Building a Global Brand: Ricoh’s Brand Identity and Value Drivers

Brand Values: Core Strengths of Ricoh’s Identity

According to Ricoh’s 2018 Sustainability Report, the company’s value drivers include its technological strength, close customer connections, responsible environmental management, and human resource excellence. Together, these factors create significant value and reinforce the Ricoh brand in the eyes of its customers, fostering trust and long-term relationships.

Brand Personality: Shaped by Three Core Principles

Ricoh’s Brand Communication Guidelines define the company’s personality through three essential creative principles: Close, Active, and Unlimited. These principles reflect Ricoh’s 80-year evolution and are fundamental to the company’s approach:

• • Close: Maintaining strong relationships with customers through active engagement.
  • Active: Staying dynamic and responsive to customer needs and market changes.
  • Unlimited: Continuously innovating to expand the possibilities for customers.

These principles are not just aspirational but are deeply embedded in Ricoh’s day-to-day operations. As a result, the brand concept for the Level-C Customer aligns with these principles, ensuring consistency in communication and strengthening Ricoh’s reputation as a trusted partner.

Brand Attributes: What Sets Ricoh Apart

A brand is more than a logo, trademark, or typeface. Ricoh differentiates itself from competitors through its commitment to relevancy and active communication. The company continually seeks to identify and accommodate the evolving needs of its customers.

In today’s fast-paced, globally interconnected economy, Ricoh recognizes that business environments are constantly changing. From managing logistics to cutting costs, and ensuring regulatory compliance, customers face numerous challenges. Often, what customers expect or need is not immediately clear. This requires Ricoh to proactively conduct research to evaluate customer needs and compare them to their expressed desires.

Ricoh’s mission, “To imagine change, to create something different, something better — to deliver smarter ways to work,” reflects the company’s dedication to providing innovative, tailored solutions that empower businesses and promote sustainability.

As noted by Brand Magazine (2017), “True to the company’s promise of continuously empowering business and digital workplaces, Ricoh Philippines’ products and services stood out in the country’s biggest trade shows.”

SIVA Model: A Customer-Centric Framework

Ricoh utilizes the SIVA Model—Solution, Information, Value, and Access—to guide its customer interactions and deliver value at every stage of the relationship.

• • Solution: Ricoh tailors solutions to meet customer needs, leveraging its global resources to continuously meet and exceed expectations. The company enhances supply chains with the latest innovations, advanced manufacturing techniques, and cost-competitive offerings, all while focusing on sustainability and customer-centric innovation.
  • Information: Ricoh ensures that customers receive the information they need, when and where they need it. The Customer First Center collects and shares feedback with design and manufacturing teams to continuously improve products. Ricoh also hosts Customer First Events on its Foundation Day to share feedback and showcase responses to customer needs. Weekly newsletters, magazines, and digital channels also provide ongoing support and updates to customers.
  • Value: What do customers gain from Ricoh’s offerings? Ricoh’s Integrated Report 2018 highlights key value drivers such as technological strength, customer engagement, sustainability, and human resource development. By focusing on these factors, Ricoh ensures that its products and services deliver tangible benefits to its customers.
  • Access: Ricoh makes its products and services easily accessible through a global network of over 200 countries, supported by four main headquarters (Japan, Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific). This global presence, combined with enhanced manufacturing operations, supply chains, and customer support websites, ensures that Ricoh’s customers can quickly access the help and resources they need, whenever and wherever required.

Reference:

Ricoh. (2018). Sustainability Report: Value Drivers, Technological Strength, and Customer Engagement. Retrieved from https://www.ricoh.com

Brand Magazine. (2017). Ricoh Philippines: Empowering Business and Digital Workplaces. Brand Magazine.