The Problem of Perception (or, the perils of pigeon-holing!)

McGraw-Hill, one of the world’s largest publishers of business books, estimates that it costs a company seven times as much to develop new business with a new customer, compared to developing new business with an existing customer.

Manufacturers and service companies all experience the exasperation of having a loyal and satisfied customer go elsewhere for something he didn’t realize that you also provide.  Self-interest aside, this is a true “lose/lose” proposition.  You’ve lost the business, but your customer has lost the opportunity to wok with a vendor he’s satisfied with, one that he knows works well within his system, one that will require the least amount of time to get “up to speed.”

The reasons this unhappy phenomenon occurs so frequently are many:  a sales engineer who has worked on a half-dozen successful power-and-free projects can become understandably focused on that capability.  Also, buyers change, and when a buyer is new, it’s human nature for him to try and “define” a vendor in the neatest – (read “narrowest”) – way possible.

Success is also an enemy!  Do one “impossible” monorail installation and you’ll be identified as a Monorail Miracle Worker by the customer, and everyone he influences.  This kind of “defining” doesn’t always even have to be specific to the type of job.  Like many companies who are geared to immediate response, we have a customer for whom we’ve performed near-miracles – twice.  Now, despite everything we’ve discussed since those projects, we’re still pigeon-holed as That Miracle Worker in Windsor.  Seemingly, if no miracles are required that day, we’re out of the running.  (This could be called a Problem of Pedestals!)“But this is such an ordinary job!” protests the buyer.  “We just don’t think of you as doing the mundane kinds of work!”

Fortunately, I might add, this particular “niching” is not the norm.  We did, for example, recently have a would-be customer land on our doorstep (a feat in itself, but that’s another story), prints in hand, and offer us the opportunity to manufacture a 180’ x 100’ device for “loading ships.”  He also wanted us to deliver it to Nova Scotia - a 2000 mile trek.  So here, you might say that a slightly more narrow perception of R.J. Cyr Co. would have saved us all some time.

Finally, human memory itself confounds things: according to a study I saw recently, approximately 45% of what’s said is forgotten within 72 hours; 70% is gone by the time a week has passed.  Thus, the key points made during the most compelling sales calls are lost – or at least fuzzy – by the time a competitor follows us in.  Of course, if the right brain/left brain theory is to be believed, you can improve this particular statistic by “involving” the buyer; that is, show him a successful job such as the one you’re proposing, rather than just asking him to read about it or listen to you tell him about it.  Unfortunately, continuous road shows are costly and impractical in all but the most exceptional cases.

So, how does a company, particularly a small-to-medium-sized firm that operates lean and is careful with its dollars, as well as its customers’, communicate effectively?  How does it now become “myopic” about itself?  How does it remind its own people, and its customers and other vendors how wide is its range of capabilities and capacities?

After looking long and hard at numerous options, we think this is one good way.  We plan to use this newsletter to show our customers – past, present and future – what R.J. Cyr Co.  can do in its roles as a manufacturer of material handling equipment, and as a “conveyor of ideas,” conveyors and monorails, and as a Mathews distributor.  We also want to highlight our work as a general contractor, as subcontractor, an installation contractor, a production equipment rebuilder and as a distributor of Mathews, Shepard Niles/Cleveland Tramrail and Anchor Conveyor.  Because we do all these things, every day.

We won’t try to accomplish this in one issue; but over time, we think we can, by discussing our work, and letting jobs speak for themselves, paint a full and true picture of what we are, where we’ve been and how we might fit into your plans and programs.  As always, we welcome your thoughts.

CONVEYORS | CRANES | DESIGN ENGINEERING | STEEL FABRICATION | INSPECTION, REPAIRS, INSTALLATION

R.J. CYR CO., INC.
Windsor, Ontario Canada
www.rjcyr.com

© R.J. CYR CO. INC.  All rights reserved.  We are a crane and conveyor manufacturer serving Canadian and American companies from our offices and factories in Windsor, Ontario Canada and Detroit, Michigan U.S.