For most document industry manufacturers, the printed product remains the vehicle by which we exchange dollars. It's not, however, the main reason clients will continue to buy from us. The leading factor in determining our future success--and the No. 1 way we can distinguish our companies from competitors--is the effectiveness of our service offerings.
Is providing value-added services a new concept? No. But is the concept something we must continuously consider when meeting with current clients and trying to gain new ones? A resounding yes!
Industry manufacturers today face stiff and varied challenges such as adopting new technologies, offering new capabilities and partnering with companies across the printing spectrum. Perhaps the most important challenge, though, is making your company different in the eyes of distributors. Ask yourself: What truly separates your firm from ones down the road? Why should a company turn to you for their document needs instead of someone else?
Most often, I firmly believe, the answer involves service level. Consider for a moment your best few customers: Has your business relationship blossomed as a result of the stuff you make, or what you do in addition to the stuff you make? My guess is that longtime customers have relied on you--and have awarded you greater chunks of their business--because of factors such as delivery speeds, warehousing abilities, distribution proficiencies, online-ordering options, customer-service talents and cost-reducing ideas.
A decent self-evaluation of your ability to offer value-added services is the number of times you're told, "I didn't know you could do that." On one hand, it's a nice statement to hear because most distributors--big and small alike--are looking for ways to reduce their vendor lists. Clients have diverse needs, and the less they have to look elsewhere, the better. From a marketing standpoint, however, it's not a nice statement to hear. It indicates the need for more proactive customer education.
To provide valuable services, you must first have knowledge. You must understand how your clients' industries work, anticipating trends on the horizon and realizing requirements they must adhere to. Maintain a willingness to ask them questions to uncover opportunities for your company. Salespeople, customer service representatives, telemarketers and anyone else who contacts customers should ask, "What services do you wish we provided?" Let customers lead the way. And when you are providing services that make their lives easier, it's not wrong to remind them once in a while. More often than not, price will become less of an issue.
Speaking of price, keep in mind that smart customers recognize value and will pay to attain it. Obviously, price won't ever be eliminated as a buying factor, but its importance is subtracted a bit when you add well-developed, timesaving and creative services to the equation.
Take a look at the services you provide. How can you tweak them to better meet the needs of your customers? What new ones can you bring to the table? Talk to your clients and find out. Doing so will help your company grow.
J. Buster Weinzierl, CDC, is president of Belknap Business Forms Inc., Mayville, N.Y., and vice president of DMIA.
