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View all search resultsIrvino Edwardly: Building good relationships essential in luxury business
(Courtesy of Irvino Edwardlyâs personal collection)Business executive Irvino Edwardly has found that building and maintaining good relationships with customers is of paramount importance in the trust-based, luxury automotive business
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(Courtesy of Irvino Edwardlyâs personal collection) (Courtesy of Irvino Edwardlyâs personal collection)
(Courtesy of Irvino Edwardly's personal collection)
Business executive Irvino Edwardly has found that building and maintaining good relationships with customers is of paramount importance in the trust-based, luxury automotive business.
The CEO of Maserati Indonesia said it was essential for a company engaged in luxury business, including vehicles, to build and maintain good relationships with customers by committing to good customer service.
Customer service is deeply embedded in the company's corporate culture, which includes dealing with complaints professionally and active participation in customers' hobby-related activities.
The 36-year-old executive said that many people in the automotive industry were apt to feel scared about receiving complaints from customers and 'many even tend to try to avoid in the hope that the complaints would disappear'.
'However, the complaints will remain and the complainants will continue to seek various ways to get a proper response,' he said.
Irvino knows well that there is a close correlation between how professionally a complaint is responded to and a business' sale growth performance.
'I think, to some extent, a company is in favor of customers' complaints. A customer who expresses a complaint is someone who still loves and cares about the product. From the viewpoint of a company, the complaint means there is still an opportunity to fix or improve it,' he said, adding that 'the absence of complaints from customers means they no longer care about the product ['¦] they might quietly sell and replace it with an alternative'.
'So, I think a complaint should be handled professionally instead of being taken personally,' he said.
'We maintain professionalism, honesty and integrity because our business is a business of trust,' he added.
A corporate culture is instilled in each of the company's employees in, for example, taking tangible action and, as a leader, having the authority to delegate tasks to his/her subordinate. 'If someone makes a mistake, a correction or improvement should be implemented immediately and not be left until tomorrow. This is also part of how to maintain a good relationship,' he said.
To retain trust from his company's customers, Irvino often asks his sales team to be cautious about making commitments. 'We trust our customers and they trust us. So if we are not sure [about something], we should not make a commitment because customers always remember what we say,' he said.
Personal base
With nine years of experience working with Harley-Davidson, another luxury automotive brand, Irvino understands the secret of selling high-end products to a targeted market. 'It is all about networking,' he said of the business strategy that he adopts when seeking new buyers.
'If we talk about high-class society, it's all about who knows who. So, references are primary,' he added.
He said that his sales team was supposed to know more about high-class communities, especially their activities, by attending gatherings that they hold on a regular basis. 'The important thing is that they establish a relationship so that they feel comfortable and content and from that, we hope they become a reference.'
When someone from the upper echelon of society loves something, others in their social circles, such friends and relatives, will also love it and that's why 'having a close relationship with them or their personal base is essential', he said.
'We approach the community by inviting them to have breakfast together and we also support their touring activities, such as traveling around Jakarta or outside the capital.'
'Sometimes, owners of luxury cars don't know where to take their cars. So we try to gather people with the same passion and hobbies,' he said.
According to him, of the 100 or so Maserati owners in Jakarta, 30 are members of the Maserati community, with around 15 active in touring activities.
'Fifteen is quite a large number. The convoy involving 15 [luxury] cars is incredible. What we want is to give them a reason to drive their cars.'
Irvino, who earned a bachelor's degree in international business and finance at the University of Georgia, US, in 1999, entered his first managerial post at Lord & Taylor, a high-end fashion retailer in Atlanta, Georgia, as the area sales manager from 1999 to 2003.
In early 2004, he joined PT Mabua Harley-Davidson as department manager and was promoted to country general manager a year later. His success in boosting the sales of Harley-Davidson motorbikes led to his being entrusted with handling the sale of Maseratis via PT Tiara Cahaya Otomotif, an official importer and authorized dealer of Maserati automobiles in Indonesia.
'This kind of job really fits my passion. I have had a passion for cars since I was a child,' he said of his current job. 'I love everything to do with automotives, such as go carts, MotoGP, motor racing, F1 and so on. If ever I saw a car with an 'unusual' design, I photographed it. I love looking at new models that I have not seen before,' he said.
Challenges
Irvino acknowledged that selling Maserati cars was a challenge because they were not yet as popular as Ferraris. 'So, we have to improve ourselves so that we are not left behind. That is the challenge, but it is also an opportunity,' he said.
'Moreover, we developed the company from zero. Initially, we were only supported by three newly recruited sales staff and two marketing staff.'
'Later, our sales service was combined with Ferrari but because of our progress, we were given our own after-sales service division, even though for servicing, we use the same garage. Now, we have a total of 18 staff. We try to be efficient but we continue to develop,' he said.
Running a luxury business keeps Irvino and his sales and marketing teams highly mobile, traveling from one place to another to meet different clients. 'Usually, I brief them when necessary in the afternoon after returning to the office from meeting customers. But with our BB [BlackBerry] group, What's Up group and emails, communication works well,' he said, adding that the meetings involved staff from all departments and were held once-a-week.
'I always ask my staff to keep their cell phones on around the clock and not to feel disturbed if I call them at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. My phone is also always active. They can contact me at these times - as long as it's about work and not about ['¦] their sadness at having been left by a girl or boyfriend,' he said, laughing.
He acknowledged that the transparency and open communication that he applied benefited him in running the company, given that he and his staff didn't always meet on a daily basis.
Irvino was upbeat about the rising number of affluent people in Indonesia, pointing toward increased purchasing power, which was good for the luxury automotive business. 'Some wealthy people don't know what to use their money for, while their personal wealth continues to rise. Therefore, our job also includes educating them about lifestyle choices,' he said.
Engaged in a premium business requires Irvino to spend much of his time developing and maintaining customer relations, including on Sundays. 'Every Sunday morning, I hang out with customers and their respective luxury cars as part of establishing good relationships. After that, I enjoy some leisure time with my family,' he said.
'The hangout time with customers starts at 7 a.m. and finishes at 10 a.m. and when I get home, my children have just finished bathing and my wife is getting ready to go out. So, the time I spend on Sundays with my customers does not disrupt my family life,' he said.
Irvino Edwardly
Place/date of birth: Jakarta, Oct.16, 1977.
Experience
CEO of Maserati Indonesia, PT Tiara Cahaya Otomotif, since February 2012 to present. Previously country general manager of PT Mabua Harley-Davidson (September 2005'2012); department manager of PT Mabua Harley-Davidson (2004'August 2005); area sales manager of Lord & Taylor, Atlanta, Georgia (1999'2003).
Education
Bachelor's degree in International Business and Finance from the University of Georgia, US, in 1999.
