Five Benefits of Tapping Into Your Customer Base

 

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio (November 10, 2016)–Americhem, a global provider of color and additive and engineered compound solutions for the polymer industry, recently completed a survey of verified customers and users of Americhem products in partnership with TechValidate. Americhem wrapped up the exercise having gathered more than 750 data points that will help the company better understand their customers' needs and perceptions.

The company also discovered several key business benefits that illustrate why organizations should be tapping into their customer bases for insights.

1. Find out why customers choose your company over competitors. The TechValidate survey of Americhem customers, for example, asked customers who had evaluated one or more of eight competitive companies why they chose Americhem. Answers such as 'product consistency' and 'product performance in manufacturing' were common.

2. Find out if customers would recommend your company, and why. Trusted recommendations carry a lot of weight when decisions around suppliers and partnerships are made, so understanding why your company is or isn't being recommended is important. Americhem found out that their customer service excellence was just as important as their product integrity for generating recommendations, for example.

3. Find out what case study opportunities you might be missing. You may know about some customer success stories, but chances are there are positive results about which you have never heard. One organization stated Americhem had enabled it to introduce and maintain a visual effect portfolio that generates over $250 million in revenue, for example—a strong story to tell.

4. Find out about localized business wins within your organization. Especially in nationwide or international organizations, it can be difficult to track small-scale successes that positively impact customers. For instance, one R&D department representative stated that the team at Americhem's Texas plant went out of the way to get the customer masterbatch on short notice, and that is an easy-to-overlook reason why they would recommend Americhem.

5. Find out more about customer needs, challenges and decision-making. Many people think they know what their customers need and want, as well as how they make the decisions they do. Conducting a detailed survey, however, allows you to hear firsthand what the true driving forces are. Americhem found out that lot-to-lot consistency and close working relationships were the key drivers of purchase behavior.

"Garnering in-depth customer feedback is important because it allows us to see the true factors influencing our business's performance that are not always evident in data sets," explains Matthew Miklos, commercial vice president and general manager, Americhem. "Understanding the intangibles of a relationship is of utmost importance, and we are looking forward to applying our recent learnings to promote further success moving forward."

For more information on the results of Americhem's recent customer feedback exercise or Americhem offerings, contact Scott Blanchard at sblanchard@americhem.com.

About Americhem
Americhem is a global organization that delivers custom color and additive solutions for customers seeking superior performance and batch-to-batch consistency for their polymer products. The company specializes in color and additive masterbatches, and single pigment dispersions, all backed by complete technical support that ensures quality, reliability and value. Americhem operates 10 manufacturing plants and also maintains representative sales offices around the globe. Central Research & Development facilities and headquarters are located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. For more information visit Americhem.com or call 800.228.3476.