous Toyota offers visitors a leading edge experience of the Toyota brand. The core values of Toyota – Quality, Design and Innovation – have been interpreted by Ora-Ïto, a young rising star of the international design scene, in a seductive way. We couldn’t agree more!
Every detail in Le Rendez-Vous Toyota’s design has been carefully considered so that the space translates the desire for total harmony and expresses a true coherence with the brand design philosophy, Vibrant Clarity. Once inside, five unique experience zones await the over one million people who visit Rendez-vous each year. The company hopes that the 10 minutes that an average visitor spends in the store is enough to develop a lasting relationship with the brand. “It's just one of the many ways the brand needs to "engage" with its customers.” To get a flavour of what you’ll find in Le Rendez-Vous take the virtual tour.
This is a company who is truly living up to kaizan or continuous improvement. According to Jon Williams, European marketing director at Toyota, explains: "It's all about kaizan - continuous improvement. It's a central part of what we call the 'Toyota way': a set of values that are the guiding philosophy of how we work. It's about having a mindset to always do better, whether in manufacturing components or being a good corporate citizen."Williams recognizes that he cannot only create a positive customer experience, but must also create an employee branding exercise. When speaking to employees, he talks about philosophies and uses with words such as 'inspire', 'dream', 'respect' and 'challenge'. He tries to sum it up for an outsider: "When these values are lived, they create a way of thinking that really helps feed Toyota and the brand."
Toyota is well on its way to cementing its vision of the future in the eyes of its customers and employees. We think more companies should think of ways to showcase and market their customer experience in new and innovative ways. What could your company be doing?