Content about Marketing

LAGRANGE, Ga. — Henry Ford once said, “Why do I have to hire the whole person when all I want to hire is his hands?” Many of us feel the same way about our customers. We wonder why we have to accommodate their ever-increasing expectations when all we want to do is service the account.

When did everything get so complicated?

When did customers get so demanding and knowledgeable about our business?

Why can’t they just accept what we give them?

Welcome to my world, commonly called “Customer Service.”

CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT

Ah, customer service. You can’t survive without it, and you can’t succeed with it today unless you manage all the changes and new customer expectations it creates. We define this as “Customer Management.”

If we have learned anything in the development of a customer service program, it’s that it’s a moving, living practice that keeps evolving as customer needs and demands continue to change.

Many years ago, businesses practiced what they called “customer service,” a process that was ill defined, unorganized, and mostly consisted of someone inside a supplier company who answered customer questions. They handled problems and generally pacified angry customers. They were the go-to person when the receptionist couldn’t do the job. There was no training program.

This position was usually delegated to someone who had “other” additional job responsibilities, a long-tenured or knowledgeable employee who wouldn’t further aggravate an upset customer.

No one covered for this person when they went to lunch, didn’t show up for work, or took a vacation. Most communication was kept either in their head, on slips of paper, or jotted down in a spiral notebook that could be found in their top drawer. Customer service was an “on call” person, a help desk, not a department or holistic practice.

When customer expectations began to grow, so, too, did service calls. We were then forced to create inbound, passive customer service (or customer complaint) positions and departments. For a time, this soothed the savage beast. Unfortunately, by using this system, we never found out about customer problems until it was too late.

Then we gravitated to what we called a “Customer Satisfaction” program. The service people became better trained, information flow was more accountable, and follow-up was more refined. But the most advantageous benefit this new, improved program was designed to provide was still to be only a passive listening post for complaints.

We grew more sophisticated. As textile service suppliers grew more aware of how the advantages of a well-run customer satisfaction process could benefit them, these programs incorporated “Customer Relationship Management” (CRM) training modules. These modules, complete with software programs, stressed the importance of customer relations with all key contacts.

The goal of a CRM program was to enable individuals within their customer base to know and develop relationships with supplier personnel. It made the business relationship more dependent upon personal relationships and expanded the idea of easy access to supplier personnel. It stressed encouraging the customer’s personnel to proactively contact supplier personnel with questions or ideas for improvements. But business leaders soon learned that by simply satisfying customer expectations, they had punched a one-way ticket to mediocrity.

CUSTOMER LOYALTY

Competition began to up the ante. They proactively sold service improvements and product offerings that provided incentives, which enticed “satisfied” customers to defect from their current supplier. Competitors kept up with the changing needs of customers and created new and better solutions for the business community. Competitors continued to create “dissatisfied” customers, and suppliers began losing more and more seemingly satisfied customers while watching profits and sales volume decline.

The realization that it costs six times as much to acquire a new customer than it does to renew or retain existing ones put a new emphasis on customer longevity.

Reaction to this competitive practice was creation of a whole new customer service plan entitled “Customer Loyalty.” Its focus went beyond maintaining a customer’s business for today to maintaining it beyond original contract dates or purchase order requirements. This loyalty-driven practice demonstrated and proved beyond a doubt the exponential profit generated with an extended “Lifetime Value of a Customer” program. But business leaders also learned immediately that the wonderful new concept strained the talent and competence of their service management personnel.

Additional training in identifying and fulfilling specific customer needs, goals and objectives was instituted throughout our industry. Service programs began to “earn” their customer retention. Service department personnel were educated in getting service agreement and purchase order renewals and extensions for these new customer accommodations and improvements. They were also trained in closing competitive opportunities and making sure nothing stood in the way of the customer renewing its service agreement. Customer loyalty programs upgraded service levels to new plateaus of profit and growth for most textile service suppliers.

