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Are you loyal to the products you choose for your customers? Do you choose your products based on price? Availability? Ease of installation? While it may be a combination of all of the above, when you need to talk to the manufacturer directly, is it a positive experience?
As you start planning outdoor projects with your customers and choosing products and materials, think about how you service your customers. Did you have a callback? Do they leave a positive review? Refer you to their network? Now think about your interaction with your supplier and product manufacturer.
Providing an Outstanding Customer Experience
Customer service is essential for manufacturers today. The customer experience extends beyond features, benefits, price, and quality. With so many product options to choose from and many with similar features and benefits, the one thing that can differentiate a business is the people on the front lines. It is why manufacturers need to offer an outstanding experience and quality products.
Most of your product installations are likely routine, and you’ve never had a tricky situation. Other times, your customer asked for a particular product or specific manufacturer, and it’s your first experience with the product. It’s the one time you need to phone a friend. And you hope the friend on the other end is helpful. It is a test of a manufacturer’s customer service.
Today, Americans use customer service — 90 percent of us — as deciding factor to do business with a company. According to a Salesforce Research study, 89 percent of customers make additional purchases after a positive customer experience. So, it makes sense to do business with a manufacturer — with quality products, stable pricing, and availability — that can provide remarkable customer service.
The RailFX Difference
At RailFX, we sell through our distributor network and communicate with the end-user regarding the installation of our products. As a manufacturer, it’s in our best interest to ensure a solid installation. To do that, we prefer to work directly with the end-user, whether that is a homeowner, contractor, or experienced deck builder.
Case in point: Our customer service lead has worked with a homeowner and contractor on a large multi-level railing project. The customer had a steel-framed deck making it difficult for an inexperienced contractor of cable railing to drill and anchor railing posts. “I’m usually on the phone with them after 5:00 p.m. walking through the best way to use our products in this situation,” said Abe Viles, inside sales lead at RailFX.
Product demonstrations are also important, particularly for contractors who haven’t used cable railing regularly. We conduct product demos at our customer locations so their customers can see the product’s simplicity and installation. Our lead times are industry standard at two weeks, and we ship within 3-5 days.
Happy customers are loyal customers.
Our customers tell us their carpenters enjoy installing RailFX because it’s easier to work with and built to last.
A complete deck and railing replacement with lake views: “We’ve never seen railings and posts that are as solid as theirs, they’re engineered so well, made from quality materials, and they have great customer service,” said Shane Berg, Berg Construction LLC.
A West Loop, Chicago whole home renovation and first-time users: “It was our carpenters’ first-time using cable railing, and the RailFX customer service team was not only incredibly responsive when we called but also went above and beyond to meet us onsite to walk through any product questions we had to ensure the best install. I will definitely be using RailFX again. They are certainly a vendor that uses many of the same customer service and quality principles that are critical to our business.”
If you’re looking for a simple, well-engineered cable railing design that is easy to install with outstanding customer support, ask your supplier for RailFX. We’ll work with you and your supplier on the initial takeoff and provide you a quote within 24-48 hours. Not only that, but our customer support team will also respond to you email or call within 24-48 hours.
