Providing great customer service can bring success in tough economic times.

With the rapidly changing technology in our industry, I often find myself scratching my head and asking, exactly what am I supposed to be selling to my customers and what capabilities do I need to have? This question usually surfaces when a customer asks for a level of technology that is a push for my company.

It is during these times that the conversation can become a heated debate among colleagues over how we might be able – with added resources (read: people) or equipment (read: money) – to develop this new process in-house so that we can supply the advanced technology requested by the customers. If the conversation goes in a negative direction, it can spiral to a conclusion that perhaps no one really wants the new technology or that the sales department is trying to sell something the company cannot currently make.

While recently attending an industry meeting, chock-a-block full of information about technology and alternative markets demanding similar but different capabilities, I sat back and started asking myself “exactly what am I supposed to be selling?” And I had an epiphany.

During the conference, I heard several highly successful companies, that have posted expediential growth despite the tough electronics global markets, discuss their secret for success and that secret was so basic and applicable regardless of a company’s technical competence. It was simply, to provide exceptional service and the customers will come.
It all made so much sense; doesn’t everyone like to be the recipient of great service? I can remember reading books by the likes of Tom Peters about wowing the customer; Harvey McKay wrote many successful books, including “Swim With The Sharks,” based on providing outstanding service. So hearing about the level of success achieved within our industry by focusing on service made sense to me. It recharged my batteries as I thought of all we could do to turn the tide and to see even greater sales growth. Then I returned to the planet.

It’s a funny thing, but when the people back at the home office heard of my epiphany, they all said something to the effect of, “Why of course, but all our customers get great service.”

At this point, it began to sink in that the task at hand might be more difficult than I had originally thought! This was reinforced when I had what I call a “high visibility” problem develop. A customer wanted to increase orders on a part that was extremely labor intensive to produce. The immediate internal response was a “we can’t do this” attitude by manufacturing, along with the normal daily “sales only sells what we can’t make . . .” mantra. The sales guys hunkered down as far away as possible, hoping the storm would blow over.

I guess that we are all in the business of providing service. Some are easy to identify, like providing design expertise that is billed out as a service. For manufacturers of printed circuit boards, service is often confused with providing updates on orders and offering technical support upfront or when the job is run through CAM to help the customer receive a more robust, manufacturable product. But usually, the service is really to make it easier for the fabricator to enter an order and to produce the part.

There is a lot to the notion that customers will reward great service, but first you have to understand the customers’ definition of what is great. Most customers value quick response. Some companies deliver quick response through software accessed via the Internet, while others provide quick, personalized service. Quick response often includes finding solutions before the customer asks.

It is important to understand that service is not confined just to the customer service department. Obviously, the sales folks have the most visible piece of the puzzle. They need to not only sell to the customer, but also to be the customer’s advocate after the order is processed. Accounting also has a key role in providing accurate and user-friendly invoices and statements so bills get paid on time. Whoever answers the phone has to make sure that frustrations from previous callers are not inflicted on the next caller. CAM has an important roll in making sure the lines of communication are open and clear so customers are confident. And production employees, both full- and part-time, need to make sure that they think first about how they can wow the customer and then work through the challenges so all customers believe that they are the most important customer.

It turns out that truly providing stellar customer service is not an easy task. It takes the commitment of the entire organization, from the production floor through to the president. It needs to become part of the company’s core philosophy. It’s a lot of work. Based on some shining examples within our industry, it might, however, be business strategy worth following. PCD&F

Peter Bigelow is president and CEO of IMI (imipcb.com); This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.