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Creating Kando

At Yamaha, our new global corporate slogan is "Creating Kando Together". We really believe this. It is difficult to inspire our customers if we are not inspired ourselves.

But first we have to understand our customers and get closer to them. This is more than just a market research exercise with written and telephone surveys. This means gathering all of the input that is available to us—through dealers, service technicians, teachers and first-hand contact with customers.

We sometimes send teams of engineers and marketing people to visit some of our customers in their own homes. This type of contact inspires manufacturers, marketers and retailers to do things that they otherwise might not do. To observe the fruits of one’s efforts at close range deepens one’s appreciation for what one creates. In other words, Kando starts with us.

The spirit of Kando not only applies to products but also to programs and services.

Recreational music-making related to wellness may be the best example. As the "baby boomer" generation advances toward its post-retirement years, the emphasis on products may somewhat shift toward a greater focus on programs which use our products to make people feel happier, more fulfilled, less lonely and healthier. There is emerging scientific evidence that music participation, especially among seniors may help people live longer and enjoy a better quality of life than any previous generation has experienced.

Our True Competitors

No one manufacturer or single industry organization can accomplish this alone. Expansion of the musical products industry depends on the ability of suppliers, retailers and industry associations to join hands to serve this emerging market better than our true com-petitors. Who are these competitors? Simply put, all products and services that compete for the senior market’s discretionary dollars, none of whom make musical products.

The alternative is to waste our industry’s energy, creativity and time battling for market share in a stagnant or shrinking market.

I would like to invite the entire industry to "Create Kando Together" for the future well-being of our musical products markets and become an ever-growing presence in the lives of American consumers who will set a global example for markets of the future.

Benchmark Set for Service after the Sale

he third annual Yamaha Piano Technology Tour (PTT3) kicked off on August 20 in New York City at New York University’s Piano Studies and Film Music Department, and concluded September 3 after visits to dealers and schools on the West coast.

L to R: Mike Bates, Terry Niimi, Kazuyoshi Hori, David Durben, Craig Fehrenbacher and Yoshitake Suzuki

The goal of the tour was to provide an invaluable mix of quality after sale care and up to the minute technical information to prestigious colleges and universities that have made a major commitment to purchasing Yamaha acoustic and Disklavier® pianos. The tour also laid important groundwork for Yamaha dealers to maintain and develop long term institutional relationships.

Though Yamaha grand and Disklavier pianos were the center of the focus, the well-respected team of technicians and specialists worked on other Yamaha models as time permitted. Invited guests, including local technicians and school personnel, attended the work sessions. Each session offered a rare opportunity to observe Yamaha specialists in an informal demonstration of the most highly advanced piano care techniques, such as current information on finely regulated touch and tone regulation tolerances.

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