Hyundai Construction Equipment, celebrating a major milestone in China
Hyundai Construction Equipment, celebrating a major milestone in China, launches nationwide campaigns to win orders and carries out online communications strategy
to continue its accelerated growth and innovative customer experience
- Pre-order events and social media activities that prioritize customer satisfaction and participation are the driving force for competitiveness in the Chinese market
- HCE recorded high performance in Q1 2021 with the launch of a new strategic model, expansion of its sales network, and proactive communication
- Won customers' hearts and increased trust with the launch ceremony for Long Service Journey in a large-scale pre-order event
- Broadcast the on-site pre-order event on TikTok and WeChat where HCE introduced new models, shared customer success stories, and held content production events to attract a favorable response and participation.
New special and large equipment models, active pre-order events and online communication strategy were the main drivers of rapid growth in China
Hyundai Construction Equipment (HCE) announced that it recorded sales of KRW 791.6 billion in sales for construction equipment, accounting for approximately 82% of total sales, at the Q1 2021 Earnings Conference Call held in April 2021. It added that it was a 64% increase from the same period in the previous year. According to the announcement, what led to this enormous growth was steady expansion in the Chinese market.
In fact, HCE sold more than twice as many excavators in the Chinese market in Q1 2021 compared to the same period last year. This speedy growth in just a year was possible not only because of the launch of locally preferred special and large-scale equipment and expansion of the dealer network, but also the big pre-order events that proved the importance of the Chinese market and active online activities. The series of large-scale on-site pre-order events and vibrant social media activities helped HCE get its customers to become more familiar with the brand.
Establishing the company as "reliable Hyundai" by holding a series of large-scale, integrated pre-order events
Between December last year and May this year, HCE held four large-scale, interlocking pre-order events designed to express gratitude to Chinese customers and promote the new values of Hyundai. At these events, HCE won orders for a total of 6,335 pieces of construction equipment. Last year, HCE sold 7,800 units of construction equipment in China. This amounts to about 81% of its annual sales volume, pre-ordered in four events held in just half a year.
A total of about 12,000 customers joined the four events which were broadcast live online throughout China. Outside the building, HCE exhibited excavator equipment and introduced them to customers in detail. It also held events that encouraged customer participation, such as test runs and games. At the indoor event, HCE explained the key features of its major products and sales policies. Entertainment, including singing and dance performances, brightened up the event, and lucky draws for customers who paid a deposit attracted enthusiastic responses from the participants.
According to the WeChat channel for Construction Machinery Today, a magazine for machine industry news in China, HCE released three new excavators (HX75/D, R130VS PRO, and R275LVS PRO) at a pre-order event titled “25 Years of Growth in the Chinese Market” held in December of last year and recorded strong sales in just minutes. The magazine added that HCE expressed its gratitude to Chinese customers as well as its determination to innovate in a speech given by executives.
In January of this year, HCE held another pre-order meeting, entitled "A Gift from New Hyundai,” and announced six new excavators (R150WVS PRO, R205VS, R215VS PRO, R245VS, R375LVS, and R550LVS). It received orders for about 1,194 units worth KRW 140 billion (CNY 800 million). At the event, the company expressed its ambition of becoming “a new, more powerful Hyundai” by developing high-performance excavators dedicated to local Chinese customers and improving its sales capacity and quality of service based on the concept of “placing quality and customer first” for continued growth in the market.
In March of this year, HCE held a pre-order event named “The New Hyundai, taking on future challenges” in celebration of the production of 200,000 units in the Chinese market. That day, it released four new excavators (R205VS, R245VS, R375LVS, and R550LVS), four special pieces of equipment (a 18m pile hammer, an amphibious excavator, a long arm, and a nipper), and introduced five large pieces of equipment. This resulted in reservations for over 2,200 equipment.
In the coming years, HCE looks forward to becoming a more friendly brand by organizing events for Chinese HCE customers exclusively. As a part of these activities, HCE will provide premium meetings for large equipment, offering a special experience to VIPs, while holding customer conferences and product draws to increase popularity.
Strengthening the connection with Douyin and WeChat users
HCE’s Douyin (a Chinese version of TikTok) and WeChat accounts are enjoying great popularity among customers with carefully arranged posts on pre-order events, HCE products and the voice of customers. The number of views for HCE’s Douyin content rose significantly from 100 in December 2020 to 4,500 views in May 2021, resulting in a 4,400% increase. The number of WeChat followers in the same period increased by 40% from 15,200 to 21,700.
On Douyin, you can experience the order events from 30-second to three-minute videos, watch customer testimonials after they try out HCE excavators, and explore how heavy machinery is used at various sites, including mines, stone mountains and wetlands. WeChat posts, mostly consisting of long-length text and images, provide deep insight into HCE business in China from a wide variety of contents, such as customer service and participation in large-scale construction machinery exhibitions.
Douyin and WeChat platforms hosted a content contest under the themes “exceeding 200,000 units,” and “the outstanding new Hyundai brand and equipment,” designed to promote the brand and equipment that has deeply permeated Chinese people’s daily lives.
A total of 109 videos were submitted to Douyin’s short video contest called “The heartfelt affection of Hyundai that has produced over 200,000 units.” Submissions recorded 1.35 million views and attracted 40,000 new followers. Below are the winners of “The Most Popular Video” award based on the number of followers.
