Page 70 - Print 21 Sep-Oct 2019

Customer Experience
Finding the value: Scott Telfer
Making print awards
good for customer growth
With the industry having just gone through the awards period, Scott Telfer reflects on how effective awards are for print customers.
Some companies bring their customers along to awards nights to help celebrate the evening and share with them the possibility of
winning a gold medal.
Some companies use the award
night as chance to reward staff with a night out and, if they win a gold, silver or bronze, then celebrations all around. It also means the website gets an update with the latest winning entries being posted for
all to see.
Having attended many award
evenings over the years, I know they can range from being ordinary to super special evenings.
I then got thinking about the purpose of the award evening, and I guess it has many:
1.Makes print companies aspire to
enter good looking work
2.Gives the entering company pride
in what they are doing
3. Motivates staff to do their best
and feel good about what they are
doing
4.Gives a focus for a company, it
becomes part of their marketing
strategy
5. Winning an award allows
the company to celebrate its achievement in lifting company morale and giving it a marketing edge
6. Printers gain recognition from their peers
7. Gives the industry unity
8. Provides an opportunity to show
customers how good we are.
But what about the customers? Do they really care if you win a gold? In my experience I would like to think so; however, in reality they don’t. Most
Awards: How best to capture value for your customers
of our customers think only about delivering the job on time and the price. We all like to think if it comes down to a choice between printer A and printer B, the one who has won some print awards should in theory get the job – but this, of course, disregards any notion of customer service and attention to detail.
Winning an award will not guarantee you winning the next print order. What will guarantee you the next print order is exceptional customer service, like delivering on time, being cost effective, adding value, being a valued partner, having empathy, and being a trusted authority to your customer.
I have seen only a few companies really exploit winning a gold medal with their customers. I do remember one company which won three gold medals in one night and sent to all their clients a three pack of piccolo champagne with a nice note. The customers would remember: it tugged at their emotional strings, and gave a connection. It then gave the customer comfort to know they were dealing with someone who
can print a good job. It was all part of a deliberate marketing strategy that was building on customer relationships. Entering the awards was part of the marketing plan; it was one cog in many.
We also have to be alert to those companies who flood the awards with heaps of entries. As the AFR in May 2018 rightly pointed out, “when awards are given to only those who bother to nominate, are the winners a true sample of that which is being honoured, or instead representative of something else – those who could be bothered?”
If your strategy of entering awards is only for internal relationship building, then that’s fine. If it’s for growing your customer relationship, then make sure you have a sound business strategy that can be executed to gain maximum benefits for your company – a strategy that embraces the customer at the centre of the business.
The awards become one part of the hub of many elements of an overall marketing plan that informs the client about who you are. Use the awards to boost your sales and strengthen your ties with your customer base – and yes, take your customer, if it meets your marketing criteria.
Recognising and rewarding good business practice is something as
an industry we should do, and I think the awards can be a great
tool to strengthen your customer relationship – but don’t ever enter without having a purpose. Entering for entering’s sake doesn’t mean a thing. You would be better off buying your staff a six pack and pizza, or your customer a box of chocolates – this would give you better value.
The challenge is to determine by ourselves: what is the best value
for my customer and business
in entering an industry award process or not? Everyone will have a different perspective about this.
Over to you to decide if the print awards are good for your customers or not. 21
For a free one hour consultation please contact Scott on 0413 382 528 or email him at scott@customercx.com
70 Print21 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019