Kimun Paik
Senior Vice President of Commercial Displays
LG Electronics USA Business Solutions
Part 2
Last week I presented a few examples of LG’s many B2B (business-to-business) successes in the United States. I attributed much of this success to a foundation of trust.
LG B2B: Built on a foundation of trust
Outstanding product technology and personal relationships are not enough to be successful in the B2B sector. In fact, the B2B market requires solid business relationships, satisfaction, and trust.
Trust underpins a company’s reputation and investing in it serves the future. There is a great need for trust in all areas related to a product, such as operation, shipping deadlines, support, and after-sales service. Our partners work in accordance with their own business schedules from product supply to installation, so we must meet deadlines no matter what to continue to earn their trust every step of the way.
And that trust doesn’t end with the installation of the products; after-sales service is just as crucial. A B2B project is generally a long-term process, and customer relationships based on trust last even longer.
Our Chicago Business Innovation Center in Lincolnshire, Illinois, was launched less than six months ago, and over 30 leading U.S. businesses already have visited to experience LG’s B2B products in action. In fact, some businesses inspired by the products and solutions displayed at the center often come back with their end customers to learn more about the products.
The potential of the B2B market for creating business opportunities is the center’s most notable strength. Customers in need of refrigerators focus on refrigerators only, but B2B customers look at a range of solutions in addition to the products they need.
In order to provide a multitude of solutions, the B2B market involves taking various factors into account, which eventually creates the opportunity to expand the business further. For example, the TVs supplied to a medical facility need to have remote controls that affect only the targeted TVs, not any other TVs in the vicinity. LG Electronics, therefore, develops the products based on such needs. In the process of supplying the products to the end customer, the medical facility, LG learned about a company developing technologies that allow adult children to check the health of their elderly parents in medical facilities from a distance. LG is able to incorporate the solutions provided by the partner into its healthcare TV business, further expanding its business scope.
Also, in one corner of the Business Innovation Center, the LG Styler clothing care system is on display. The LG Styler has started to receive attention from newly built hotels and LG’s existing partner hotels as they consider installing the product in luxury suites and guest clubs. This is an example of how LG’s hotel relationships can lead to future business opportunities, including commercial air conditioning as well.
I believe that LG was able to expand its presence from a B2C (business-to-consumer) company to a B2B company by building on LG’s technical capacity and strong brand identity in the United States. We have products, technology, and customers, but equally important, there is the valuable competitiveness which is our well-respected brand.
Since many of our B2B partners already trust LG as a leading B2C brand, we’ve been able to expand our presence in the B2B market building on LG’s strong brand reputation. In addition, LG possesses diverse professional capabilities in the specialized fields of energy, automotive displays, and batteries, to give a few examples. That means we can gradually cater to the needs of B2B customers in diverse areas.
The U.S market is one of the largest in the world and its industries are continuously achieving sustainable growth. At stake for LG are enormous