By Debbie Nicholson, Think-to-INK!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-nicholson-24a53627/
This week, a client called me to discuss a troubling conversation with one of his largest customers, whom he prints for weekly. The customer told him that if their relationship were based solely on printing quality, he would have fired him a long time ago. Ouch!
After I said "wow" a couple of times, I asked him, "So why is he doing business with you if he thinks your quality is lousy?”
He said he is still doing business with me because I am/have…
- Loyal
- Dependable
- Collaborative
- Informative
- Customer service-oriented
- Strong understanding of the company’s needs
- Willing to work with him on urgent projects
- Fair and reasonably priced
From Where I Sit…
Don’t we all wish we had honest and forthcoming customers like this? It is honorable that my client was given a [teaching moment] from such a valuable and loyal customer. This could have gone badly in so many ways.
There are no good excuses here; quality should always be securely linked with the above mentioned bullet points. When just one link is missing, we risk losing customers. When customers quit utilizing our services – they are not required to give us a two-week notice – they just disappear.
We have all lost customers for “some reason.” But did we know why? Did we feel something was wrong beforehand and did nothing about it? (more on this in another column).
A Quality Check:
I have always been the type of person who looks on the bright side whenever possible. I know this situation is very fixable. The reality is that my client has been struggling to secure experienced employees in his large format department. Recently, a new production manager was hired, and he is showing great potential. However, there is always work to be done. We cannot ignore the lack of quality; instead, we will confront it directly with detailed and extensive training and learning.
This is a reminder for all of us: we should never take our customers for granted. With every project, we should always strive to better understand and enhance the value we provide them. Our customers have options, and we need to ensure that the thought of leaving us never crosses their minds.
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