Commercial Integrator August 2023 - 56

INTEGRATOR INSIGHTS
Simple Ways to Create Customers for Life
You may feel like a 'nobody' competing against the big boys, but there are competitive
differentiators that can earn you coup after coup. By Lionel Felix
BACK IN 2015, there were just a few
of us in our little warehouse south of
downtown Austin, Texas. Very few people
knew who Felix Media Solutions was, as
we were just getting started. But we had
an advantage that helped drive us: We
were highly responsive to customers.
Plus, we got bids out quickly. From our
first day, we prioritized listening to what
our customers were asking for, whether
directly or indirectly.
We found that it wasn't the best price
that mattered; rather, it was responsiveness.
Customers wanted to know that they
mattered and that they'd receive prompt
responses and quotes. It seemed like a
simple ask. And, to be honest, it wasn't
hard to do. Having spent my previous
career in IT, I knew the metrics for success
were responsiveness and rapid resolution.
When I started in AV, however, it seemed
like few companies were aware that those
things were important.
Our First Big Coup
Early on, our little team of " nobodies " went
up to bid against a top-five AV integrator
for one of the largest employers in Austin.
We caught the customer at a moment when
their national AV integrator couldn't be
bothered to fix an open issue, took weeks to
call back and seemed uninterested in small
" add-move-change " work. This had been
happening a lot, unfortunately. Frustrated,
they let us come in and work on the small
issues; quickly, we took care of them. The
win came when we were pulled into the
C-suite boardroom that was foxing the other
integrator. For weeks, they blamed the manufacturers,
IT and everyone else; meanwhile,
the room was not working at all.
Through some simple, IT-style deduction,
we figured out that the problem was
a cable with a kink somewhere in the floor.
We had the room working in 15 minutes.
In that moment, we had the opportunity
Retaining the good customers is simple; however, it requires dedication. It also
requires buy-in from everyone in the company.
to get more work from that customer. The
work came, but where we truly won was in
the retention of that customer. In fact, that
organization is still a client today - no bids
required. This was a tremendous learning
opportunity early on, and this strategy continues
to work for us today.
More Big Ideas
KNOW YOUR VALUE: We've had clients
that only cared about getting a lower
cost. Eventually, we've had to fire those
customers if they continued to get three
quotes for work after we had already
demonstrated our ability. It is too costly to
chase customers that do not see our value.
It's better to focus on customers that do.
KEEP IT SIMPLE: In the beginning, our
quotes were simple, but effective. They
didn't rely on an industry-specific enterprise
resource planning (ERP) system; rather,
they relied on Google Sheets. Today,
we still use Google Sheets, and we will for
the foreseeable future. The reasoning is not
based on cost but, rather, on efficiency. We
get the numbers out the door fast. " Fast "
means that most quotes take one to three
days. Getting the quote into the client's
hands fast means that they see us first.
We've found that the first quote a client
sees is usually the one they go with.
Commercial Integrator, (USPS 005-160) (ISSN 2165-9850), Vol. 13 No. 8, is published monthly by Emerald X, LLC., 100 Broadway, 14th
Today, we continue to have an internal
rule about getting back to people quickly.
It's my top priority, and it has served us
well. When the customer is asking us
to give them prices so they can give us
money, I can't imagine how that doesn't
motivate people. But, even so, we find
today that we're one of the only integrators
that operates this way. Customers actually
thank us for calling them back. This is a
strategy, but it is also part of our culture:
We are friendly, helpful and quick to respond,
and we love solving problems. We
direct people to other vendors for projects
that aren't a fit, and we make introductions
as if we were a concierge.
Key Takeaways
The customers you have are the most
valuable part of your business. Customeracquisition
costs are high, and it's hard
to reacquire lost customers. Retaining
the good ones is simple, but it requires
dedication. It also requires buy-in from
everyone in the company.
If you just focus on making sure that your
good customers are happy, and that even
small requests are handled quickly, you
will have customers for life.
Lionel Felix is CEO of Felix Media Solutions.
Floor, New York, New York 10005, 800-440-2139. Commercial
Integrator is a registered trademark of Emerald X, LLC. All reproduction, including photocopying, is prohibited without written permission. Postage Paid at New York, NY and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: send address changes to COMMERCIAL INTEGRATOR, PO BOX 297, Lincolnshire, IL 60069-0297.
56
Commercial Integrator AUGUST 2023
commercialintegrator.com
DJILE/STOCK.ADOBE.COM

http://www.commercialintegrator.com

Commercial Integrator August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Integrator August 2023