When the customer hangs up the phone, or walks out of your door, after placing an order, do they have a feeling that you have everything under control and will do your utmost to satisfy their needs? How do earn the loyalty of your customers?
This is an interesting question to pose isn’t it? The best in the Industry has a market capture rate of less than 40% of their parts business. That is the parts are required to keep their brand of equipment running with proper maintenance and repairs.
That means we have lost 60% of the parts business. How did that happen? Don’t we care about the parts business or about the parts that the customer purchases? Why is it that so many dealers seem to be so complacent about their parts business? They are complacent too. Are you?
Sitting back waiting for the phone to ring; Putting the backorders into the supplier provided emergency network without doing any expediting. How did we let ourselves get to this place? We are not any different than the next competitor. We have settled for substandard performance and now it is like we are doing the best we can do. We have undergone the drip, drip, of water torture and without knowing it we are happy with where we are now. I can’t believe this is true but the evidence is all around us.
Have you heard the story of the frog that was put in a pot of warm water on the top of the stove and then the heat was turned on? Well the water got warmer and warmer and the frog felt like he was in a bath and slowly but surely his energy drained out of him. By the time the water was boiling and he needed to get out of the water it was too late and he died. That is where we are heading without any action.
Contrast that where a frog was dropped into a pot of boiling water on the stove top. He jumped out instantly, perhaps he got burned but he lived another day. Which frog are you? The time is now.
Marketing Missiles v1.4
So we won’t concentrate on what we do or how we do it. We will concentrate on WHY. The starting point here to me is that we will focus on the fact that we are in business to reduce the owning and operating costs of capital equipment for the equipment owner and operator. We are in business – WHY – to provide the lowest operating cost machine which translates into the highest value proposition for the customer.
In the context of Service-Dominant marketing this means that we should have a complete, current and accurate machine ownership list. This also would be helpful if we had electronic control units on each machine to track equipment and component operating conditions – things such as clogged air filters or overheated engines. This will allow us to assist the customer in their equipment management – after all that is what we are supposed to be good at isn‘t it? The time is now.
WH Filosophy v1.2
The best time to plant a tree was forty years ago. The second best time is today.
The Monk who sold his Ferrari
When two men in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary.
William Wrigley, Jr.
He who dies with the most toys…… still dies.
Keith Luscher.
Management Musing v1.5
Recently I read the Fundamentals of Prosperity by Roger W Babson. This is particularly interesting to me as it was written in 1920. He lists down four fundamentals
It is interesting through the prism of the past 90 years in that three out of the four are still serious issues today. One of them however, has lost some favor. That is faith.
I find it interesting given the furor that has been created from an interview with one man who expressed his beliefs as guiding principles for his business. Chick-Fil-A has caused a firestorm with four or five politicians who seemingly want to limit free speech. Mayors and aldermen and speakers of city councils, people who should know better, or one would have thought they would have known better are making big deal out of one man’s religious beliefs. It is too bad that tolerance for a religious perspective is no longer a given on our society.
Today too few are contributing to our society. When the 1% is viewed as the enemy and to be taken down I prefer to look at it differently. I would rather double the 1% to 2% and enrich more people. If we did that and made that a focus it would male everything better for everyone.
The first step down this road is to give more thought to the individual person. We are putting people into a machine these days and not viewing them as living breathing individuals who have needs and wants just like you and me. This is the essence of management understanding each individual and viewing them as geniuses in hiding rather than problems to be dealt with in life. The time is now.
Friday Filosophy #23
Minds are like parachutes – they only work when open.
Thomas Dewar
Heaven means to be one with God.
Confucius
All glory comes from daring to begin.
Alexander Graham Bell
Service Statements v1.4
This a very interesting time isn’t it? Of course that is a Chinese Curse “may you live in interesting times.” I am not sure it is a curse. It is more than interesting this time we are in it is downright exciting.
Our inventory in the service business is man hours. The more we have the higher our market capture and service revenue. Yet I hear constantly that “we can’t find mechanics.” I agree with you with a twist. You can’t find “journeymen mechanics.” I agree with you so why don’t you grow your own? Hire apprentices, hire helpers, hire students from technical schools. Get on with it. Stop whining and get growing.
Our tools are no longer requiring that we have the strongest back as a mechanic. We have to have the strongest mind. Many people look down on a technical job or a mechanical job. What a shame. The technicians in your employ, in your dealership are some of the smartest people that you have on your payroll. Did you ever think about them that way? Most managers in an equipment dealership would wilt instantly if they had to be the service manager, even if only for a week.
