What the Tech?
Fishing, Paint Booths, and Customer Care BY CHUCK DELANEY
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ate last spring, I went fishing. Not just your garden variety “go down to the local pond and throw in a line” fishing. No, this was serious, “get really smelly, no kids allowed, get there by plane, truck, boat, then by foot, no cellphones allowed” fishing. It was real fishing—way up in a foreign country. OK, it was Canada, but it was still way up there. I’m no avid fisherman. I take the opportunity to go out maybe two to three times a year. It’s not something I feel as if I must do every couple of weeks. So, why did I go through all that effort to get there? Because a couple of very good customers put this trip together a few years ago and asked me to go. We went, had a great time, and now we make it an annual event. And, oh yes, I like these guys as people, as well. These are not just Patti Procurement Manager or Mario Marketing Director we’re talking about here. These are folks who are either owners of their own businesses (companies doing at least $30 million annually) or high-level executives in large multinational companies—all are the proverbial “big hitters.” These are people who know their businesses and know how to make money—serious people I can learn from—good customers but also great individuals to be around. So, did it help my business? You bet it did, and probably because I made a point of not talking about printing, presses, board, converting, finishing, or anything else related to my business. The vast majority of time we spent on business, we talked about their businesses, about what gives them headaches, about what problems they’re facing, and even about their successes. I learned a huge amount
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about how I can help them. I did not try to impress them with my latest flexo press acquisition. Now, you might not have the opportunity to go on a yearly weeklong fishing trip—or maybe you do—but there are some things to learn from this experience. Chuck’s Rules for Nurturing Customers Rule #1: Pick customers you like. I don’t mean just picking the right people to go fishing with; I’m talking about picking the right customers for your business. You read me right—you do, in every case, pick your customers. They don’t pick you first. Usually, you pick them—and, you keep picking them! If you don’t like—and trust—your customers, it’s probably not a good idea to do business with them. Why? I assume that your goal is to find customers whom you can keep around for a long time and get them to give you money for a long time. (If that is not one of your goals, you’d better rethink what you are
doing. You are in a for-profit business, after all.) Even more basic, if you don’t like them, they probably don’t like you, and it’ll be very difficult for you to add real value to your business relationships under those circumstances. If you are not adding significant value, real value, your relationships are short-lived, regardless of how you priced your latest project. Here are some key criteria to consider when selecting—and continuing to select—customers: • Will they do what they say they are going to do? • Do they have solid core beliefs? • Do they have a good business plan or strategy? • Do I like them as people? Rule #2: Spend way more time talking with your customers about their business, their concerns, and the challenges they face than talking about your latest equipment acquisition. News