I cofounded 2 technology companies – one that focused on electronic hardware and firmware, and one that focused on software and cloud-based solutions. One was a manufacturing company, the other provided high technology solutions to manufacturing companies.
Throughout my career, the common perception was that I was (am) a “technology guy”. Sometimes I’d correct that and reply that I was really a “manufacturing guy”, but the truth is, I’ve always been a “customer guy”.
Even though I say I’m not a technology guy, I discovered I was pretty clever when it came to developing and applying technology. I started my career as an electronic service technician, a career I chose after failing electronics in high school. I had something to prove to myself, after coasting through high school and finding myself pretty much unemployable as a young adult.
It turned out, I was pretty good at fixing things that weren’t designed too well, and before long, I had earned the chance to offer up my own solutions as alternatives. A little side hobby became a start-up company, which over time – and with the help and contribution of many other talented and energetic people with something to prove – turned into a pretty significant business. Several of them, actually.
My technical cleverness was a factor, but a bigger factor was my focus on customers and how I connected with them. My belief is that if a customer shared a problem with you, it was already a more intimate connection than simply a “hi, how are you?” conversation. They shared something about themselves. My inclination was to try to solve the problem they shared, and the first part of that process was understanding it. I call that “customer empathy” because you could feel their pain and you felt a genuine inclination to try to help them fix it.
As a teenager, I had part time jobs in a bicycle and sporting goods store, an equipment rental outlet, and as a motorcycle parts counter manager. People were always coming to me sharing a problem they were looking for a remedy for, and without knowing it, I was continually refining and honing my communication and problem-solving skills.
When I started my first company (“Ontario Electronic Services”, later shortened to “OES”), it was as a hobby business where two friends and I opened a small shop to service TVs, small appliances, and then further challenging ourselves by servicing industrial controls that no one else wanted to work on. Some were really old, and some were foreign built with little or no documentation. Through those experiences, relationships were formed and opportunities were earned, and the rest, as they say, is history.
It was through great customer relationships that the companies I cofounded earned the chance to propose and provide alternative innovative technologies and solutions, and then provide the resultant products or solutions on a continuous, go forward basis. Yes, the technical cleverness and ingenuity was a factor, but the opportunity was earned through the establishment of genuine relationships, and genuine relationships are with people that understood solid relationships are a two-way thing.
I never aimed for a “supplier-customer” relationship, and every now and then, I would be surprised by a customer that would remind me that’s what our relationship was. It was at those moments that I understood the difference between good customers and great customers; great customers are in it together with you, focused on the same things - the same outcomes, the same values, the same idea of success - even though each party brings different elements and ingredients to the table.
The difference between good customers and not-so-good customers was easy to see; the not-so-good customers were the ones that saw the relationship as a “food chain” thing, believing that any money they allowed you to make was money out of their pocket, while the good customers appreciated the true value you brought to the table. However, the great customers understood they also have an innate responsibility to bring value to the relationship too, and that your success is equally as important in the relationship as theirs’.
It was through those great customer relationships that the companies I helped build not only earned the chance to propose and provide alternative innovative technologies and solutions, but also to help make it all happen. They committed not just the opportunity and capital, but also energy, talent, time, as well as patience, encouragement and support. Together, we’d find a better solution or product, and together we’d both benefit and grow from it.
As I mentioned in an earlier installment in this series (Entrepreneurial Epiphanies: "the Company with the Best Customers, Wins."), the best customers aren’t necessarily the biggest customers. The best customers are the ones you can grow with – they don’t just have an interest and appetite for your future product or capacity, they are genuinely interested in helping your company achieve it. The first step to identifying and developing a great customer is through the establishment and cultivation of genuine (Ie. interested and empathetic) relationships.
Great relationships trump good technology because great relationships survive situations when your technology or product isn’t so good. In some situations, you may even lose a deal or opportunity, but you haven’t lost a customer and the opportunity to do better the next time.
When people you have a great relationship with advance up the ladder, your opportunity to solve problems for them goes up the ladder with them, recognizing that your support and participation was likely a contributing factor to their career rise. When they leave and accept new roles in other companies, you gain the opportunity to do business with a new customer, while still having the continuing business opportunities with the company they left.
Peter Drucker once said that "culture eats strategy for breakfast". From my experience, "relationship trumps technology" in the same way.
As much as manufacturers are fascinated by the luster and appeal of new technologies, most of the great customers I’ve had the privilege of working with made trust-based decisions. My underlying strategy (and oft repeated mantra) has always been, “choose your customers wisely, and then settle for nothing short of their success.”
How do you choose your customers wisely? It starts with relationship. Strong relationships trump technology, bumps in the road, and even price.
Postscript: other blogs of interest related to building long term relationships with great customers include:
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