Fostering Customer Satisfaction
Customer Satisfaction
Online Support Service
Canon provides worldwide customer-support services through its corporate website.
Customers can access support information, including answers to FAQs, product specifications, user guides, drivers and other downloadable software, to resolve problems on their own at any time. The support information and software are based on content that is standardized for application worldwide, and in addition to offering localized content necessary to each region, it is available in the local language on the websites of our marketing subsidiaries throughout the world.
Customer usage is continuously monitored and survey information analyzed, with feedback going to the departments that created the relevant content. We update the sites with new content and incorporate frequently searched keywords, making it easier for customers to make full use of the contents.
Canon's Online Photo Services - A Rich Resource for Our Customers
CANON iMAGE GATEWAY is an exclusive online photography resource and service that we offer in 19 countries, including Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, so our customers can get the most out of their photography experiences. It provides access to a variety of services, such as Online Photo Albums, which allow users to share photos with their friends on the Web, and the Print Project for creating greeting cards and calendars that include user photos.
We also started the PHOTOPRESSO online photo service in Japan. This service offers users the "publishing experience," from creation through release, printing and distribution of photo books. We plan to offer this service outside Japan as well.
CANON iMAGE GATEWAY site screen (the United Kingdom)
Expanding Our Overseas After-Sales Network
After-sales service is critical to enabling customers to enjoy long-term use of Canon products with confidence. We are therefore expanding our after-sales service network to offer the same level of prompt, reliable support in every market worldwide.
Initiatives in the Chinese Market
Canon (China) Co., Ltd. is constructing a prompt and reliable support system in the fast-growing Chinese market, centered on Quick Response & Repair Centers (QRC), where customers can take products to be serviced quickly.
In addition to the 13 QRCs already in place, in 2010 we added eight Quick Service Stations (QSS). QSSs have been set up to strengthen our contact with customers, including non-repair matters. In addition to fielding questions from customers, a QSS will handle minor repairs and cleaning, loans of replacement equipment and the like. When actual repair or adjustment is required, the customer is referred to a QRC.
Another measure we have taken to improve our service by gaining direct access to customer opinion is to put customer surveys on our web page.
As a result of this kind of structural reinforcement, Canon was rated No. 1 among camera manufacturers in the 2010 Chinese Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted by the China National Institute of Standardization.
We plan to expand this after-sales service network to meet the expectations of continued market expansion.
Initiatives in South and Southeast Asian Markets
From 2009 through 2010, we increased the number of service centers in Southeast Asia and South Asia to improve our customer response ability in those rapidly growing markets. We also improved the level of service by adding such programs as onsite repair services, pick up and delivery services, and "Express Service" for repair and return within a short time after being dropped off.
We have also been expanding our call centers, which handle telephone and e-mail inquiries, as well as expanding the repair and support content offered on our website.
In addition to the above, in four countries—Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia—we conducted large-scale surveys to check up on our customer service. The results showed that Canon service receives better customer satisfaction ratings than that of any other camera or printer brand.
A Camera Service Center in Delhi, India
Initiatives in the Oceania Market
To improve our customer response, we decided to concentrate our Customer Support Centers in New Zealand instead of having them distributed throughout Oceania. We gradually began transferring control to the New Zealand Customer Support Center in 2009, and finalized the transition in November of that year. The opening ceremony for the new facility was held in July 2010.
The Center handles product inquiries as well as orders for supplies and technical support staff dispatch for customers in Australia and New Zealand.
Remote Monitoring Support via the Internet
Canon began offering the Remote Monitoring Support Service for MFDs and laser printers via the Internet worldwide in 2005 to ensure that customers can always use their products under optimal conditions.
This service provides real-time monitoring of the usage conditions of customer MFDs and printers by connecting them to the Canon server via the Internet. Our server detects such conditions as paper jams, errors, usage volume and toner levels, and when necessary, we can provide a prompt response through a phone call or visit.
Conceptual diagram: Remote Monitoring Support Service
Improving Products by Reflecting Customer Opinions
Utilizing Feedback from Market Data Analysis in Product Improvements
Canon is bolstering customer satisfaction by reflecting customer demands in product improvements. To this end, we deploy various methods in a bid to ascertain true market opinions such as gathering opinions from customers through our marketing subsidiaries and other measures.
For example, some product divisions examine user-review data for Canon products from a variety of product review websites and analyze opinions of our various products. The results are provided to related divisions as feedback and used by product divisions in the development of next-generation models and successive lines.
There are also cases in which we have been able to make product improvements and enhance quality by analyzing data from product failure and repair, and finding areas needing improvement.
We will continue to collect market information and customer opinion in a variety of formats to continually improve our products.
Employing the Call Analysis Tracking System
Canon has established call centers at its marketing subsidiaries around the world to actively incorporate customer input into product development. Our call centers strive to respond appropriately to customers' opinions and requests, while providing carefully tailored support.
Information accumulated at our call centers is compiled into the global database of our Call Analysis Tracking System (CATS). This information can be viewed at any time and is effectively utilized by the divisions in charge of development and production, along with our national and regional marketing subsidiaries, to improve the quality of our products and user guides, and to develop new products.
Call Analysis Tracking System
Understanding Customer Needs through Surveys
In addition to interaction with customers through its call centers, Canon conducts surveys on an ongoing basis through research firms to gauge customer satisfaction levels and user needs, and through independent surveys using questionnaires administered by marketing subsidiaries.
These surveys enable us to ascertain customers' requests and satisfaction levels concerning the performance, functionality and operability of Canon products in major world markets, and are linked to improvements in successive products.
Employing an In-House Monitoring System
When conducting highly confidential user tests prior to the launch of a new product, we have employees evaluate the product from the customer's point of view through our in-house monitoring system. Customer-oriented evaluations help us enhance a product's ease of use by assessing the preferred image quality and realistic sensations experienced during operation, thus aiding the development of products that will satisfy the customer.
Such activities benefit both the division running the assessment and the individual monitors, who find ideas to improve their own work and products.
Evaluating products through in-house monitoring
