Support Your Products with Best Practices and Technical Support

This week, I participated in a Zoom call with a large customer with multiple locations. It was nice to get the whole group together to review where our business is with them and get their feedback on how to work together better. The main reason for the meeting was education.

Some locations successfully promoted handrail products, and others didn’t have the confidence to offer handrails. In today’s market, you must be more than just a supplier. Supporting your products with installation instructions, basic best practices and building code information is important to gain the confidence of your customers.

The more technical support you offer will also help your customers avoid problems in the field and lead to higher-quality installations that reflect well on your products. I also believe it is important that we help to continue to educate our industry and keep them aware of code changes, innovative products and insulation practices.

Holding a business meeting with your customers and listening to what is important to them will reinforce old relationships and strengthen new ones. We spend a lot of time marketing our businesses and products, and it is important to let your customers know what you do best. By taking the time to listen to what your customers’ needs are and spending the time to support them with solutions important to them, you will become a partner, not just a supplier. If you are a customer, you want to work with suppliers that listen.

If they are moving into new markets, adding products or opening new locations, you can better plan to keep up with their growth or just reinforce that you are making the investments to keep your service level where it needs to be.

It’s always a surprise that some of the simplest things to you can be the most important to them. Sometimes, it is lead times over costs, better transportation plans or just a request for a single contact to handle their account. It pays to listen to your customers to understand what is most important to them and to offer a customized plan, not just push what you offer to all.

It’s always best to be open with your customers and let them know your issues. We cannot be everything to all of our customers, so it’s important to perform in the areas where we can help them the most.