A principle we live by at AVC Immedia is that a customer is never just a number on a spreadsheet.
Our customers are businesses large and small. Are these businesses the sum of all their services, products, branding, know how, culture and processes? There’s some truth in that, but for us a business is its people.
AVC Immedia’s services have deep foundations of expertise and experience. And when we engage with our clients, we know that we need to work closely with individuals.
I write this on getting to know your customer day. Who knew?! But getting to know your customer sums up the way we work.
We engage deeply with our clients by talking to key team members to truly understand the issues they face. Then, and only then, do we propose a solution and a cost (we like to get the cost discussion out of the way as soon as possible, as if we’re not aligned on cost it’s best to understand this quickly and move on).
We work so closely with our clients it can feel like we become part of their team, so that as well as working as part of the AVC Immedia team our employees also join virtual teams across many clients. This results in deep and enduring friendships – that’s what I call getting to know our customers!
Should every business get to know its customers? It depends. If your business model is based on commodity pricing and volume sales maybe you don’t care. But if you’re us, or like us, you should. How do you know how well you meet your customers’ needs unless you engage profoundly to understand those needs?
Think of your experiences of great service – the restaurant where everything is just right, the checkout person who asks how your day is, the company that calls you a week after doing some work on your house to check everything is ok, the car dealership that collects your car from you for a service. As customers ourselves we know how good service makes us feel, and we strive to generate that feeling with all our clients.
The challenge for us as we grow is to maintain the same quality of relationship with our customers. As CEO it’s my job to ensure we do, and that the values of deep engagement with people and the businesses they represent remain at the heart of our business.
Written by Ross Penney, CEO at AVC Immedia.
