“We are getting into the age where no one believes how great you are anymore. You just need to focus
on creating a great experience for your customer and let them do your press work for you.”
– Peter Shankman, author of Zombie Loyalists: Using Great Service to Create Rabid Fans (2015)
Every company has to find a way to stand out from the competition. And for those who want to compete on something other than just price, excellent customer service is a prime way to do just that.
When Konecny Brothers began its lumber business back in 2001, its founders determined that one of the cornerstones of the business would be a high level of customer service. “What we enjoy the most about the business are the relationships we develop and share, and those relationships are really formed through high level customer service,” explained Tyrone Konecny, vice president of Konecny Brothers Lumber Company, Ogden, Utah, and associate director of the Western Pallet Association.
“When you are selling a product such as wood,” Tyrone added, “people have a ton of choices. You really need to stand out in some way.” He noted that some people stand out by having the cheapest prices, while others might stand out by having the best quality in town or the best customer service anyone has ever witnessed. Tyrone believes it is possible for a company to be very good at two of those three categories, but not all three. For its part, Konecny Brothers has chosen to focus on quality and customer service.
Gil Covey of UK-based Unit Pallet Ltd, (UPL), a division of James Jones & Sons, the UK’s second largest sawmilling company, takes a similar perspective. “Our basic philosophy is go for quality, the best equipment and the best material,” he said. “We have to offer very good service to our customers. Many of the people we deal with are very much experts in pallets (pallet rental companies), as that is their major asset.”
UPL has invested considerably in state-of-the-art equipment such as its Cape lines, and Bolmann drying kilns and benefits from its corporate link to James Jones & Sons. He stressed that while UPL is free to purchase material from whomever provides best value, and James Jones is likewise free to sell lumber production to UPL competitors, the strength of that relationship ensures a reliable material supply to meet customer needs over the long haul.
“Long term relationships are extremely important,” stated Covey.
According to customer service experts, one of the mistakes that businesses make in selling to other businesses (B2B) is in underestimating the importance of such relationships. According to Jeb Blount, author of People Love You: The Real Secret to Delivering Legendary Customer Experiences, “The one thing that skeptical business leaders ignore is that in B2B relationships, customers are still people: emotional, irrational humans who make buying decisions based on emotion…Research studies indicate that more than 50% of a customer’s experience is emotional.”
Taking the Customer’s Point of View
So what does customer service entail? Simply put, customer service involves the provision of service to customers before, during and after a sale. As customer service experts increasingly look at customer service within the broader context of the complete customer experience with a vendor, other terms have become prominent, such as customer experience (CX) and customer relationship management (CRM). The latter term is typically used in conjunction with various software offerings designed to help document and track customer interactions, an approach companies increasingly find valuable. The most important takeaway is that the customer may interact with a provider on a number of different levels, and the vendor benefits from being mindful of how the customer perceives those experiences in aggregate.
“It all blends together,” Tyrone observed. “Selling lumber and selling freight, basically we are selling on our personal reputation, and it all blends into customer service.”
Responding to Customer Concerns
The customer service approach of UPL is a proactive one, based on “getting it right the first time.” Gil acknowledged, however, that pallet companies are dealing with a natural material, and combined with weather conditions, problems can occasionally occur.
“The key then is to react immediately, and I think that gives us an edge,” he continued. “From what I can understand, not everybody does that.”
“Don’t shy away from a challenge,” agreed Tyrone. “Tackle it right away – don’t let grass grow.” He emphasized the importance of active listening skills, and demonstrating that you are listening intently. Too often, he notes, people are just waiting for the other person to stop talking in order to say what they already have decided to communicate, an approach that can leave customers wondering if you are even listening to their concerns at all.
Tyrone stressed the importance of taking time to understand the customer’s point of view and to not take a “Band-Aid” approach. “Issues such as moldy lumber, or off-sizes – those are real issues that cause real problems for customers.” These issues, he noted, may be causing a domino effect of problems for them in terms of their operations as well as in meeting the expectations of their own customers.
“If you handle the situation well, typically you come out of it stronger, with a better understanding of your customer and what they are doing with the product you are providing them,” Tyrone observed.
