Suggestions ranged from soft approaches such as customer open days, where staff and customers can get to meet and feel an enhanced sense of ownership, to assessing whether you want to take on a customer in the first place, by working out how their work fits into your business and the financial health of that customer.
Other issues tackled included how to manage those relationships when passing on paper price increases, and the challenges printers face having spent time and money on becoming a 'green' printer when the customer is cutting costs and no longer prepared to pay an environmental premium.
The panel agreed on the following five key areas to know about customers:
- establish their creditworthiness
- understand their purchasing processes
- find out why they want to place the work with your business, as opposed to your competitors
- be prepared to change the way you do things in your business to align yourself better with your customers'
- understand how your customers like to communicate and use the medium they find most appropriate
To view the webcast, sponsored by Robert Horne, log in or register here.