But as is the case of life cycles of all improvement practices, customer loyalty programs became less successful as they were subjected to improved competitive options and alternatives. Once again, simply fulfilling customer expectations and receiving service agreement renewals and extensions as a reward became increasingly more difficult. Customers who were becoming more intelligent and aware began to question supplier commitment and value.

Competitors began to search out and exploit (again) any current or future supplier deficiencies or weaknesses, then leveraged their recommendations to grow their own businesses through customer acquisition. They made the customer understand the “they don’t know what they don’t know” principle. Customers began to realize their textile service suppliers could, or should, be the ones proactively communicating to them what they needed for improving their businesses, and it shouldn’t be up to them to solicit improvements. Hence the next stage of customer management called “Customer Success” was developed.

Customer success is the achievement of a true business partnership. It is the process by which the supplier becomes necessary to the success of a customer. The more necessary a supplier becomes to a customer, the more valuable they are, now and in the future.

No customer knows the total limits and value of products and services that a textile service supplier can provide. Therefore, it is the supplier who must continually and proactively offer solutions and improvements to the customer.

A true customer success program notifies every customer of the supplier’s responsibility in this regard. Anything less than that level of commitment would be an injustice. It is what every “Customer Service,” “Customer Satisfaction” and “Customer Loyalty” program should evolve into as the supplier evolves into a customer-focused service company. This is where all service companies should be situated today.

With all of the advances being made in social and electronic media, customer management is wide open to faster, higher, wider and deeper account development.

Customer communications, with complete documentation and verification of information, will be available 24/7. Off-site and off-shift employees will have as much access to their account status as any on-site program director. There would be the option to handle invoicing, problem solving, product offerings, service questions, comments and issues instantaneously, or during “off” working hours.

Marketing improvement programs that identify third-party references, testimonials of success, newsletters, critical issues, options and alternatives, and three-dimensional solutions will be commonplace. Any employee of any customer will have access to input problems, questions, suggestions or comments. Tomorrow will have the capability to truly define customer success at all levels of partnership.

Of future customer management programs, two things are certain: 1) these changes will continue to occur at “warp speed” and 2) training service personnel to manage this constantly evolving paradigm will be critical to your customer retention. (A word of advice: embrace youth.)

In the realm of service improvement programs today, the goal of all service management teams should be to decide where their own customer relationship status is on this ladder of progression.

Have they mastered the basics of a customer satisfaction plan?

Do they fully understand—and are they successfully managing—a complete customer loyalty system?

Are they implementing customer success practices and getting the proper returns for their efforts?

And what are their plans for future customer management improvements?

Someone once said that a company’s most valuable asset is its employee base. That may be true but without customers, no one would have employees. Nothing is possible without customers. The more we recognize their importance and contribution to our own success, the more we will endeavor to maintain their business.

We need every one of their bothersome questions and disruptions, and all of their inquisitiveness. We should value all the distress they cause us. If we don’t, there are dozens of competitors out there that would love to “put up with them.”

They are your valued customers. You have worked hard to obtain their business. Don’t lose them to a competitor through negligence. Be the business partner that your customer deserves.

JENSEN USA HIRES COLUCCIO, PROMOTES CHADSEY, NETUSIL

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Jensen USA has added a new employee to its sales team and promoted two other employees, the company reports.

Carmen Coluccio has been hired as a regional sales manager,  Michael Chadsey has been promoted to regional sales manager, and David Netusil has been promoted to project manager.

Most recently, Coluccio was director of laundry for Gaylord Entertainers. His other industry experience came while working for Five-Star Laundry, Imperial Laundry Systems and Morgan Linen Services.

Chadsey graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Previously, he was a system designer within Jensen USA’s Design and Engineering department, where he specialized in sorting bin and belt design for Futurail.

Netusil has been promoted to project manager. He has more than 24 years of industrial laundry equipment sales experience (including 20 years with two distributorships) and has been with Jensen for the past four years.

