Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1499197
24 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2023 tomer amidst the barrage of competition com- ing from all sides, there is nothing more coun- terproductive than getting mad at one of your customers. Look, I know customers can be demanding. ey can be hard to deal with and sometimes even totally unreasonable. But that doesn't matter, because part of being in business is ser- vicing your customers, providing them with whatever they want. Note that I said what they want, which is not always what they need, or what you think they need. No, you must give them what they want. As the airlines are fond of telling us, in today's market, customers have many choices. (Actually, that isn't quite true; we have too few choices and are stuck with l o u s y a i r l i n e s e r - vice, but that's a col- u m n f o r a n o t h e r day.) In our case, in our industry, there are many choices our cus- tomers can make; if you don't believe that, just ask them. But our custom- ers have many options when they buy their circuit boards. From the cheap guy down the street to the cheaper guy across the big pond, they have all the choices in the world and they exercise them freely all the time. Vendor loyalty is at an all-time low. So, ladies and gentlemen, that is why you can never get mad at your customers. You must treat them like gold and make sure you are so valuable to them that they will never want to leave you. e trick is figuring out how to do that. How will you make sure that you keep your customers happy today and in the future? Here are five ways to make sure you are so valuable, so loved by your customers, that they will never want to leave you. 1. Anticipate your customers' needs. Too many of us are sitting around waiting for the next demand to come down from our custom- ers. is is wrong, and it turns us into victims. e better way is to learn everything about your customers, their end-products, their mar- ket, how they handle your boards, what they do with them when they arrive, and every- thing else they really need from you—and then give it to them. 2. Realize that you're not just selling boards. You are an integral part of their system, a key component and a critical ingredient to their success. Our job is to figure out how we can help our customers be successful. Is there a better way to pack- age our boards that will make it easier for our customers? Can we help them with their designs? Maybe it's meeting with cus- tomer s and their end-customers and listening intently enough to come up w ith way s to make e v e r y o n e m o r e s u c - cessful. 3. Have regular check-ups. Ask your customers if you can meet with them on a regular basis to make sure you are on the right track. Ask to visit face to face and find out how you are doing. Have a set of questions prepared so that you can develop a file on each customer that includes their special preferences so you can be outstanding and valuable. is is a team effort. Don't just leave it up to the salespeople to talk to customers. Your customers belong to everyone in your shop so make sure that all your key people are on a first-name basis with your customers' appro- priate counterparts. is could be the most important thing you have ever done. Cus- tomer service is a whole company effort. Every Realize that you're not just selling boards. You are an integral part of their system, a key component and a critical ingredient to their success.