Case Study 02 - Engineering Manufacturer

Customers Experience Stimulating Partnership with "ABC" Engineering (client name protected)

How a new customer-relationship model transformed one
manufacturer’s sales in 18 months

Situation: Sales were at a stalemate at ABC Engineering, a New Brighton manufacturer specializing in the design and fabrication of custom equipment. The company found itself maintaining its position but not expanding within the marketplace. Prospects looked bleak for a manufacturer that had so much to offer but no functional outlet into the marketplace.

Challenges:

• Overall, the company had difficulties in efficiently maximizing current resources. According to Terry Johnson, General Manager, "We really needed a sales and marketing strategy and plan to improve effectiveness and better satisfy our clients to win more of their business.”
• Leadership realized the need to broaden the scope of its efforts to improve sales numbers and reduce overhead.
• Most important element to tackle was the company’s relationship with its customers.

Responses: Sam Zordich, in a partnership with another consulting agency, was engaged in 2003 to transform the sales process. She restructured the customer-relationship model, based on a collaborative and interdependent connection with potential and current clients, which turned into a company differentiator.  Zordich reconfigured the architecture of the ABC sales force to better accommodate the new customer-relationship model and achieve corporate strategic goals. Each position within the various departments was examined and redefined to ensure accountability. Since customer design projects normally lasted over a year, Zordich recommended that only one project engineer, someone with a strong technical background and great interpersonal skills, should serve as the main contact point to give the customer a consistent and seamless ABC experience.

Results: Once ABC defined the market in terms of its capability sell, the company cornered three new markets that more clearly defined its own uniqueness in relation to its direct and indirect competition. ABC was able to improve its effectiveness, better satisfy clients, and win more business. Eighteen months after implementation, the Precision Manufacturing division within ABC had doubled its pipeline and increased its close ratio, adding many millions of dollars in revenue while simultaneously increasing profitability.