Why Do Happy Customers Leave?

Bill Gillespie

If you happen to follow me on LinkedIn you know that I teased on this subject last week. I used the object example served up by my Son-In-Law and daughter. They live in Utah.

Let me set the table. George and Tiffany live in a suburb of Park City. There are ski areas at every turn. One of the largest ski resorts in the world is in their backyard. They have multiple season passes and manage to ski dozens of days annually.

So, why would they leave their home, drive several hours, pay to sleep in a rented bed and elect to eat every meal out just to ski another area? Why would they spend money to avoid their already bought and paid for access?

I tagged along to see for myself. I still ski and I was curious. The reason was obvious within hours and visible at every turn. The area we visited was more user friendly. They were focused on our experience. It influenced crowd control, transportation, accommodation, and safety. It was worth the money to drive past famous places to do something better. It wasn’t mass focused it was finesse focused.

So, what does this have to do with printing? Where in the world is Bill going with this one?

Let me turn that around on you. Have you ever lost a customer? Have you lost one when you were doing everything right? Were you honoring promises, keeping your prices fair and your quality high but still lost the business?

I have. I have several stories along these lines but one of the most painful was when I was in the Point-of-Sale business. It still hurts when I think of it.

The company I worked for built durable Point-of-Sale. We also printed, converted client material samples, and shipped all over the world. We had more than 1,000,000 square feet of space and close to 700 employees.

We were on the bubble for a big reset. That meant we were going to place end cap displays in home improvement stores for one of our large textile clients. The project was worth millions of dollars in the initial sale and millions more in updates over a few years.

Everyone knew we had the business. I was eating breakfast at a local restaurant when several of the client’s executives walked in. They crossed the room and asked, “you ready to be slammed? We’re counting on you to make magic happen.” I assured them we were ready, and everyone walked away happy.

Two days later (Saturday) my cell phone rang. It was our top salesman and the guy responsible for this large opportunity. He asked could he stop by and chat.

I told him I was on Gilipso V but planning to hang out at the dock. He was welcome to visit. He was there within the hour.

Like his customer, he wanted to make certain we were ready. The printing company, both durable display divisions, our sample plant and distribution services were about to be swamped. I reassured him, he reassured our client and once again, everyone was happy. We were about to book millions!

It didn’t happen! We lost the sale. We did everything the client asked. Our display design was good, our prices were excellent, and our schedule commitment was spot on spec. We were technically perfect. We did everything right.

A competitor…a competitor with less experience overwhelmed the client with new possibilities. They had a good design solution, but they also suggested process improvements. They did everything we did but took the client experience to the next level. In essence, they designed new services and changed the way projects like this were managed. They outsmarted us and we never saw it coming.

We lost more than the sale. We lost our spot at the head of the table. We moved from being the lead to praying to be included. The truth is, we never recovered.

One of my selling mentors owned no equipment. He worked for a reseller. He did tens of millions annually to my few. He was the top rep for each of his clients.

I asked him how he did it. How did he hold the position? He responded that he got up every morning and tried to think of something new he could do for his clients. He went on to say, “today’s innovation is tomorrow’s commodity. I invent the new thing while my competitors focus on what I’m already doing.”

This guy has it figured out. While competitors are cutting prices, he’s cementing himself into the foundation of his client’s business. He’s worth every cent he’s paid. He outsmarts people with equipment because he is client focused not machine focused.

Print is a mature product. The ink on paper bit is a sure thing. The client gets that part and they can dictate price. If you don’t believe me talk to reps and estimators. They live with price pressure.

Invent the next thing. Look at how your customers buy not just what they buy. Ask “What If” or “Have You Considered This.” Change the process and you’ll change your numbers. I wrote on this subject a while back (LinkedIn) when I asked, “why do brokers exist.”

Go back to the ski area example. There are mountains, lifts, and snow. These are the raw materials that make skiing possible. They are the presses, folders and paper if you get my drift.

Intangibles are parking, crowd control, dining, safety, uphill capacity and hospitality. I pay more than twice as much for my annual pass to ski at a resort that doesn’t allow snowboarders and loads my skis onto the gondola. People will pay for a quality experience.

What will you design or invent for your customers. The opportunity is real! Make your solution better and the presses will be full.