Solution to our July Question

Stacy Jameson, vice president of sales for the Kelsey Corporation, just received the results of the most-recent quarter's customer satisfaction survey, which Kelsey sends to its customers to gauge their satisfaction with the company's products and services. Unfortunately, the first two surveys of this year have yielded some disappointing results. Kelsey depends on its salespeople to provide customers with whatever attention they need. But customers are now saying that salespeople are ignoring them after a deal is closed, and that they're receiving products later than stipulated in signed contracts. Jameson's salespeople have a customer satisfaction metric within their current compensation plan, but with the pay plan more weighted to finding new business, the salespeople are telling Jameson that they're spending more time trying to find new customers and close deals. Kelsey's CEO is concerned that the company is soon going to get a reputation in the market for poor customer service, and so has instructed Jameson to fix the situation promptly. How should she approach this?

July Winner
Scott F. Garner
Sales Manager
Ambassador Steel Corporation
Harrison, Ohio

If I were in Jameson's situation I would start with a good old fashioned heart-to-heart with my reps. I would remind them that if not for their current customer base, they would not have the resources to be looking for new customers. Repeat business is a vital part of any organization, especially one that hopes to thrive in a tough market. At this time I would also take the opportunity to review the recent survey results and remind everyone that service is part of their job.

I would open the floor for discussion about the recent dip in service. Although it could lead to complaining and blame shifting, it is important that the reps know that you're also concerned about them. From that meeting I'd develop an action plan that all could follow, and set targets for improvement. I would also schedule regular times that progress could be reviewed and the plan could be tweaked. At this point I might restructure the pay plan to reflect a more equal weight between new customers and satisfied repeat customers. Rather than awarding bigger bonuses for the most new accounts, maybe I would create a bonus for the most "raving fans" per quarter/year.

Whatever the case, Jameson must motivate both the reps and Kelsey ownership to take the steps necessary to improve their image. The short term "bunker" mentality will not solve this problem. After all, what self-respecting salesperson wants to be out there busting their tail for a short-term-thinking loser? When the customers win, the company wins. When the company wins, the reps win.

What about telling customers about the changes? If Kelsey got serious about its service revolution, the customers will know it.

Other Opinions

Customers tend to have a zero-tolerance attitude toward poor customer service, and Jameson must adopt this attitude if Kelsey is to remain competitive. For a smaller company, a reputation for subpar customer service can be deadly. Jameson should lay out the seriousness of this problem to her sales team, and emphasize that it is everyone's responsibility to make the situation better. She should inform her salespeople that their compensation is tied to their customer service efforts, and that if this area is not improved, Kelsey will be making changes—either to paychecks or to sales positions.

Jameson should also charge her sales force with conducting some long overdue customer maintenance. Salespeople should call on their existing accounts—especially their larger accounts and those that have voiced complaints—and try to restore customer relationships that may have suffered from neglect. Then Kelsey must tighten its methods for tracking customer satisfaction. Instead of mailing its survey every three months, it should mail every two months or even every six weeks.

Marc Wilson
Marketing Project Assistant
ASHRAE
Decatur, Georgia

There are two issues to deal with in this scenario: sales revenue and customer service. The CEO has stated that the current level of customer service is not sufficient. We know customers feel neglected after the sale, and that products aren't arriving on time.

Jameson must prioritize and set acceptable and achievable levels of sales and service performance, or she must reallocate other resources within the company. One solution would be for a sales assistant to call each customer a certain amount of days after a contract is signed. If there's a problem, the assistant can escalate as needed. This also allows salespeople to focus on the job of selling while keeping tabs on customers.

Another option would be for all salespeople to call each of their customers once a month. Although Kelsey may not currently require a full-blown customer support department, it needs to be considered if the company ever expects to be in growth mode.

Micky Roden
Aspen eSales Manager
AspenTech
Houston, Texas