CONTINENTAL GIRBAU PROMOTES MARTIN, ANDERSON, HIRES HULL

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Continental Girbau has made some changes in its personnel, promoting Tari Martin to director of marketing communications and Laura Anderson to graphic designer while hiring Jodi Hull as advertising assistant.

Martin joined Continental in 2005 as Continental Creative Services (CCS) graphic designer. CCS provides advertising, public relations and marketing services to Continental distributors and their

customers across North

America.

In her new role, Martin is charged with overseeing all aspects of advertising, public relations and marketing for Continental, its divisions, subsidiaries and brands.

Anderson joined the Continental team in 2010. In her new role, she handles a mix of design and production

work, focusing on the development of print collateral and direct mail materials for CCS.

Hull comes to Continental with 16 years of graphic design, marketing and print production experience. Most recently, she served as a design specialist at Ep-Direct Printing.

AMERICAN DAWN STREAMLINES DIVISIONS UNDER SINGLE MANAGEMENT TEAM

LOS ANGELES — With renewed focus on customer solutions, American Dawn (ADI) is streamlining all current divisions (Institutional, Hospitality and Healthcare) under one management team, the company says.

Vyto Tozer has been appointed vice president of sales and marketing. The 25-year company veteran is charged with all areas of marketing, sales, product development and customer service.

“ADI plans to offer more application-specific products along with ready-to-market solutions for our customers,” Tozer says. “We are moving from an ‘us’ model to a ‘customer solutions’ model, which holds us all accountable for customer success in the marketplace.”

Steve Kallenbach has been appointed director of market solutions. The 35-year industry veteran will lead growth initiatives and retention dynamics.

“We see our customers’ markets changing and make it our responsibility to lead and respond to these ever-evolving needs, with relevant products and branded solutions,” Kallenbach says. “We are building talent to target new markets and help our customers grow. Simply put, it is our committed goal to be the market leader in providing customer-centric solutions that extend beyond just product.”

ARCO/MURRAY NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION CO. MAKES MATA PARTNER

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. — Elliot Mata has become a partner and shareholder of ARCO/Murray National Construction Co., the firm reports. Mata is a director of operations, overseeing all operational responsibilities of the Process Division. He started with ARCO/Murray in 2005.

“Elliot is integral to our success,” says Brad Dannegger, vice president and regional manager. “He has led ARCO/Murray’s development into a predominant design builder in the process niches/industries we pursue.”

CHICAGO — Many managers and operators polled in this month’s AmericanLaundryNews.com Wire survey place great importance on continuing education, based on the number who said they have received training or certification or have attended educational sessions.

Asked to classify their industry knowledge, 44% of respondents say they are extremely knowledgeable (12%) or more knowledgeable than other managers or operators (32%).

Twenty-four percent say they are as knowledgeable as other managers or operators. Another 24% say they’re knowledgeable but “need to brush up on a few things.” Eight percent of respondents say they are too busy running their operation to spend time learning about the industry.

Half of the respondents have attended a training program or certification program specific to laundry/linen or textile services management, and 72% have attended or participated in an industry-related educational session (association conference, convention seminar, webinar, service seminar, etc.).

Roughly 47% are planning to attend or participate in an educational session in the next year, while 22.4% are not. The remaining 30.6% are unsure.

When respondents were asked to pick an area they’d like to learn more about, there was no clear favorite. Energy conservation was the leader at 20%. Three categories—laundry chemistry, labor management, and operating costs—tied at 16% each. Sales and marketing was just behind at 14%.

There was another three-way tie between maintenance, different types of equipment, and “other,” each of which garnered 6% of the votes.

Thirty-four percent of survey respondents are planning to attend the 2013 Clean Show, which will offer a wide-ranging agenda of educational seminars. Fifty-four percent are not planning to attend, and the remaining 12% are undecided.

