Is good, good enough when it comes to customer service? As far as The IPG and one of its suppliers Lecico are concerned – the answer is NO!
Many companies underestimate the importance of excellent customer service; great products or services on their own are not always enough to keep a customer’s loyalty, but outstanding service and customer satisfaction is.
Kevin Oakes, Director of Sales at The IPG stated: “ Only the businesses that find a way to make customer support a core element of their business strategy can thrive under today’s environment. We put The IPG member at the centre of what we do – what’s right for them is right for us. We put members first and support them, our mantra is that we are Stronger Together”
During recent times, The IPG has played its part in supporting its independent plumbing, heating and bathroom store members, for example, during the early days of the pandemic, the common message published across its marketing channels highlighted those member businesses that remained open, advising opening times and the level of service they were providing. It has continued to deliver positive messages to ensure that members customers continue to shop in their local area.
Paul Barry (MD) from Four Ashes Plumbing Supplies, an IPG member based in Wolverhampton commented: “In a market place more competitive than ever, and with the challenges facing all independent businesses in the UK, we place great value in our partnership with The IPG. A collaborative approach between the group, it’s supply network and it’s members helps small businesses like ours to remain at the forefront of the industry and relevant to the communities we serve.”
Customers do not forget companies that make them feel special, word of mouth is always the best recommendation, without doubt, a customer service first approach has a very important role to play in business today.
Antony Thompson, Managing Director at Lecico Bathrooms said: “Our ambition is to provide the highest levels of service to our customers in the industry, ‘we can, and we will’.
He went on to say: “2020 has dealt us all challenges that we could not have predicted. The global response to the pandemic has had far reaching impacts, for Lecico bathrooms, the challenge has been to maintain our normally very high levels of service to our customers. Talking to others in our industry has indicated that this problem is not unique to us at Lecico. Our ambition has been to continue to operate our business as normally as possible and to continue to provide the high levels of customer service that our customers have become accustomed to and expect from us.
At Lecico we recognise that our customer service levels have played a significant role in the growth of our business, this has resulted in us establishing some strong, longstanding customer relationships which we are very proud of and a leading position in the market. We have a term that we often refer to internally to test our resolve to provide the best possible customer service levels – ‘we can, and we will’. As a minimum we aim to deliver what our customers expect, but we want to exceed customer expectations wherever possible.
Lecico Bathrooms have long been recognised for our focus on customer service. We continue to invest in our people, and we recognise that our industry is based on relationships and trust. Our staff are fundamental to achieving optimum service and apprenticeships that we offer have led to many of our new employees completing their apprenticeships and moving into other areas of the business. Through a continuous focus on developing our people we are able to build a highly customer focused team, a team that approach each challenge with a ‘we can, and we will’ attitude. “
Ultimately, when it comes to customer service, good is not good enough. The importance of customer service can never be underestimated. Being responsive to customers’ needs and wants is what sets great businesses apart from the rest and The IPG and Lecico both go all-out to achieve just that.