Brother remains on the top three in Thailand's printer market, setting a fiscal 2022 growth target of 13% for the printer business group and 16% for the non-print and aiming to develop proactive strategies to build business growth in response to the post-pandemic recovery.
Mr. Teerawut Supapunpinyo, Managing Director of Brother Commercial (Thailand) Limited revealed that factors of production remain a top priority for Brother this year. There is no denying that the Covid-19 situation in the past two years brought about the social distancing measures in the workplace, resulting in the limitation on the number of workers in the factory which inevitably caused a drop in production. In addition, a shortage of materials affected product distribution that fulfilled market demand which has also shown sign of growth.
"According to the report of GFK, Brother continued to be one of the top three printer brands with the largest market share in the year 2021 and was able to generate growth in the three printer categories, making Brother a market leader amid the challenging conditions. The shares of the three printer categories consist of mono laser printer standing at 37.1%, mono laser multifunction gaining 64.3%, and color laser multifunction occupying 47.9%. Also, the color laser had the second largest of share at 19.5%. Due to the factor of materials, Brother's ink tank printer continued to grow nearly at the same pace as the previous year, taking the third place of the share at 20%" said Mr.Teerawut Supapunpinyo.
Three years from now, Brother will be pursuing a strategy of CSB 2024 (Challenge Strategy Brother 2024), which will be implemented from the year 2022 to 2024 with three key tactics including 1. Re-energizing Business?an analysis of organizational success factors to develop strategies for growth from now to future 2. Sustainability?growing business with sustainability by recognizing local communities and the environment and with transparency and good governance, and 3. Driving DX, or Driving Digital Transformation, by introducing technology and digital strategies to lay the foundations and set the target of conducting business as well as work processes and organizational culture to be ready for growth amid the rapid change of current technology. These strategies will be used for Brother business in 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
"The challenges of conducting business in the year 2022 are uncertainty of various factors related to business, for example, mutations of the coronavirus, wars, and the rising of oil prices, all having both direct and indirect effects on businesses on global markets. Moreover, the anticipation of true market demand is another challenge for business sector, making it necessary for Brother to continually evaluate the overall situation to ensure that we can deliver the demanded products at the right time, which will fulfill the customers' needs and build growth for business as targeted accordingly" said Mr. Teerawut Supapunpinyo.
Regarding business strategy, Brother Commercial (Thailand) Limited has introduced CSB 2024 as the master plan for the development of proactive marketing strategy. Mr. Na-ake Songsiri, Deputy General Manager of Sales and Marketing, Brother Commercial (Thailand) Limited revealed the overall strategy that, in addition to building growth for printers, the company developed a plan for generating growth in the non-print as well as designing new business models by using the existing products as a solution to respond to the market needs. Offline awareness nationwide will also be raised through product distribution to allow customers to realize the potential of products when the Covid-19 situation is on the decline. Besides, the company will also continue to increase awareness of the benefits of using Brother's genuine consumable products in collaboration with authorized sales channels which customers can check at www.brother.co.th. The growth of e-commerce channels also plays a significant role in the current sale efficiency. The company therefore continues to develop the potential of such channels among our sales channels nationwide while setting the target of launching new products to the market throughout the year 2022.
"Over the past two years, Brother has brilliantly succeeded in fostering brand awareness via social media in all platforms, creating the giant leap growth in the number of followers and fan page compared to other similar brands. This year we will step further with the strategy of Brand Preference to satisfy our customers in all dimensions and deliver an excellent customer experience to users in all product categories to enhance confidence among new customers which will be focused mainly on social media platforms as usual. In addition, we will accelerate the customer purchase decision process with continual sales promotion by organizing sales promotion activities for all Brother products for customers to enjoy new experience" said Mr. Na-ake Songsiri.
As for the plan for building growth in each product category, Mr. Na-ake Songsiri added that "corporate customers will be the main focus for laser printers and scanners while younger generation for inkjet printers, which received positive feedback on social media particularly Twitter, to respond to the new model of hybrid workplace. Besides, the business group enjoying high growth like the GTX digital garment printer will continue to aim at new generation of entrepreneurs who seek to start or further growth of their business. Regarding P-touch sticker printer, it will focus on offering new solutions for businesses while the focus of sewing machine will be on embroidery machine to manage the back-to-school market and the DIY trend, as well as to cope with the reopening of entertainment business and the improvement of sound system of conference halls with BMB Karaoke System".
