The Diagnosis And Optimization Research Of ZF Tech-show From The Perspective Of Customer Value

The business models that automobile parts suppliers are being reshaped as the emergence of new competitions such as the stagnation of market growth,the advancement of new technology,the cross-border competition,the substitution of domestic products and the like.Inevitably,the value and collaborative competition will replace the traditional technological and quality competition.In order to make new breakthroughs in China,ZF will innovate its strategies in China including localization,market penetration,and value,aiming to offer customers value-oriented service.As a component of marketing mix,tech show is an important way of displaying the technical strength and brand image of ZF,and establishing technical collaborative relationships with its key customers.Tech show plays a positive role in establishing ZF's leading position.With the competition increasing,however,the economic benefits and the effects on the customers of the tech show are decreasing.Therefore,it is urgent to optimize the existing tech show to adapt to ZF's new strategies in China.Based on data collection and field research,this paper systematically analyzes the overall operation and the value service perceived by Chinese customers,and puts forward corresponding suggestions for improvement.The main conclusions are as follows.Firstly,after reviewing and summarizing the related researches on exhibition marketing,customer value theory and professional visitors,customer value and service quality theory has been widely adopted in exhibition industry to sharpen the operators' competitive edge.Few researches,however,were conducted from the perspective of the exhibitors.And the few researches merely focused on how to make participation decision and enhance the exhibition efficiency.There is no research about small professional exhibitions organized by enterprises.Accordingly,it is of both practical and theoretical significance to optimize the current system of tech show from the perspective of customer value.Secondly,through in-depth interviews,this paper concludes that the lack of overall strategic planning,the lack of understanding of customer value,the ignorance of end users and the internal management defects lead to the decreasing economic benefits and effects on the customers,of which the lack of understanding of customer value is the key.Then,via questionnaires and semi-structured interviews,this paper establishes the expectation---performance model of the service quality of the tech show based on IPA model.It also points out that six indicators need improving,namely,the correlation degree of technical communication,the interaction of technical seminars,the quality of exhibits,the correlation degree with relevant work,the professional level of engineers and the interactive and communicative degree of engineers.Once being improved,customers will be more satisfied.Thirdly,based on what have been analyzed above,this paper proposes the optimization scheme of tech show: determining the overall strategy,following the customer-value-oriented process,innovating exhibition products,advocating “Zero Vision” test drive activity and strengthening after-show management and supporting measures.Fourthly,the paper creatively puts forward that tech show should target at car enthusiast and the whole car factory should jointly hold the test drive activities and create value for customers fundamentally.Only in this way can a sustainable exhibition strategy be established.Lastly,this study evaluated the results of the optimized strategy concerning the value perceived by customers,the economic benefits and the effects on end users and proved that the optimization scheme is of great value.