While the Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take a brief industry survey anonymously online each month. All managers and administrators of institutional/OPL, cooperative, commercial and industrial laundries are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

To sign up for the Wire, click the “Subscriptions” button at the top right-hand corner of this page and follow the instructions.

An AmericanLaundryNews.com exclusive.

CHICAGO — True marketing and selling is getting personal with your customers and buyers. You need to be able to capture the needs of your associates and develop profiles that will drive the success of your marketing endeavors.

Such a requirement goes well beyond demographics, those statistics being used as you gather data from forms, blanket surveys and conference contacts. They are unreliable at best.

You won’t achieve your contact goals by asking questions like, “What do you really purchase and from whom?” and “What interests you?” Most responses will be notoriously incorrect or even untrue.

Most organizations need to ask common-sense questions to uncover the customer’s role, i.e. business issues, buying habits, types of purchasing formats utilized, etc. Such information, if gathered correctly, should create a highly customized profile that could positively impact selling and purchasing.

Purchasing is a measured, deliberate process. The selling of products is a journey, not a sprint to the finish line. Organizations, particularly those in the healthcare arena, must be transparent with customers and sales groups. Profile customers and develop this information so that it can be tailored to provide an understanding of a product’s influence and true purpose.

Take small steps in developing targeted projects, obtain customer feedback, and relay this information to the manufacturing and distribution arm. Then, and only then, will you be able to sell a product at the right time and the right price. These assessments and tasks are essential and critical. Otherwise, your group will become bogged down in creating something that is not beneficial to your organization—think spinning wheel that never stops.

Many groups fail to automate the marketing and sales portion of their business. Automating and customizing programs that depict customer preferences—what they want, what they purchase, and why—is equally essential. If you develop reliable content that is geared toward the tasks and true objectives, then sales and revenue should follow.

Any advertising must incorporate customer and organizational profile information so that readers can judge if the item is worth their time to consider. If not done, then you’re publishing information that might as well be an insert in the Sunday newspaper—seldom read and never understood.

Those responsible must push for integration of both marketing and sales automation, which will hopefully avoid creating stovepipe situations from which recovery is difficult. Creation of a content strategy that conserves cost and increases intensity to purchase should be the goal for any marketing endeavor.

Marketing efforts must address business goals, automation of web goals, strategic goals, measurement of success/failure, as well as what actions you desire customers to take and what actions you will take once you develop such information—a game plan. Gather the troops to decide when your customers are most engaged and uncover your most influential and active advocates outside of your organization.

Never put your customers “on hold.” If you do, you will eventually have no customers. Give the customer what they want, not what you think they may want.

Seldom are sales achieved at conferences. These events should be where you develop personal relationships with existing and potential customers. No matter if you are a customer, buyer or working in sales, always take notes at these conferences. Establish targets for products if you are in purchasing, targets for personal relationships if in sales.

CHICAGO — Taking inventory is often cause for headaches at any laundry facility, and a recent webinar on linen inventorying addressed how to make the process work for each individual system.

Barbara Williams has more than 30 years of experience in the textile industry. As a consultant with Standard Textile Co., she frequently speaks about linen process improvements, linen management, and cost-reduction programs for healthcare operations.

During the webinar sponsored by the Association for Linen Management, Williams stressed the many rewards of taking a regular inventory and touched on a few challenges a laundry facility faces during the process.

Your Inventory Involves What?

The major items that most healthcare laundry facilities count during an inventory are adult patient linen, nursery/pediatric linen, surgical linen, surgical apparel, other staff apparel, pillows, mops and napery. Each facility will need to determine what is important to count, and it isn’t necessary to count everything at the same time. For instance, Williams says, some facilities will count the adult patient linens and the nursery linens, then tally the surgical linen and apparel at a different time.

Where to Conduct an Inventory

Determining where linen is kept is a necessary step before beginning an inventory. Healthcare facilities will need to count linens in patient rooms as well as in ancillary departments. This involves linens on the beds, on the patients and staff, exchange carts, utility carts, in bathrooms, drawers, closets, exam room, cabinets, stretchers, and even on chairs and windowsills.