The Importance of Follow-up and Proactive Communication
Following up on sales is another key to the Konecny Brothers approach. There are a number of factors that can get in the way of an on-time delivery, from production delays to truck availability or bad weather. “If you are going to be late on a delivery, it is important to notify the customer as soon as possible,” Tyrone advised.
The earlier the customer knows, the earlier he can take necessary steps such as filling with a small order from a local supplier or whatever adjustment is required. In the case of Konecny Brothers, freight tracking is aided by the presence of five full-time in-house freight brokers.
A high level of trust and an intimate knowledge of the customer’s needs can be a winning combination, Tyrone noted, including the details of what material they can use or cannot use, and when they can use it. Through what Tyrone refers to as “full disclosure selling,” the salesperson can become essentially a teammate by acting proactively, based on knowledge of the market and the customer’s needs.
“You can be an advocate of profitability for them,” he said. “There is going to be that gained trust and the feeling that ‘Hey I am really being taken care of by them.’” The approach can be mutually advantageous for buyer and seller.
Award Winning Customer Service Leads to Rewarding Relationships
In a show of appreciation, customer service efforts of UPL were recognized by two major pooling providers in the summer of 2015. Underscoring Gil’s emphasis on a long-term approach, Faber Halbertsma Group (IPP Logipal) recently celebrated 10 years of outstanding service from UPL by presenting it with an award (see photo). On a similar note, UPL was also presented CHEP’s silver medal European Supplier Award for outstanding quality and service performance for the year to June 2015.
UPL faced daunting competition from 45 suppliers of new pallets across Europe for the CHEP award, and at the presentation, Bart De Laender (Procurement director for CHEP Europe) and Dave Schoeters (Procurement manager for CHEP Europe) complimented the management and workers of UPL on this outstanding achievement. De Laender remarked that high quality products and services are often undervalued as customers seek to hold down costs in a very competitive market.
CRM Software
As the speed of business and interest in data capture increase, companies
are increasingly looking towards CRM software. Such technology is designed to organize, automate and coordinate
the spectrum of marketing, sales, customer service and operational activities related to past, present and prospective customers.
One leading product in this area is Salesforce, used by a number of pallet companies. While no one would speak on the record, comments tended to be very positive, as long as data entry was being faithfully undertaken by everyone involved – with data entry gaps seemingly a common problem. One tip is to assign a company champion for the CRM, perhaps an office administrator, to make sure that it is being used consistently by required personnel.
In the case of Konecny Brothers, the company uses a combination of a few different approaches. One of these is a custom-built lumber portal that provides visibility into order status to customers, mills, and transport companies alike, which it created over the course of several years. “We use that program today to do everything,” Tyrone said. “You can log into the site to see status of your order, see the shipping status, and if it has shipped you can get a copy of the bill of lading, as well as projected delivery.” He describes it as totally “full circle.”
“We don’t want to replace personal relationships, but the efficiencies are a huge benefit,” Tyrone stated. “I am really proud of it. There is nothing like it.”
Konecny Brothers also have customized Microsoft Outlook in order to track customer history, which Tyrone described as their “Holy Grail of CRM.” The company uses it to take detailed notes and to be able to quickly pull up history. “It is hugely invaluable,” he said. “It shows your customer you are organized and detail oriented. It shows you care.”
Knowledge of the Outlook custom-ization and “full disclosure selling” approaches were based on insights from James Olsen of Reality Sales Training.
At the end of the day, it is easy to talk about customer service, but based on the experiences of UPL and Konecny, and the opinion of experts, it comes down to how it plays out in the mind of the customer, which involves your passion, commitment, organization, and follow-through. In short, it involves an investment, but one that for some companies, is well worth making.
Four Tips for Creating Great Customer Service
1. Be transparent. Own mistakes and fix them.
2. Be relevant to your audience. Understand that people like to communicate certain ways (face-to-face, phone, email, text, etc.)
3. Be brief. People have a short attention span.
4. Do things that make the customer love you and talk about you.
Source: Peter Shankman, author of Zombie Loyalists: Using Great Service to Create Rabid Fans
