Growing up as a problematic kid in St. Paul, Minn., I took boyish pride in breaking as many rules as possible. Don't cause problems in the neighborhood? I once set a plant nursery on fire. Be home by dinner? I once hopped on a moving train and rode it out of town. Listen to the people you care about? Ah, there's one I didn't break!
Thankfully, it's a rule I still don't break. At home, that means listening to my wife and two teen-aged children (well, OK, most of the time). At Maverick Label--and at your distributorship or manufacturing firm--that means listening to clients. If you genuinely know your customers, understand their goals and respond to their needs, they won't toss you on the next train out of town.
I once spoke with a manufacturer who lamented the increasing number of distributors ordering short runs. "I have all this printing equipment that's not being used," he said with disgust. "I'm going to have to teach my customers how to order larger quantities."
What? Teach them how to avoid efficiency and ignore end user demands? That's not a wise move, I said to myself silently. The manufacturer wasn't listening and learning from his clients.
Most manufacturers recognize that when distributors speak, they're doing so with the ideas, compliments and complaints of end users in mind. Distributors' voices are powered by the needs of purchasing managers, marketing directors and other folks who buy printing. As solutions providers, we can't focus on what we wish customers thought. We must focus on what they need today, and anticipate what they'll demand tomorrow.
Distributors also must listen to customers more often and more effectively. Instead of using client need as a compass for future direction, some distributors push customers toward particular products (appropriate or not). Distributors can pass insightful information to their manufacturers only when they recognize and understand the needs of end users. We're in this business together. What are end users saying about their delivery needs? What are they saying about service levels? What are they saying about online ordering? Distributors should take this feedback to heart--then take the news straight to their manufacturers. The most successful partners are ones who share information.
Some companies take a proactive approach to understanding client needs and industry trends. Block Graphics Inc., a manufacturer based in Portland, Ore., is one of them. Dick Weigand, CDC, started a "customer council" program to learn more about the changing needs of distributors. The company knows a valuable truth: When firms proactively share concerns and ideas, they face fewer surprises. They prevent problems so they don't have to solve as many.
Now more than ever, our channel is driven by end users. We should spend more time asking them about their goals, strategies and fears. We should be able to anticipate their document needs before they do.
More end users are emphasizing the need for value-added services such as forms management, warehousing and technology consultation. This trend--one the industry learned because it listened--is great news for independents because we're service-oriented and have the ability to react quickly to new demands. Perhaps that's one reason why independents have increased their market share in recent years.
Next time you're visiting with a customer, consciously remind yourself to listen. Your success depends on how well you do that seemingly simple task.
Mark Trumper is CEO of Maverick Label, Edmonds, Wash., and president of DMIA.
