After Sales

I was pleasantly surprised by a recent Harvard Business Review article entitled “Winning in the Aftermarket.” The authors made a case for the large potential ROI on after-sales services and support.

Everybody has experienced poor after-sales service and support. I see this as an opportunity to establish a competitive advantage. The poorer the after-sales service and support in your industry or field, the bigger the opportunity.

This opportunity is not restricted to multi-national manufacturers, such as Caterpillar or John Deere. Small businesses and independent consultants can also use after-sales service and support as a competitive advantage.

The authors of the article correctly pointed out, “it’s cheaper for businesses to increase sales of parts and service-related products than to find new customers.” Are there opportunities here for your organization or your clients?

The HBR article goes on to say, you can “gain unique insight into your customers’ businesses” when you provide aftermarket support. Can you see competitive advantages here? In a highly competitive market, you want intimate knowledge of your customers’ needs.

As you know, many companies outsource after-sales service and support. That’s not necessarily bad. But, every organization should think about the outsourcing decision strategically. The organization should identify, based on its strategic plan, which products it will support in-house and which it will outsource. Cost should not be the sole criterion here.

The article offers “Six Steps for Managing Service Networks” and several other practice tools. To read more pick up a copy of the May 2006 edition of the Harvard Business Review.

For more strategies and tools to enhance organizational and individual effectiveness, visit my website www.mikebeitler.com. Please feel free to send me your questions, comments, and suggestions.