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I write this piece in response to the question, “For B2B Marketers What Comes After the Purchase” raised by Spencer Frandsen in his post and brought up for discussion by Katie Smith in the Customer service Professionals group. Because of space restriction on the discussion pages for one and because the topic interests most B2B customer professional I have chosen to write this blog using material from my recent off beat book[i].

A limited survey—covering 70 respondent companies of various sizes and from different industrial sectors—revealed that plant maintenance management seeks manufacturer’s support for providing the following inputs listed in order of priority.

Tier 1

Items 1 to 4 in the above table are all aimed at maximising ‘plant avail­ability’. Expectations 1 and 2:

1. Have a sense of urgency about them.
2. Have the potential to create a crisis situation in case of an inadequate response.
3. Can send the alarm bells ringing at various level of hierarchy.
4. Are natural extensions of ongoing relationship with a given set of people.

Tier 2

Attributes attached to ‘Upgrades’, on the other hand, stand distinct­ly apart. ‘Upgrades’ add up to improve overall ‘plant effectiveness’ more than plant availability and demand for upgrades:

1. Is driven by a new initiative.
2. Involves some spadework before a situation specific solution is offered.
3. Involves a certain amount of formal detailing and negotiation.
4. Is not prone to developing into an imminent crisis.
5. Is most likely to end up in some kind of a formal contract.

In view of the foregoing, customers’ needs may be considered as comprising two distinct tiers of needs – tier one to optimise equip­ment ‘availability’ and tier two to improve plant effectiveness –both requiring a different kind of response. Whenever, a breakdown oc­curs time is at a premium. Speed, competence, empathy, commu­nication skills and ability to resolve the problem come into play si­multaneously and can enhance or diminish the quality of customer experience in a given encounter.

Selling of equipment or system upgrades, on the other hand, calls for a higher level of detailed process knowledge, negotiating skills and the ability to persist. In one case you are dealing with a product-derived demand on your time and the customer may be breathing over your neck to see early resolution of the problem. In the second case, while the customer may be keen to upgrade his system he is not desperate to conclude a deal under pressure of time. With the elevated status of maintenance management func­tion, however, the challenge for maintenance chief goes beyond the mundane task of keeping the machines in operating condition. His contribution is now seen in improved ‘plant effectiveness’. Mainte­nance manager would, therefore, welcome any help that can make him succeed in his new role. These include upgrades, annual service contracts, performance improvement products, diagnostic aids, remote per­formance monitoring systems, operation and maintenance.

Most customer-centric companies have successfully deployed this value linkage with the customer’s value chain. With changing maintenance technologies and more aggressive plant engineer­ing function, there can be no better alternative than the incumbent service engineer to continually explore additional value linkages in the customer value chain.