Event Report: Panasonic’s D2C/CRM Strategy and the Evolution of Customer Experience

Customer Experience in the Unified Commerce Era

Mr. Yamashita explained the current state of Panasonic's efforts to advance customer experience as the head of marketing technology for its domestic home appliance business. In particular, he said that as touchpoints with customers have increased in recent years, the importance of a "unified purchasing experience" that manufacturers and retailers should provide has been growing.

Traditionally, Panasonic has met a wide range of needs by offering a lineup of more than 100 categories and over 10,000 products, but in recent years it has come to believe that strengthening not only "product value" but also "customer experience" is the key to improving customer satisfaction. Mr. Yamashita said that the customer experience Panasonic aims for is to have customers feel, "Panasonic is still the best, and Panasonic again next time," and introduced the various initiatives underway to achieve this.

Improving CX Through a Revamp of Owned Media

This year, Panasonic undertook a major overhaul of its own owned media—specifically its catalog site, member site, and D2C e-commerce site. The goal of this revamp is to provide a smooth purchasing experience by properly addressing the reasons and needs that bring customers to Panasonic's sites and by enriching the content. Mr. Yamashita explained that the aim is to strengthen customer experience and improve customer satisfaction.

However, there is still room for improvement, and Panasonic plans to continue evolving its owned media. It is placing particular focus on building the systems and data-utilization framework needed to deliver the optimal customer experience through touchpoints at every stage, before purchase, during purchase, and after purchase. In this way, Panasonic aims to realize "consistent value proposition" by integrating digital and real-world touchpoints.

Evolving Customer Proposals Through Data Utilization and AI

At the core of Panasonic's digital strategy is customer proposals powered by data utilization and AI. Mr. Yamashita emphasized that a key challenge is how to efficiently turn the data the company has long collected in various formats into master data and use it to support value proposition.

Inside the company, there is a wide range of information, including actual demand data, market data, behavioral data from owned media, and repair data. By continuously collecting these data mechanically in the latest state and managing them in an integrated way, it becomes possible to make accurate product proposals and customer analyses. Through this effort, Panasonic is realizing advanced customer proposals powered by AI and conducting recommendations for related products and analysis of purchasing trends.

In addition, by leveraging AI, it becomes possible to infer items of interest based on pages viewed and to automatically execute measures based on purchase history, enabling a more personalized customer experience. This allows Panasonic to quickly deliver high-quality proposals tailored to each individual customer and improve customer satisfaction.

Strengthening the Data Foundation Through Collaboration with Lazuli

One of the important partners supporting Panasonic's data-driven approach is Lazuli Inc. Lazuli provides the product data platform used by Panasonic, making it possible to centrally manage a wide range of internal and external data and to integrate product data that is siloed by department and scattered across the web.

Mr. Yamashita cited as the reason for adopting Lazuli's product data platform (PDP) that it enables cross-departmental data to be turned into a common asset and helps build a robust foundation for deepening customer understanding. Lazuli's mission is to organize data and make it easy for anyone to access, and this helps Panasonic establish a framework for deploying digital marketing efficiently and effectively.

On the platform provided by Lazuli, it is possible to organize product information and generate, process, and connect it into forms that can be used for a wide range of purposes such as e-commerce, CRM, and retail media. This enables Panasonic to deepen customer understanding and aim to realize value proposition based on accurate data.

Connecting with Customers Through "Service After the Sale"

Mr. Yamashita said that at the root of Panasonic's approach to customer experience lies the teaching of the company's founder, Konosuke Matsushita: "Service after the sale is more important than flattery before the sale." Panasonic sees digital technology as merely a means, and its ultimate goal is to keep connecting with customers. By continuing to stay connected, it can build a system that stays close to customer needs and provides optimal support.

Specifically, Panasonic is promoting initiatives to achieve more advanced customer support by combining the level of customer understanding at its call center with the amount of information available through digital touchpoints. Mr. Yamashita explained that this enables the company to quickly grasp customer pain points and make appropriate proposals, thereby providing customers with a sense of reassurance and trust.

Summary: Panasonic's Customer Experience in the Digital Era

Panasonic's D2C/CRM strategy focuses on evolving customer experience and increasing customer satisfaction through the use of data and AI. As digitalization advances, Panasonic is strengthening collaboration with Lazuli in order to increase touchpoints with customers while realizing a consistent value proposition. Going forward, the evolution of the digital foundation for continuing to connect with customers over the long term will further enhance Panasonic's competitiveness.