The Importance of Industrial Marketing Customer Service
Recently, a shift has occurred in what OEMs expect from their supply chain. Consequently, manufacturing suppliers have had to redefine customer service to go beyond meeting delivery dates and quality specifications. Of course, those criteria are essential, but other factors are gaining in importance. As important as your on-time delivery and PPM ratings are, the way you service your customer is equally critical. Try focusing on the following points in your industrial marketing customer service process and you could see significant benefits.
Increasing Value in Industrial Marketing Customer Service
When working with customers you need to consider what you can offer that adds value to the business arrangement. It is often the quality of your relationship that wins you the contract over competitors. For example, value-added features include discounted or no-cost equipment maintenance, prototyping, or shipping or volume pricing. By implementing these industrial marketing customer service practices, you can illustrate the value you place on loyal customers.
Responsiveness in Industrial Marketing Customer Service
There is little more frustrating than a slow response to a call or e-mail. When you reply quickly with an e-mail and a callback you demonstrate your diligence regarding the customer’s concerns. By making the contact wait, or worse not responding at all, your present an image of inefficiency and negligence.
Trust in Industrial Marketing Customer Service
Industrial marketing customer service relationships need to reflect an open, honest and personal approach to build trust. It is actually simple to establish this type of relationship – treat your customer as you want to be treated as a customer. In general, be sure you prepare for meetings, are truthful when an issue arises, follow-up quickly, and pay attention to details. The actions create confidence in you and that you are a vendor they can rely on.
Convenience in Industrial Marketing Customer Service
In today’s business world, everyone is busy and working with less resources. When you have a process that is obstructive to a smooth workflow, you risk losing the customer. There are features you can implement to create hassle-free industrial marketing customer service. Could you implement easy re-orders, downloadable manuals, on-demand service calls, or simple to order replacement parts? Taking down roadblocks to customers working with you will also take down obstacles to repeat business.
The Result
Often industrial marketing customer service is not evaluated as part of an overall business development strategy. However, you run the risk of damaging your other sales and marketing efforts if you don’t. By improving your customers’ experience you build a loyal and long-term client base, as well as an excellent reputation and brand.
About the Author
Paul Kowalski (or Pappy as he is called around the office) spent over two decades working at other agencies before opening Conach Marketing Group in 2008. The early part of his career was working with Fortune 500 clients at different agencies. However, working with smaller clients was his preference. This choice was because of the impact on a client’s business growth and forming closer, personal relationships.
About Conach
When he was creating Conach, his goal was to bring those Fortune 500 strategies along with years of B2B marketing experience to small business marketing clients. As a result of focusing on business to business marketing, Conach specializes in construction marketing, financial marketing, and industrial marketing. Even though we are in Mid-Michigan, Conach provides marketing services to clients across the country.
For more information, visit conachmarketing.com or contact us or call 989.401.3202.