PCCA Journal|1
st
Quarter 2011
25
ers, tough times are when you need to do everything you
can to delight them. How can you bring more value to your
relationship if you do not understand the situation that your
customer is facing? You need to understand what changes
their businesses are facing, what shifts they are making with
their structure, and how the changing economic conditions
are affecting their operations. Your best customers represent
the best opportunities for your competition, as well. Build
the systems and structure you need to retain your
best clients and continue to expand their loyalty.
Obtain feedback from customers on the
importance of your value proposition to their
businesses. Ask them about your level of service,
delivered quality, and just about every other
dimension of your working relationship. Also,
ask them about the importance of those charac-
teristics to their businesses and their selection
processes. Find out if you are delivering tangible,
measurable value that your clients acknowledge.
If not, you have a problem; there is work that
needs to be done.
Many contractors do not have systems and pro-
cedures in their companies to capture real-time
customer feedback. At the end of the day, who
you are is defined by how the client sees you.
It is the client’s perception that counts. Client
feedback, value propositions, customer satisfac-
tion, and client service are integral parts of your
marketing effort, shaping how the customer sees
you.
Building solid processes for keeping in touch
with customers, even in periods where projects
may not be on the horizon, is important. Your
marketing efforts reinforce the value proposition
and assure customers of the value they expect to
receive from your organization. Customer contact
and marketing communications must fit and
reinforce value propositions in order to drive your
brand.
Solidify Your Brand
The flamboyant Richard Branson, in an effort
to build brand recognition for Virgin Atlantic
Airlines, launched a series of balloon adventures
across the ocean and then around the world.
While they had little to do with the airline
industry, these electrifying events represented a
way for Branson to get enormous press and recognition at an
early stage in the development of a start-up airline with only
a few planes. Branson was not trying to create the brand of
Virgin by flying balloons; he was trying to get recognition for
the then young brand of Virgin Airlines.
A brand needs a central vision. It must have the same un-
derstanding among all stakeholders to be effective. The brand
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