Here’s what I think. He probably would not be asking about your presses, or whether you hit your production targets. He wouldn’t ask if you’ve won any industry awards. He probably would ask why your customers keep coming back. I believe that question is as relevant to a print company today, as it was when he first wrote this:
“The purpose of a business is to create a customer.”
You see, your quality and service and turnaround times are important. I hear those from most companies. And I’m not saying these are not important, I’m just saying you may need more to stand out from the pack.
We’ve Got the Priorities Backwards
The strategy that I see in most businesses, is usually built around their capabilities. What equipment they have. What they can produce, and how fast they can turn projects. And those things matter a great deal; I’m not dismissing them. But when your whole strategy is organized around what you can do, you end up in a conversation with customers that is essentially about your shop floor. And once you’re in that conversation, you’re competing on specifications and price and somebody else’s shop floor. Every time.
This isn’t only about doing exceptional work, or generally world class work. I’ve seen some excellent companies that struggle to make the money they deserve. Because guess what, technology and equipment has allowed everybody to produce great work on almost any given day. And when two companies do great work, the customer starts to look at price. I don’t look at that as a production problem; I look at that as a strategy opportunity.
Great work is the price of admission these days, and not the sole source of advantage.
So, if it’s not about capabilities, then what is it? Drucker’s answer is the customer. The customer is as he puts it, the soul of the enterprise. They are not only a recipient of your work or a line on the P&L. They are the soul. The reason the whole thing exists, and if that’s actually true, then ask yourself does your strategy reflect that?
The Customers Who Don’t Come Back
We all have lived at either as a customer or as a supplier. We know that not all customers will call to complain. If they did, at least they’re giving you a chance to make things right. The customers I worry about are the ones that just fade away.
They don’t reduce orders all of a sudden, it happens gradually. Before you know it, jobs start to go somewhere else, then one day you realize you haven’t heard from them in several months. And when you call to check in, they’re polite, but the work has moved on.
They didn’t leave because your quality dropped or you missed a deadline. They left because the relationship felt like a transaction. I mention this to companies all the time: when was the last time you brought an existing customer a new good idea, unsolicited. Face it when you’re chasing them as a prospect, you’re doing that all the time. But once they become a customer, the idea spicket closes. Now don’t get me wrong, when they call with a question or an idea or challenge, you are all over it. You’re Johnnie-on-the-spot: ready and willing to help. Face it, you do a great job of doing that. But what are you doing when they don’t call?
I believe that’s what happens when your relationship with a customer is built around the work rather than around them and what they’re really trying to accomplish. It’s fragile and can always be re-priced or replaced by someone.
A Question Worth Asking
In a while being customer focused is a lot more than just a saying, we need to put it in a practical sense. Understanding what problem your customer needs solved before the print job ever starts is a great place to begin this process. Not what they’re ordering or how many they’re ordering, not what substrate they are asking for, but what are they really trying to accomplish? What does success look for them: not the print job, but the outcome the print job is supposed to produce.
I believe that if you can answer that question for your top 10 customers, and detail, you’re in a completely different position than a company that can’t. You’re no longer a vendor, you’re no longer supplier, you’ve really become that trusted advisor.
Mike Philie helps owners and CEOs in the Graphic communications industry validate what’s working, identify what needs to change, and create a practical path forward.
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