President Vithit Leenutaphong said that the new strategy would allow the company to maintain its customer base amid more intense competition in the luxury car market. “Based on our target market identification, our customers are elites in the Thai society. For them, buying a Volkswagen luxury conversion van is not their first vehicle, but it can be the fourth or sixth car in their home,” he said.
Vithit, 61, is a son of Attaphorn, founder of the Yontrakit Group, which in 1963 began selling BMWs in Thailand and established the luxury vehicle brand in the country. Attaphorn passed away in 2001.
Following the 1997 Tom Yum Kung crisis, BMW set up its own company and factory in Thailand in 1998.
“During the 1997 financial crisis, we [Yontrakit Group] were not in financial trouble,” Vithit said. “We were quite conservative in running the business and were not burdened with long-term debt, but had self-generated cash. What we were handling at that time was inventory financing, which is the normal practice for a car-importing business.”
Vithit said that the company started importing Volkswagen vehicles into the Thailand in 1985.
“In order to build long-term relationship with clients, we will start with sincerity. This will reflect the company’s business practice in selecting only good things and quality products for customers,” he said.
He said that the company sold between 500 and 600 cars every year and based on a five to six-year cycle, about 3,000 cars belonged to active customers. He said that individual customers were concerned about product quality and functionality, safety, and after-sales services as priorities.
“We will develop the new relationship management team [RM team] to totally replace salespeople. No more salespeople. The new RM team will not focus on a sales-push strategy, but develop long-term relationships with both regular and new customers,” he said.
He said the company would introduce a one-price policy so members of its RM team would treat individual customers equally because of their worth to the company.
“We’re also considering the launch of a 24-hour emergency service through the setting up of an emergency service team as well as its logistics network,” he said. “The move is to strengthen the after-sales service quality to be provided to our customers.”
Vithit said that he was contacted by his regular customers every day so they could inform him of their problems or needs. He said to build a long-term relationship with them, he wanted his staff to be like him – which was service-minded and someone who treated customers as equals. A good system and back-office support are needed to enhance the new business model, including car replacements for customers whose vehicles have to be repaired.
Vithit said that he was an entrepreneur who had started at the bottom. On top of that, he had a chance to work outside the automotive industry, including with the Airports of Thailand and Advanced Info Service.
He said he was involved in many structural changes in those companies, including changes in people cultures and business model transformations. By working outside the automotive industry, he could shape and broaden his business ideas.
“I started working for my father’s auto company when I was 15. At that time, I helped my father inspect the accounts. After that I was involved in many works within the company, including being a salesman at the office and a floor worker at the factory.”