Staff may again be an issue when determining where linens are stored. In some cases, Williams says, facilities will do what is called a bed-standard method of counting. “Staff members know the actual standard of what is put on a bed, (and) they then take that times the number of beds in a unit,” she says. “And they still take a quick walk-through to see what extras are in the rooms.”

A linen room count and the laundry count need to be conducted as accurately and efficiently as possible. The laundry will be the largest, and it is the most important to get right, Williams says.

Remember to include off-site locations such as clinics. And while many facilities no longer utilize a storeroom, include that location—if applicable—in an inventory.

Who Conducts an Inventory

Where many healthcare facilities ask their nursing staff, including personal care aides, to conduct linen inventories, only 10% of the webinar participants indicated they utilize this population. The majority of participants—40%—use linen distribution or environmental services staff. The more people involved, the better, according to Williams. She says many inventories are conducted by a combination of nursing staff and environmental services staff.

Another possibility is to use laundry personnel, which 30% of webinar participants acknowledged they do. This demographic will be crucial in counting linens in the laundry areas as well as picking up soiled linens and marking them as counted or uncounted.

The use of temporary personnel to help with inventorying is another possibility, but the training required could deter this practice.

The Process of Inventorying

Williams suggests that a 30-day plan be put into place before an inventory. Preparations include identifying the areas and products to count, identifying the facility and areas within a facility that will be involved, and identifying the staff responsible for the counting and recording of linens.

Lists, instructions, forms, signs and schedules are imperative when communicating with staff about an upcoming inventory and while an inventory is being conducted. Education, such as in-service meetings and training, will be another key to success.

Before an inventory begins, the staff involved will need to communicate the date and time of the project, present the procedures to any involved personnel, and communicate with off-site laundries and with customers or patients. A list of names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses is important to communication before, during and after an inventory.

Inventory Day Arrives

Williams provided a list of inventory day events, including sending final communications to all units involved. Collect and pick up all soiled linens in bulk carts and mark as “uncounted,” and verify that these steps have been completed. Close laundry chutes during the inventory.

When the count begins on each unit, teams of two—one to count and the second to record the results—are recommended.

It would be a good idea, Williams says, to establish an “Inventory Central,” or a place, person, or phone extension that those involved in the task can contact for questions and concerns.

When an inventory is complete, either collect the forms or have them returned to Inventory Central. At that time, it would be a good idea to review the forms to confirm numbers and that any comments can be understood. Tabulate results.

Remove signs, and be sure to communicate the cut-off point with all involved. Lastly, Williams recommends an enthusiastic show of appreciation to all those who helped with the inventory.

After the Inventory

When an inventory has been successfully completed, it is time to generate statistics and results; generate the total inventory and the inventory dollar value; calculate replacement or depletion rates; and calculate mysterious disappearance.

Share the results with management, with the nursing staff and with other staff members. And most importantly, Williams says, take action on the results.

“Assess your inventory needs by comparing your inventory with your demand,” she says, “and adjust linen orders accordingly. Retrieve any ‘dead’ or hoarded inventory and review security measures.

“Today, we’re in a budget crunch, and we really need to protect our linen assets.”

Click here for Part 1.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Managing a laundry facility is a challenge, and when expensive equipment breaks down, the ability to repair it can hinge on knowing where to locate a single part.

During an Association for Linen Management webinar, Parts Are NOT Parts, David Chadsey, managing director of Capital Equipment Consulting (which recently changed its name to Laundry-Consulting.com), spoke about parts management and maintenance, focusing on the need for inventory and documentation.

Knowing what you have by way of inventory is the first step in documenting your machine maintenance, Chadsey says. At some point, every piece of equipment will need to be replaced. Understanding the process and planning for the inevitable will make the job easier to handle, he says.