Our tools are computer driven diagnostics with fault codes to assist in problem determination, to find the “Cause” of the customer “Complaint.” They are computer tablets and PDA’s and laptops with schematics and drag and drop shopping carts. They are scanning time clocks for labor collection they are voice recognition for service reports. There is a lot of technology involved today in the work of maintenance and repairs.
Then there is the telematics on the equipment. We will spend more time on that later. Let the interesting times roll. The time is now.
Parts Pondering v1.5
For some time now there has been a new channel to consider for specific parts in the parts business. Let me introduce you to the Kiosk. Walk through most airports today and you will find kiosks selling electronics and items such as vitamins and other related health items.
Now let’s look at our parts business. What is it that our customers would like to have access to from you that needs controls, accounting reporting and inventory? On the job site it might be supplies or safety items. In their shops it might be general job supplies, liquid gasket, etc. They need to have an inventory accessible to their personnel both on job sites and in their shops, perhaps even in their field type vehicles. It is like buying a candy bar or a package of gum. Push the number to access the product then put in a job card and employee card to assign the accounting distribution and off you go. On general job sites select the product and swipe your credit card to obtain the product. There are limitless possibilities. Isn’t it time to start leading with new products and channels such as this? The time is now.
Friday Filosophy #22
It always seems impossible until it is done.
Nelson Mandela
If your mind is empty it is always ready for anything.
Shunryu Suzuki
There are plenty of acquaintances in the world; but very few real friends.
Chinese Proverb
Parts Ponderings v1.4
When the customer hangs up the phone, or walks out of your door, after placing an order, do they have a feeling that you have everything under control and will do your utmost to satisfy their needs? How do earn the loyalty of your customers?
This is an interesting question to pose isn’t it? The best in the Industry has a market capture rate of less than 40% of their parts business. That is the parts are required to keep their brand of equipment running with proper maintenance and repairs.
That means we have lost 60% of the parts business. How did that happen? Don’t we care about the parts business or about the parts that the customer purchases? Why is it that so many dealers seem to be so complacent about their parts business? They are complacent too. Are you?
Sitting back waiting for the phone to ring; Putting the backorders into the supplier provided emergency network without doing any expediting. How did we let ourselves get to this place? We are not any different than the next competitor. We have settled for substandard performance and now it is like we are doing the best we can do. We have undergone the drip, drip, of water torture and without knowing it we are happy with where we are now. I can’t believe this is true but the evidence is all around us.
Have you heard the story of the frog that was put in a pot of warm water on the top of the stove and then the heat was turned on? Well the water got warmer and warmer and the frog felt like he was in a bath and slowly but surely his energy drained out of him. By the time the water was boiling and he needed to get out of the water it was too late and he died. That is where we are heading without any action.
Contrast that where a frog was dropped into a pot of boiling water on the stove top. He jumped out instantly, perhaps he got burned but he lived another day. Which frog are you? The time is now.
Marketing Missiles v1.3
Well we have segmented the market and established territories for salesmen. And we have determined through Simon Sinek that “Why” is the key question in sales so what happens to all our conventional selling techniques?
The usual features and benefits and the call to close ratios and all rest of that ‘stuff. What about all of that you say. Well perhaps it is passe and we just don’t know it. Perhaps our customers are expecting something else altogether from us. I have written about the coming VRM – Vendor Relationship Management that is in the process of replacing CRM – Customer Relationship Management elsewhere.
VRM is about what the customer will ALLOW the vendor to know about them and how they can use it. It is like how most of us use the internet. Some have gotten wise and have an “ersatz” email address to which they ALLOW internet sites to send email. They never access the email it is just there to get the Vendor off their back. The CUSTOMER – you and I – want to be left alone to shop and disappear, we want to control the relationship not the other way around. You see the customer is starting to understand that they are the ones with the power and they are starting to learn how to use that power. Those of us who sell or are involved in marketing who don’t pay attention will be left out. This is the coming of the new world and it is all about “Service-Dominant” marketing. The time is now.
Management Musing v1.4
I want to return to some advice from Gary Hamel which he describes in his book “What Matters Now.” The advice is to a class at the London Business School and he normally reserves it for the last lecture he gives to the class. He addresses five issues which are critical to every one of us and which have seen less and less emphasis over the past few decades. They need to return to prominence in our lives.
I couldn’t agree more with the first one. Too often today we are in a hurry to make a buck. Not to do good but to do money. Talk about the wrong focus. You can see it in every walk of life from the clergy to the businessman; from the coaches to the corner store. We are in such a hurry.
Well Mr. Hamel provides some key guidance in these five points.
He would tell the class that in your first post MBA job consider the following.
Wonderful advice for a leading educator and author – the book is terrific. Please read it. The time is now.