Caring for the client

It’s a similar situation in the printing industry, which has famously poor customer service standards. However, in times of economic turbulence, keeping hold of the customers you’ve got could prove to be more valuable than going on a fruitless hunt for new ones.

It’s not an easy process. ‘Going the extra mile’ is easier said than done. It takes a great deal of planning and, more importantly, communication throughout a business. But prioritising customer service pays dividends in the long run, giving you the edge over your rivals.

Adare executive director of business development Alistair Cane believes that to get a good understanding of customer service, it’s first worth taking a step back – consider your experiences on the high street. When you are buying something as a consumer you want to deal with people who show an interest and show that they care. The trouble is that we are very accepting of poor customer service, he says. If you don’t look seriously at it, your clients will just walk away.

Low standards
High-street stores, utilities companies and banks typically come under fire from consumers fuming at a lack of understanding and reluctance to put any complaint right. But just because standards are often low in those sectors, doesn’t mean that print should follow suit.

If anything, the nature of the industry should lend itself to high levels of customer service. Print firms are in the unique position of adding value through their technical knowledge and their ability to add value steering customers through projects.

Customer service has to be adapted to suit the customer above all else, explains Lee Smith, Webmart’s production director for sheetfed and point-of-sale. You need to get on well with them while respecting that they are the customer.

It’s a tricky balancing act. A good starting point is to make sure that everyone in your business is singing from the same customer service hymn sheet. For example, take the PrintWeek Awards’ customer service team of the year CW Print Group. It takes its clients very seriously claiming customer service runs through the blood of the company. This ethos encompasses added value, logistics and the environment – pretty much everything in the business – and it’s a mantra that runs from the managing director all the way through to the apprentice.

One of the commended companies in the category, Howitt, shares a similar ideology. Customer service means so many things now, says managing director Gurdev Singh. To us, it encompasses any interface with the customer. It gives us an opportunity to add value to the relationship.

Lip service
But in order to do that, Singh argues that the whole of the company needs to be in on the strategy. To do it any other way means that you’re pretty much paying lip service to customer service and simply having someone on the end of a phone taking complaints, which is not what it’s about.

Generally people think that it’s about having an account or campaign manager looking after the customer, he adds. But you have to have a service-industry mentality. You need to find out what your customers want to achieve and that’s where our sales people come in.

According to Singh, like CW Print, Howitt’s commitment to customer service runs right through the company. Webmart’s Smith reports a similar scenario at his company. He adds that it’s important to get your service right and suggests tailoring it to the individual client.

Some customers will be more open to ideas for pro-active improvements in workflow to others, some will want you to offer advice and updates at all stages throughout a project while others simply want to give you the instructions and leave you to deliver the project, says Smith.

It’s important to gauge exactly what level of expertise the client wants, and, according to Adare’s Cane, it’s vital to have the knowledge base in place.

What customers expect from our industry has changed over the past few years, he explains. The general perception is that just doing a job is good enough. Yes, they expect you to do what you say and on time, but they also want ideas, cost savings and your knowledge of the market. The first thing to do is to get the right people on board.

The quality of work and the ability to hit deadlines are givens, but with the right staff on board, Cane believes
Adare can have sensible conversations with customers about their demands and perhaps guide them down a different route.

Webmart’s Smith agrees, adding: We like to suggest things that not only save the customer money but that could make dealings with print a little bit easier. But this is only possible with those who are open to our suggestions. If you know your customer well enough, you will know exactly what they want before they tell you.

For this to work smoothly the channels of communication need to be clear. As Howitt’s Singh notes, print firms are no longer just dealing with buyers. Often they need to communicate with marketers, agencies and even those at the back end of a project, such as the delivery channel.

Often more formal meetings with customers can help maintain these levels of communication. It gives both sides a clear idea as to exactly how the relationship is developing and allows both sides to identify and iron out any glitches.
It’s vital to get feedback regularly so you know exactly what your client feels about you at all times, adds Smith.
But what about that old adage of the customer always being right? It’s an often heard phrase but it’s also a fallacy. And the good news is that there are ways of explaining to a customer that what they have asked for is not possible without the relationship becoming strained.

It’s often about the clarity of the brief, says Adare’s Cane. There may be a very tight deadline but the customer needs to understand fully the challenges in achieving that. There is nothing worse than a customer kept hanging.
He adds that if there are problems with the brief, the direction the project is taking or the deadline, it’s best to keep the client fully informed at all times. That way they may be more accepting of any changes.

You need to explain exactly what you are doing to put things right, says Cane, and avoid using glib phrases such as ‘giving 110% effort’. You can’t do that.

Honest mistakes
In the case of mistakes, it’s best to ditch the clichés and just be honest with the client. The theory goes that if you already have good levels of communication it shouldn’t be difficult to show what went wrong and find ways of making it up to the customer.

But in order to have that relationship, customer service needs to be embedded in the company’s DNA, says Howitt’s Singh. Customer service is an area that should be seen as an opportunity, he adds. It’s an opportunity to understand the customer better and find out what they want to achieve.

If you get to know your customers better then you stand a much better chance of keeping hold of them and if more industries follow this lead, it could help restore the UK’s standing in the rest of the world

TOP TIPS: CUSTOMER SERVICE
? Clearly communicate your strategy to all of your staff. A culture of customer service should run through the business
? While it’s vital to listen to what the customer wants, be prepared to offer up some alternative options. Use your knowledge and expertise to guide the customer
? Remember that the customer is not always right. If you already have solid lines of communication you should be able to explain why a project might not work or a deadline is too tight
? Not every customer wants an all-encompassing service. There should be a bespoke approach to each customer and not a ‘one size fits all’ strategy