Chadsey advocates documenting a machine’s usage and tracking inventory as means to understanding what equipment and parts a facility uses and needs. “Because if you don’t know what you use and don’t know what you need,” he says, “the day you need it, you’re probably not going to have it.”

Maintaining a parts inventory is important to keeping a facility up and running, he says.

When polled, every participant in the webinar indicated his or her “inventory system” was to simply look on the shelf when a part was needed.

Sources

Chadsey considers the most reliable source of parts to be the manufacturer and/or authorized distributor. These companies also have an advantage of knowing the laundry industry and generally know what a facility will need in the way of parts. Troubleshooting support often comes as part of the package as well.

“This has the lowest risk,” he says. “They built it, they represent it, (and) they really should know the part you need. And when it shows up, it has the greatest likelihood of being the right part.”

Since many of the machines used in laundry facilities are comprised of parts from other industries, local parts outlets may be an excellent alternative, he says. With competitive pricing, local supply houses typically offer faster delivery and availability. The one downside is that these businesses are not usually industry-specific, so the person behind the counter may not know much about laundry equipment.

Another source could be specialty parts makers, such as Industrial Wheels, Depend-O-Drain and C&W Equipment. Companies like these often advertise in trade publications, Chadsey says, and this source could help lower costs over time.

For any part that may need to be tooled, a local machine shop may be the answer. Chadsey suggests that a local machine shop can often handle a job at a lower cost and with a quick turnaround. Used equipment also may be of help, at a significant savings, he says.

The majority of the webinar’s participants indicated that they purchase parts from a manufacturer or authorized dealer, using a parts outlet or specialty parts manufacturer as a secondary source.

If a now-defunct manufacturer made a machine, a laundry manager may need to get creative when it comes to replacing parts, Chadsey says. Alternative sources become more important when a piece of equipment is not supported as it was the day it was purchased.

In addition to parts outlets, specialty manufacturers, used equipment and custom machine shops, former distributors and the manufacturers of individual parts may be able to help. Issues may arise, he cautions, if the machine has structural problems in addition to individual parts problems.

Replacements

When it appears that equipment will need to be replaced, Chadsey suggests looking at benchmarks before making the decision, including the cost of continuing its operation and an analysis of ROI.

When looking at the cost of operation, consider safety issues or the structural components of the machine; look at the cost of parts and labor, a prime reason to maintain documentation on the repairs for that particular piece of equipment; and be sure to include the cost of downtime.

When considering the ROI, look at the cost of the old machine vs. that of a new or different piece of equipment. This analysis also will help determine a predictable replacement schedule, which is an advantage when talking with senior management.

Chadsey encourages any laundry manager to maintain the documentation on every piece of equipment, to be more aggressive in tracking and maintaining inventory, and to know their regional and local providers of parts. Planning is key to keeping costs down for any facility.

Click here for Part 1.

Google is the main way that people find information, products, services, and local businesses. Make sure that potential customers can find your site when they're searching for what you offer. In this webinar, we'll explain the concept of search engine marketing and identify strategies for search engine optimization. This TRSA-endorsed webinar by UniformMarket LLC takes place at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, October 19. The presentation is open to all uniform rental/sale, industrial laundry and linen supply company owners, executives and managers.

"What aspects of inventorying and securing textiles pose the biggest challenge? What percentage of losses would you consider to be acceptable if the proper controls were in place? And how could an insufficient inventory impact the rest of my operation?”

Equipment Manufacturing — Joe Gudenburr, G.A. Braun, Syracuse, N.Y.

“How can we tell if we’re getting our money’s worth from the textiles we’re using? What are the characteristics of a high-quality textile after it has been processed a dozen times, 50 times, or more? And can item type — flatwork or garment — actually influence textile durability?”

Textiles — Elizabeth Easter, Ph.D., University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — There are benefits to be gained by utilizing websites and social media in promoting business, says the Textile Care Allied Trades Association (TCATA), and online marketing will be among the topics featured during the association’s Annual Management & Educational Conference here April 28-May 1.