Here at Baillie Lumber, we have remained focused on doing the very best we can in these constantly evolving times. Here are just a few of the thoughts and suggestions we have found to be valuable of late.

 

Think differently about current and prospect customers. 

In all likelihood, customers will remain cautious during the summer months. Some will be anxious to return to “business as usual,” while others will look more closely at how businesses are operating now and determine their participation from there. We are certainly seeing both types of approaches in the hardwood lumber industry. 

But if there was ever a time to focus on customer retention, this is it. While never abandoning efforts aimed at customer acquisition, we believe it’s your present customer base that will likely see you through these difficult times and enable you to emerge stronger than ever later on.

 

Improve the flow of customer communications across departments. 

In the past, some businesses may have experienced problems around sharing customer information between teams and/or departments. Now is a good time to cut out unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and any other operational roadblocks to sharing data.  

For example, asks Business2Community, “Does your team have to log into multiple systems to see all of a customer’s information?” If so, this makes it harder for everyone from sales and marketing to distribution “to get a full picture of a customer’s history [which] can lead to poor decision-making.” The solution is making customer data available “within a single interface at every interaction” and ensuring that everyone who needs to access that information can do so.

 

Continue to reach out to alert and reassure customers. 

This continues to be an opportune moment to reach out to your most valued, loyal customers. The marketing firm Weidert Group advises sending personalized letters to these customers, but also to “send occasional updates, words of encouragement, industry news that may impact your company or theirs,” and any ways in which “recent restrictions or regulations may impact the industry.”  

If you can anticipate any concerns your customers will have and address them directly you might be able to boost trust in your business!

 

Act on feedback. 

Chances are, you have implemented procedures with which to respond to customer inquiries and feedback in the past. As part of the re-opening process, it’s critically important to ensure those systems are up and running efficiently.  

Let customers know you’re listening to them. Act on the best suggestions you received concerning customer protection, improved delivery of goods or services, etc.  

What other thoughts do you have on the subject. Drop us a line and let us know!

 

Brett Del Prince
Baillie Lumber
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