Using the Report Card

It has been some time since my last column urging readers to get a report card of their customer’s satisfaction through a customer satisfaction survey. I have just concluded conducting a focus group in Las Vegas at the same time as the international Builders Show with custom and semi-custom home builders. The overall all subject was about their selection of “Green” products but as usually happens, tangents during groups occur and volais, the subject of customer satisfaction with manufacturers and dealers and distributors was often mentioned.

Put simply, builders are looking to manufacturers of their “Green” as well as other products for the information they need to reach and educate their customers. They have all but given up on dealers and distributors to be knowledgeable about what they are selling, and with more and more cut-backs at all levels because of the times, the task is even more cumbersome for them.

Dealers are perceived as order takers only, and price has taken a larger role in the decision process, since that one item is how builders view one dealer compared to another. They don’t look to them for product knowledge and satisfaction, and frankly many dealers are willingly shedding this responsibility.

This really ups the ante for manufacturers to be sure their end users are happy with their products and services. One can’t tell anymore by looking at their sales sheets by regions as to a products or manufacturer’s sales team or reps success if the customers in a particular area are unhappy with the information and services from the local dealers. Manufacturers often forget the local dealer is an extension of their sales and delivery system.

So who should the report card be testing – yes the local dealer and or distributor, but now more importantly the builder, remodeling contractor, and ultimate consumer.

We forget we are in a “sell through” environment rather than a “sell-to” one. So this means our new product development and customer satisfaction “Report Card” must come from those folks who install and use the product. More importantly, a manufacturer may be smart to view their local dealer / distributor as the order in-take and delivery service only with the current mood of builders, remodelers and consumers.

Many manufacturers have discovered ways to by-pass the locals except for these services with great success. In fact, one builder in the group stated…”I wish I could go directly to the manufacturers I like, because my local dealers know less and less about the products they are selling.”

It is powerful knowledge for the manufacturer to understand who the strongest dealers and distributors are in any one given area, since each manufacturer can only afford to have so many of their own folks in a market.

Sooooo. It’s quite simple conduct your market research with the entire distribution chain, doing more than just asking your best customers “How are we doing?” This way you will be able to know the satisfaction from your back door to the consumer, unfiltered.

Now that you have the “Report Card” discussed in the last column, read it and implement where necessary to grow not only your business but your market reputation. Don’t depend on others to do it for you unless, you know they are the best, most knowledgeable, most favored in the market.

You can only find this out through consistent, well organized, timely market research that you actually pay attention to.