
If your printing company has customers, a sales team and a manufacturing facility, then you also have a customer service team (CSR). This team is sometimes referred to as production coordinators, account managers, customer service representative and probably a few more descriptions. While their objectives may differ from company to company, one of the key areas of accountability is communication. They are the voice of the customer and of sales when speaking to operations. And they represent operations when speaking with customers and the sales team. I believe that they can be one of the key pillars of your success – if you let them. They are like Grand Central Station, keeping all the trains running on time.
Too often I see a lack of support for the CSRs in business. I know, probably not in your company but in the others. They don’t get the respect they deserve nor the support. They can feel like a punching bag, getting it from both side – operations and the client facing folks. I also believe that how your CSR team goes, your company goes. If you’re looking to provide world class customer experience, you should make your customer service team into a world class contender, here are a few areas to focus on.
If you’re looking to provide world class customer experience, you should make your customer service team into a world class contender.
Training
Implement comprehensive training programs that include all of your printing processes, materials and substrates, file preparation, and the common technical issues that occur in your business. Provide regular updates on new equipment, capabilities and workflows. Ensure that your team members understand industry terminology and specifications because after all, they are the voice of your business. And finally, make sure to include soft skills training for effective communication and problem-solving.
Process and workflow
Establish clear communication channels and the workflows that have become standard operating procedure and best practice for your business. Create streamlined processes for order intake, proofing, and status updates. Set up efficient systems for sharing production schedules and deadlines – especially when said schedules change. No one likes surprises. Give them the tools and visibility to anticipate order status and on-time deliveries. Use your MIS effectively – stop all those individual-based workarounds. Create a best practice for how your company will excel with the tools that you have. Implement project management software to track jobs from start to finish – make sure that it is not only useful, but accurate and timely. And finally, provide a gateway so that customer service can easily communicate with both production and sales teams.
Use your MIS effectively – stop all those individual-based workarounds. Create a best practice for how your company will excel with the tools that you have.
Empowerment
Give them authority to make certain decisions without escalation and provide access to necessary resources and information. Allow them to offer solutions and compromises when issues arise. And trust their judgment in handling customer concerns.
Proactive communication
Reach out to customers before they need to ask about status updates. One of my pet peeves is that a customer is going to give you a significant order today, congratulations. Now, how many times will they have to contact your company to get a status update? The answer is simple – too many times! Make sure your CSR team has the tools to alert customers to potential issues before they become problems and provide regular check-ins on longer projects. The last thing you want is for the customer to call asking about the status of the job and the CSR responds, “umm, that’s a great question, let me find out.”
Feedback loops
Your CSR team can regularly gather customer feedback about service quality. They are pivotal when conducting post-project reviews to identify areas for improvement. They can be tracking the common issues and help to develop preventive solutions. And they can learn from each other by sharing success stories and lessons learned across the team.
Invest in the right technology
Implementing a robust CRM system to track customer interactions is vital in today’s fast paced environment and team collaboration. Don’t rely only on email – in fact, stop relying on email. Make sure to utilize automated notifications for project milestones. Have an easy-to-use digital proofing and approval system as well as file sharing and collaboration tools.
Set clear service standards
Establish response time expectations – even if you don’t have an answer yet, acknowledging that you received the inquiry and you are working on it is often all the sender needs to de-escalate a situation. Create detailed quality control checkpoints for all aspect of the CSR job duties. Defining (in advance) escalation procedures can help minimize the drama of a situation and save precious time. Develop clear pricing and quote processes with guidelines and responsibilities of all the client facing team members.
Build strong relationships between departments
Regular meetings between customer service and production teams, and customer service and sales can help with morale and trust. This can also lead to cross-training opportunities for the CSR team members. Finally develop shared goals and metrics across all adjacent departments and encourage team building.
Measure and reward performance
If providing a world class experience to your customers is important, how will you know if that’s working or not? How will you measure or monitor it? Ongoing surveys and quarterly business reviews are two methods to keep a pulse on this. Understanding what a Net Promoter Score is and how that can correlate to customer loyalty and profitability is critical for those trying to differentiate themselves in a crowded market, where everyone’s deliverables can seem the same. Sameness leads to commodity and that’s not where you want to go. As you track key performance indicators like response times and customer satisfaction, be sure to recognize and reward exceptional service. These tools can also be helpful in determining career advancement opportunities.
Understanding what a Net Promoter Score is and how that can correlate to customer loyalty and profitability is critical for those trying to differentiate themselves in a crowded market, where everyone’s deliverables can seem the same. Sameness leads to commodity and that’s not where you want to go.
Some days, you'll nail all of these things while other days you'll look back and wonder what you were thinking. And that's okay. The goal isn't perfection - it's progress. Remember that your CSR team is the voice of the customer and of sales and of operations. They can be one of the key pillars of your success as just as Grand Central Station, they keep the trains running on time.
You've got this. Good luck and keep me posted on how you're progressing.
Mike Philie can help validate what’s working and what may need to change in your business. Changing the trajectory of a business is difficult to do while simultaneously operating the core competencies. Mike provides strategy and insight to ambitious owners and CEOs in the Graphic Communications Industry by providing direct and realistic insight, not being afraid to voice the unpopular opinion and helping leaders navigate change through a common sense and practical approach. Learn more at www.philiegroup.com, LinkedIn or email at mphilie@philiegroup.com.
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- Business Management - Operations

Mike Philie leverages his 28 years of direct industry experience in sales, sales management and executive leadership to share what’s working for companies today and how to safely transform your business. Since 2007, he has been providing consulting services to privately held printing and mailing companies across North America.
Mike provides strategy and insight to owners and CEOs in the graphic communications industry by providing direct and realistic assessments, not being afraid to voice the unpopular opinion, and helping leaders navigate change through a common sense and practical approach.