Take a Unique Approach to Customer Service
By:TJ Tedesco, President, Grow Sales, Inc.
For: High Volume Printing
Published: October, 2004

Graphic arts companies wear themselves thin looking for solutions that improve their profit margins without resulting in higher prices for customers. Sure, cutting overhead may drive down costs, but quality - and reputations - can suffer as overworked employees fail to meet commitments and leave customers in the lurch.

Rather than focus so heavily on the bottom line, it makes better sense to improve profits from the other end of the balance sheet through increased sales. It's become cliché, but achieving growth is still based on the value you provide consumers. While price, production quality and speed may not be factors that differentiate you from your competition, an innovative approach to customer service can create a positive buzz and generate interest in the marketplace, giving the selling process a much-needed jumpstart.

So what constitutes a unique approach to customer service? Here are two examples from outside our industry that illustrate how other companies are seeking to differentiate themselves from their competition - and how graphics arts businesses can follow suit:

The Lure of the "Pit Stop"
A client of ours described an auto-care business in their city that has dominated the local market with their unique approach to customer service. They have modeled their business as an auto race "pit stop", and every point of customer contact is based on that theme. When a customer pulls up to have their car serviced, a "pit crew" rushes out to the parking lot to greet the customer. Tire replacement, oil changes and other mechanical procedures are performed with the precision and lightning-fast pace of a real pit stop, ensuring that the customer is back on the road in minutes (and with a smile on their face).

This attitude toward service has had a positive effect on their business. With their "pit stop" approach, they have created an enviable word-of-mouth buzz that has lead to an impressive amount of repeat business. It doesn't hurt that the Indianapolis 500 atmosphere is also a delight for children - who knew an oil change could be a family outing?

A Swing and a Chamois
The owner of a popular Pennsylvania car wash located near a sizeable piece of unused farmland heard the aging farmer was selling-and got a brainstorm. A few yard markers and rope boundary lines later, he was offering the only combination car detailing service and driving range in the area.

Attendants assume the driver's seat as cars arrive, and customers amble toward the driving range to practice their strokes as their cars are treated to a comprehensive wash 'n wax. While it seemed a novelty a first, the combination proved to be a perfect marriage: Business at the wash n' wax more than doubled within the first three years of adding its unique "customer waiting area".

What Can We Learn?
In the auto-care industry, speed, quality and attentive service are no longer competitive advantages, they're a given (does that sound familiar?) Instead of focusing on these factors, the businesses detailed above chose to differentiate themselves by creating a customer service experience that generated success by generating a buzz. There are a few lessons in their approaches that we can use in our industry:

Get Your Crew In Order - In order to ensure sufficient quality at such high speed, our favorite auto-care business hires only serious mechanics that are able to keep pace. In the graphic arts industry, there's no point in talking a big game if you can't back it up with on-time deliveries, friendly and reliable communication and consistent quality. Before you set out to create a positive buzz and win new business, make sure you're able to keep the commitments you make to the clients you currently have.

Got Ideas? - It takes some effort to generate unique ideas that lead to innovative customer service practices, and the best place to start is within your own company. Keep in mind that in order to generate truly creative ideas, you must create an atmosphere that encourages them. What sounds offbeat and illogical to one person may be music to someone else's ears. Hey, combining a driving range with a car wash must have sounded like a hare-brained idea to somebody! The danger in filtering the seeds of creative thought, however, is that many potentially beneficial - and profitable - ideas will fall to the wayside. A weekly or monthly "town hall" is one way to throw all ideas out for collective chewing.

Don't be Afraid to be a Geek! - While it's not feasible to roll your press or perfect binder into the parking lot to offer "pit stop" service, fanatical enthusiasm for your business is infectious. There's no shame in being known as the "geeky" printer with an obsession for all things ink on paper, or the post press company with an almost unhealthy interest in their work. The result is top-of-mind positioning that will continue to spread as satisfied customers mingle with curious prospects.

Give Clients What They Really Want - Exactly why did the wash n' wax place double its business by adding… a driving range? Whacking golf balls has nothing to do with washing cars, so how did they find success? Simple: They gave their customers what they really wanted. The car wash/driving range combination proved a success by eliminating a customer complaint: There was nothing else for customers to do while their cars were being washed and detailed. Driving golf balls proved to be the ideal diversion for their executive-heavy clientele.

A critical element to growing a business is keeping current customers happy. Ask them why they do business with you - and what you can do to improve your service to them. With a little digging, you'll likely unearth some suggestions that merit your attention. You never know, perhaps you'll hear that your customer lounge - the one that hasn't been upgraded since the disco era - could use a little freshening. Indoor driving range, anyone?

T.J. Tedesco is a “hands-on” marketing, sales, coaching and training consultant to the post press industry. He is the author of Binding, Finishing & Mailing: The Final Word, and Win Top-of-Mind Positioning, both published by GATFPress and available at Amazon.com. T.J. can be reached at (301) 294-9900 or tj@growsales.com.