My dad used to give me sage advice when I was growing up, and it usually centered around who I should buy particular products from. To him, you couldn’t go wrong with tried and true manufacturers.
Sears, for example, is where he always suggested a person buy their tools. If they break, he would remind me often that they will give you a new one. No questions asked. Of course, I’ve never seen anyone break a socket wrench or any type of bolt turning device — except Superman — but maybe I didn’t hang around strong people.
This brings us to a nifty column written in this month’s issue written by Chris Benham, Chief Marketing Officer at Alchemer, which provides voice-of-the-customer (VoC) and customer experience (CX) solution that helps a business transformation to a truly customer-centric organization.
Benham’s article on page 48 is “3 Steps Customer-Centric Organizations Take to Create Loyal Customers,” and helps teach any business owner — including finishing and coating operations — how best to cultivate and maintain good-paying loyal customers.
“If customers have more than one option for a product or service, they’ll be loyal to the company that offers benefits or customer experiences they can’t get elsewhere,” Benham says. “Creating customer loyalty is the goal of most organizations.”
Sadly, being customer-centric is not something a lot of U.S. businesses focus on. In fact, Benham says just 14% of marketers say customer-centricity is a focus of their companies, according to the “Mastering Adaptive Customer Engagements” report from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council.
“This is unfortunate because customer centricity drives customer loyalty,” he says.
Benham’s article goes into detail on how any business, including those in our industry, needs to make strides in developing loyal customers. It’s well worth the read, and I hope you all come away with a clearer understanding.
•••
Our cover story is on Advanced Industrial Coatings in Stockton, California. With the pandemic raising awareness about reshoring many manufacturing processes related to the medical industry, AIC certainly sees potential in that growth area. They already have coated parts for medical suppliers Stryker, Philips, GE, and others.
“This past year, in dealing with the COVID-19 challenges, we have looked at our direction as a company,” says Dave Arney, AIC’s Chief Operating Officer. “To start with, our people and their health are so important. Employee satisfaction and motivation are areas we will continue to work on. We also feel that the medical industry has played an important role in our success, and we plan to continue to work in this direction.”
Thanks to Dave and his team for their story.
Tim Pennington is Editor-in-Chief of Finishing and Coating, and has covered the industry since 2010. He has traveled extensively throughout North America visiting shops and production facilities, and meeting those who work in the industry. Tim began his career in the newspaper industry, then wound itself between the sports field with the PGA Tour and marketing and communications firms, and finally back into the publishing world in the finishing and coating sector. If you want to reach Tim, just go 
