Customer Service Pros Heed the Call

This article previously ran in the February 2020 issue of PS Magazine.

Customers are expecting more than ever from their print solutions providers: top-quality products, customized design, speedy delivery times, savvy branding strategy, competitive prices and — to top it all off —a personal touch. As the print industry becomes more diverse and competitive, one thing will set successful companies apart: exceptional customer service.

Four print and marketing customer service experts shared how prioritizing strong relationships, meeting unique client needs, offering expert advice and mindfully adapting to the future set their organizations apart — and garnered them loyal customers.

Make It Personal

Julie Stiles, a customer service representative at York, Pennsylvania-based Superior Business Solutions, has been building strong client relationships for almost 30 years.

“We work hard to build working, trusting relationships with customers and treat them the way we would want to be treated. We’ve all been a customer ourselves, and when we have needs, we want to have someone take care of us, so we take care of our customers’ needs in the same way,” Stiles says.

Stiles says Superior is structured to prioritize customer service — each team of sales reps and customer support personnel handles their own customers to provide more direct service.

“Instead of having customers call in and be helped by anyone answering the phone, my customers are passed on to me to take care of,” Stiles says. “They prefer to call someone they know and have dealt with previously. I’ve been here for 29 years, and I have customers that I’ve worked with that entire time.”

Superior has also optimized its digital presence to put customers first. An internal online system tracks the status of every project, including problems that arise, how they were resolved and how the customer reacted, Stiles says. The data allows Superior to identify and address any recurring issues with production. And the organization’s front-end online system allows customers to place orders online, expediting the process.

Putting customer service first has paid off — and created many loyal customers.

“We had a customer that switched to a competitor because of pricing, but it didn’t work out. They came back and said it was because of the service we provide,” Stiles says. “They know who we are, that we will take care of their needs, we’ll get the job done correctly and that trust is there.”

Cater to Your Market

Robert Elder has worked in the print industry for almost 20 years and has spent seven of those years at Exalt Printing Solutions, based in Carrollton, Texas. He started as a customer service representative and now works as the organization’s software systems administrator, managing Exalt’s digital presence and operations.

“We’re about 35 to 40 people strong, but I’m the database manager. I built the storefront and catalogues for clients, and most of the maintenance goes through me. I’m a one-man team, and my current role is more internal customer service,” Elder says.

Exalt’s location near Dallas means that its largest vertical is the health care sector, and Elder notes that the organization has honed its operations to meet the unique needs of health care providers.

“In the health care industry, document management is a big deal, and a lot of what we handle are basically legal documents that have to be treated with a unique set of rules around customization and holding to brand standards,” Elder says. “We have an in-house graphics department that helps to make sure that when an existing client requests a new document, it has that look and feel that marketing requires per the corporation’s brand standards.”

Each document is assigned a unique identification number that can be tracked from its inception and through its life cycle, ensuring consistency and accountability for any changes that are made. The system also makes it easier for customers to update or replicate an existing document, which is especially useful when multiple departments within the same hospital might need variations of the same document.

“Often, months or years later, someone from the hospital calls to reference that document, and they’ve got that number, which allows us to pull that item up, view the last time it was revised and so on,” Elder says. “Our graphics department works hand in hand with customer service representatives and the client to make sure it’s exactly what they need and that it conforms to brand standards for look and feel, how it’s packaged, printed and priced — all of those details are in our system and trackable. We’re looking out for the client and picking up on minor details that could make a difference to those folks down the line.”

Elder says that the document identification and tracking system is just one aspect of the customer service that Exalt offers its customers.

“Even [with] our larger clients — like some of the hospital chains that we print a lot for — most of the folks that call in are administrators, nurses or business managers in the various departments, and they call and ask for a specific person here at Exalt,” Elder says. “There’s the personal connection there, and when they have a rush job, they have a name in mind as opposed to calling and talking to an operator.”

Get Creative

Sabrina Nayhouse is part of the tight-knit team at Specialized Office Systems in Phoenix, where she works as a client relationship manager. Specialized employs four print and two promotional client relationship managers, who support the sales team and their customers. Nayhouse says the organization provides her the freedom to find creative solutions, whether it’s suggesting the perfect soft-touch laminate to clients or finding new label vendors.

“I have a background in printmaking but never got into the commercial side before this,” Nayhouse says. “I really enjoy the problem-solving bits of the job and getting to learn new things from PSDA, which blew my mind with the opportunities I could bring back to the company and my customers.”

Because Specialized is a smaller operation, Nayhouse says everyone is dedicated to providing excellent customer service.

“We’re always keen to answer the phone on the first ring, and, overall, it’s a lot of multitasking, supporting each other, and getting everything done as quickly and accurately as possible,” Nayhouse says. “It’s nice when the customer calls in and we can get them to the correct customer service person, but any of us can take the order, so we don’t keep the customer waiting. But most of the time, they know who they’re talking to and we get to know the customer and account.”

Nayhouse says she especially enjoys using her artistic background to suggest new solutions to her clients, and adds that attending the PSDA P2P Technology + Innovation Summit this fall gave her a few new ideas, as well.

“It’s been so fun to experiment and see what clients I can offer these new materials to, and everyone has really loved it,” she says. “With foreign print shops and big-box stores popping up, we have to give them that personal touch. We are prompt, get to know our customers and are as attentive as possible.”

Bridge the Gap

Spry Inc., based in Anderson, Indiana, specializes in printing and branding services for the financial sector but is growing to serve a wider market, and client account manager Kelly Muse is at the forefront of that evolution.

“We’re growing and are able to offer a number of services, but we’re small enough where we can get pretty personal with our customers. We still make it a point to go out there and visit everyone a couple times a year,” Muse says.

Muse started at Spry three years ago, just as the organization was restructuring how it would acquire and manage clients. Prior to that, sales representatives were in charge of managing accounts and sales, which Muse notes was not a sustainable long-term strategy. Today, teams of account managers and experience managers offer a well-rounded approach to customer service, she says.

“We’ve just gotten to this ratio of one client account manager to two client experience managers, which is critical to the success of our future,” Muse says. “Experience managers do a lot of the internal heavy lifting such as placing orders, invoicing and other day-to-day operations, while account managers are out in the field and growing relationships with our customers.”

Providing outstanding customer service to new and old clients alike is a challenge, Muse says — one that Spry’s restructuring aims to address.

“Some of our older customers in the financial industry, like small community banks, still use typewriters, so it’s a different mindset compared to newer customers with huge marketing departments,” Muse says. “Trying to shift gears and balance between the two, you have to know both ways to speak. Truly, at the base of it, you have to take the time to learn your customers and make sure that you’re customizing your approach for each, and if you take the time to do that, at the end of the day, it really maintains and grows that customer relationship with you.”

By Lillian Chapa