Mercedes 2013 Annual Report Download - page 150

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Best Customer Experience. Part of the “Mercedes-Benz 2020”
growth strategy involves refocusing our global sales orga-
nization in line with changing customer demands. Our goal here
is to make Mercedes-Benz even more attractive to new con-
temporary-minded target groups, while at the same time main-
taining the brand loyalty of established customers. To this
end, the company presented in 2013 the core measures to be
taken in sales and marketing within the framework of the
Mercedes-Benz 2020 growth strategy. Titled “Mercedes-Benz
2020 – Best Customer Experience,” these measures combine
a broad range of new approaches to sales, marketing, and after-
sales activities that will be carried out with one overriding
goal in mind – to offer our customers a consistent premium
experience whenever they encounter the brand. For example,
Mercedes-Benz will increasingly utilize inner-city sales formats
in the future in order to directly approach customers and
the interested public in their environment and in a relaxed atmo-
sphere. Some 20 inner-city marketing locations in cities such
as Berlin, Paris, Milan, New York, Beijing and Tokyo are already
attracting visitors and offering them an exciting and compre-
hensive brand experience. The number of such sites around the
world is to more than double by 2020. We also systematically
utilize digital media for all customer contact activities. Contact
The CLA-Class was also the overall winner in the “Auto Bild
Design Award” competition, in which it was voted Germany’s
most beautiful car. Environmental compatibility was the focus
of a study conducted by the renowned “ÖkoTrend” institute.
The study resulted in the Mercedes-Benz ML 250 BlueTEC
4MATIC1 and the Mercedes-Benz B 200 Natural Gas Drive2 being
named the most environmentally friendly vehicles in their
respective categories. Mercedes-Benz also distinguished itself
in terms of purely business criteria in 2013. For example,
“Firmenauto” magazine chose the E-Class 300 BlueTEC HYBRID3
station wagon, the B-Class and the smart fortwo electric
drive4 as “Company Cars of the Year 2013.” And in the detailed
residual value forecast conducted by “FOCUS online,” the
CLA, the CLS Shooting Brake, the ML 250 BlueTEC 4MATIC1
and the B 180 CDI5 posted the highest value-retention per-
centages and finished at the top of their respective segments.
The most recent evidence of Mercedes-Benz’s positive devel-
opment in China can be found in the J.D. Power Asia Pacific
“Initial Quality Study 2013,” which gave the brand with the star
the highest initial quality rating among 65 international and
domestic automakers in China. In addition, the new S-Class was
named “Car of the Year” in China by the editors in chief of
the country’s most important automotive journals.
New efficient engines, new assistance systems and a new design idiom: Mercedes-Benz has thoroughly modernized the E-Class.