To achieve the business goals, top quality after sales service is necessary to effectively accommodate increased demands for services. Ms.Rassiyakorn Tanthavanich, Deputy General Manager of Customer Service, Brother (Thailand) Limited disclosed that Brother currently offers as many as 7 communication channels with customers. Last year Brother showed its potential for customer service through winning awards both nationally and regionally. The company has also made a step further by launching 'Nong Care', a customer service chatbot delivering 24x7 services which has received widespread praise for its performance from our customers. What's more, Brother developed 'Mr. Carer', the second chatbot launched in January 2022 to support efficiency of authorized repair service centers which can deal with questions and answers of the repairing techniques, thus providing quick and instant service access to our customers. The service will initially be delivered in the printer business group before expanding its range to non-print later this year. Both chatbots won the 1st prize in Brother AP Global Charter 2021 organized under the theme of Transform Award, which is an excellent example of utilizing technology to develop customer satisfaction and efficient services for Brother in Asia-Pacific countries.
"Expanding service providing network, adding up-to-date services for instant access and faster services that meet diverse needs of customers and building bond between the brand and customers are the goals of customer service of Brother this year" said Ms.Rassiyakorn Tanthavanich. "Moreover, we have furthered the development of 'Chatbot Nong Care' from April 2022 who will be able to communicate both in English and Thai and added more communication channel through Line OA. Interested customers can enjoy this service by adding Line Official Brother Thailand as a friend on the Line app. We also prioritize customer engagement by creating campaigns focusing on elevating the level of service satisfaction and responding to the real needs of customers. Currently, Brother uses Net Promoter Score (NPS), a customer loyalty metrics, to measure customer satisfaction every time and every channel of services. The score is a number from 0-10 ranked in ascending order. It was found that the score results range from 80 to 90 in all channels, demonstrating that Thai customers have a high level of trust and loyalty to the brand, which we constantly use feedback to improve our services. Besides, in terms of additional services including six services in Brother Care Pack and Brother Fast Care service, which is divided into Fast Care Express and Fast Repair Service, as well as inkjet repair support by more than 20 centers provide fast repair service within three hours. In future, this service model will be expanded to other Brother product groups. Moreover, we are also committed to environmental responsibility and conservation through Brother Earth Care, a program which facilitates handling and disposal of printing materials appropriately. The additional expansion of Brother service standards which are already applied all service centers nationwide is the extension of SQI-certified to three to five authorized service centers. Finally, we have a plan to develop service centers into customer experience centers where customers can undertake a product trial before deciding to purchase and add technology into services to ensure customer satisfaction of all segments."
Mr. Pornpuck Upaisilsataporn, General Manager Finance and Administration, Brother Commercial (Thailand) Limited said about the overall social and environmental responsibility activities that despite the Covid-19 situation, Brother never ceases to organize social activities. We proceeded with Brother Beat Cancer Run which helped 590 leukemia patients in need. Furthermore, to help the Covid-19 patients, Brother collaborated with the government sector, private sector and non-government sector in providing printers at field hospitals and vaccination centers, as well as supplied 'Khlai Kangwon Boxes' (Worry-easing boxes), a medicine box containing medicine, to patients during home isolation or in the period of waiting for beds in hospitals. We also continued with sustainability promotion programs such as Mangrove Forest Conservation and Restoration Project and 'EcoBricks' Project in which used undegradable plastic bottles are stuffed with waste plastic and turned into building blocks. The EcoBricks Project is a main activity that gains us the Gold Award from Green Office. All activities demonstrated the commitment to social and local community responsibility in which Brother participated to promote the quality of life for sustainable happiness in society.
"Brother works toward Sustainable Development Goals which covers a period between 2022 and 2024, focusing on three areas including maximizing resource circulation, contributing toward carbon-free society and positive net gain for biodiversity under the policy of Environmental Vision 2050" said Mr. Pornpuck. "From now on, the implementation of projects will be result-oriented. For instance, for a reforestation project, trees survival rate will be evaluated and monitored instead of focusing solely on the number of newly planted trees because it is a new starting point of an ecosystem."
This year Brother is still moving forward with sustainability projects by developing the potential relevant to stakeholders in all aspects. "As for our customers, we have developed Customer Data Platform to analyze information for offering new solutions to our customers and elevating the potential of servicing of our service centers. For employees, we have remodeled welfare according to their needs and focused on human development amid the changing conditions. Regarding business partners, we always act as a consultant who helps unlock the potential for increasing sales and strengthening brand image and brand preference for the company. For shareholders, we are driving the organization toward sustainable growth to make a good value of investment and also continuing with social responsibility activities in the long run" added Mr. Pornpuck Upaisilsataporn.
"Over the years Brother has consistently given profits back into society and the environment, which we have heard an echo of success in each project, confirming that strengthening business in the long run must be practiced along with social and environmental sustainability. Our good intention that we conveyed can be perceived by stakeholders which encourages us to continue with our social responsibility projects" concluded Mr. Pornpuck Upaisilsataporn.