Kimura Kk

Kimura KK  

Can This Customer Be Saved?

Cause of Loss

1. Pricing

• Kimura KK stated, multiple times that Paramex’s pricing was not in line with their budget.
• Unhappy with the 1st quote for Spartacus, Mr. Hashimoto, the Finance Director, “eminence grise” of Mr. Kimura’s father asked for a new quote as soon as he met with Dr. Komoda.  
• Not happy with the new quote, repeated his conviction that “technology is not everything; other elements needed to be taken into account
• Pointed out that one of John’s competitors, Singulus was at least 20% cheaper.
• Made it clear that price was “one of many other important elements to be considered.”
• Suggested the company could get along with a “Toyota Corolla” rather than a “Rolls-Royce” of the turnkey DVD production system.

1. Reliability

• Mr. Hashimoto was upset when John did not call him with a new quote after getting the specifications provided by Mr. Komoda, the Chief of Production
• Dr. Komoda stressed the importance of the machines being delivered on time because of the major deal with Disney that was due start soon; the machines were still delivered late.
• The part not working in the machine and Paramex’s inability to get anyone out there till days later when Kimura KK had a major deadline to meet.
• Lack of communication – not being able to get anyone on the weekend to address the urgent technical problem  

1. Value Creation

• John was able to create a perceived value for Kimura KK, only because Spartacus was a superior product and Pramtex had a good reputation
• Failed to demonstrate sufficient Relationship Enhancers such as Financial, Organizational, and Personnel Intelligence.
• Made no attempt to try to tailor the product to meet the Kimura’s productivity needs
• Overconfidence when questioned by his supervisor, Jim Craig, regarding the competitor’s offers.  “Dr. Nomura confirms that we have the best product, but it was not the best product of Kimura KK
• Insufficient concern and professionalism for this account.  (Kimura KK technical problem on a Saturday) To tell a client of this caliber that there’s nothing you can do is unacceptable.  Furthermore, the client had to call him again on Monday to get a status up date of the situation.
• John’s response to Dr. Komoda to send a part should have been complied with immediately especially since they had to endure 4 days of not being able to use one of their new equipment

1. Relationship

• Relied too heavily on his Advocate, Dr. Nomura
• Ignored objections and warnings from other key decision makers that
• Put more focused on the sale instead of focusing on the Customer Lifetime Value
• Failed to fully understand/respect the client’s decision-making process.
• Demonstrated disregard and disrespect to Import Decision Makers
• The unprofessional way the accountants dealt with Kimura KK
• Dr. Max Scorse refusal to go to Taiwan because he had other “important” things to do

Can This Account Be Saved?

1. Because of their confidence in Dr. Nomura’s expertise, Kimura KK made their initial investment mostly on an emotional criterion.  However, the rest of the buying center was more concerned with the economic implication of the decision such as:

• Price
• Delivery
• Productivity (cost vs. revenue)
• Reliability
• Durability and
• Technical assistance

1. In order to save Kimura KK, Pramtex will have to assure them that they are willing and capable of meeting their economic criteria, and want to provide solutions to there needs, I suggest the follow:

• Role out the Red Carpet: Pramtex’s President – Dr. Shariff, Jim Craig, John’s Direct Supervisor, and Dr. Scorse should fly to Japan and personally apologize for the gross mishandling of this account
• Assign strategic account responsibility to top management:  Jim Craig will have to take over as the lead on this account until trust as been gain and a enterprise relationship has been established
• Implement a Strategic Account Management Program that includes a Customer Specialization Sales Force structure, because delivering a great product is not enough.  (Dalrymple’s p.161)
• Create a 2 -3 year strategic business plan focused on growth and profitability
• In addition to offering a 10% discount on their next purchase, include 3 or 6 months of free maintenance and technical assistance

Major Players