Laying the Groundwork for Better Times Ahead

The tendency of many suppliers to the oil and gas industry is to live for the up cycle. When challenging times hit, enthusiasm inevitably wanes. Companies go through the motions, but their hearts aren’t in it.  Some even shut their doors until times improve.

But it does not have to be this way. Forward-looking suppliers always have the opportunity to the lay the groundwork for better times ahead. For some, this new foundation will be evolutionary.  For others, it can prove revolutionary.

Below are some suggestions for companies that want to increase their customer focus and understanding when times are slow… so they can enjoy greater prosperity down the road.

• Know what customers think. No company can improve what it doesn’t measure. So suppliers need the right data to tell them what their customers believe. In-house information like customer complaints, quality-assurance tests, appraisals and NPT is useful, but benchmarking against peers is what’s really needed.
• Analyze and understand. Once collected, customer feedback should to be rigorously and objectively analyzed and understood. In particular, companies need to know what drives their customers’ sense of satisfaction. Otherwise, they risk spending money and resources in ways that don’t actually affect performance.
• Embrace the warts. For some managers, and even entire organizations, it can be hard to accept that there might be areas that need improving.  But the reality is there are always aspects to any business that need polishing. More importantly, it’s within these “problem areas” that the best opportunities lie.
• Focus on process. Companies should apply the same approach to measuring and monitoring customer satisfaction as they do to safety. Employees and functions that fall short should understand their mistakes. They and others should also be allowed to learn from them.
• Develop a plan. Ultimately, actions taken to remedy issues should be data-driven and focused on a handful of priorities. Tactics might be more numerous, but they too should be well-defined. Develop written procedures where possible. And use training (and retraining) of employees to reshape the culture of the organization.
• Be action oriented. Winning efforts do not start with sales and marketing campaigns designed to raise the expectations of customers (those come later). Because execution spurs engagement, there’s more need to frame the issue internally than externally. Moreover, when companies change for the better, customers notice and spread the word themselves.
• Celebrate small wins. Progress in customer satisfaction does not typically come in giant leaps. It’s usually more incremental in nature. But these “small wins” are powerful because of their positive effects on morale and sense of momentum.

The oil and gas industry is nothing if not resilient. And much of its resiliency stems from a relentless drive to improve. Honest assessments of customer satisfaction based on the right data, coupled with a smart game plan, can help suppliers emerge from a downturn stronger and more prosperous.

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