In the laser-cutting industry, maintaining positive relationships with customers is extremely important. A laser-cutting manufacturer must be able to create a relationship built on teamwork, loyalty, and personal connections with clients. At Edge Metalworks, our clients are our number one priority. We give them peace of mind that they will get a personalized experience to keep their production line running efficiently. Below are some key aspects of building relationships with customers to ensure they are provided with the best service possible.
Teamwork
At Edge Metalworks, we feel a good transaction is when we can work with our clients to generate a valuable product. Our joint efforts to work together are beneficial in building something simple to manufacture and perform well for the customer’s needs. Working alongside your customers to give them their exact needs helps improve your relationship with them and builds customer loyalty. Loyal clients will also become your best marketers, often finding referrals to your company and recommending you to other manufacturers who may need laser-cutting services. We believe that a customer relationship is successful when there is trust between us.
We understand the pressures you face in getting quality materials in on time, and we’ll work with you to get the products you need. If any mistakes are made, customers will know about it right away, and we will do our best to resolve them. This also works the other way; when we have trust with a customer, we can be comfortable discussing challenges with them and come to a resolution together. Our team establishes trust by ensuring they know that we are on the same team, looking out for each other’s success.
Building a Good Reputation
A good reputation shows potential customers that you are reliable and trusted by repeat clients, which will set you apart from competitors. In this industry, repeated positive interactions with clients help you gain their trust and grant you a good reputation. We build our expertise and standards on trust and integrity, which are not common in the business world. Since laser cutting is a technical service, trust is very important in this industry. We commit to what we say we’ll do. If we promise to give a quick turnaround time, our team makes sure that’s possible. If we promise to give a personalized experience, we work hard to make the customer feel seen.
We have customers come to us from all aspects of manufacturing. Some want us to engineer and draw the part using our in-house CAD team, and some send us a DXF file with a quantity. In our experience, reputation is built not on what we say that we will do, but on what we deliver for our customers. One of the leading components of a good reputation is how you handle your own mistakes. We make it a point to rapidly replace bad parts. However, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A moment of communication is worth more than an incorrect part on a job. We inspect all CAD drawings to ensure that our parts will fit the specs. Trust is earned, and sometimes that means telling a customer that we can’t meet their deadline even if that’s not what they want to hear, or we lose the job. To maintain a good reputation, if we say we can do it for you, we will do our best to achieve it, and if we say we can’t, we will communicate promptly.
Good Communication
Proper communication will influence a good relationship with your client. Our team will connect with you face-to-face to discuss your needs and come up with a game plan for delivering products to you. For every client, we discuss their ultimate goals and what products they need for their industry. With this information, we determine if we can serve them to their expectations. If we are unable to meet a client’s expectations, we can recommend them to someone reputable who better fits their needs. We earn our clients’ trust through prompt communication, quote responses, and replies. Our team asks the relevant questions before we create a quote, and if we can’t do their project, they are informed immediately.
Our Communication Process
When an RFQ hits the inbox, gears start turning in the office. First, we look at the request to determine whether it is within our purview of expertise. If it is determined to be outside of our capabilities, we will promptly give you reputable alternatives. If we believe that we can do your project, we will start by inspecting any CAD drawings that you have to ensure accuracy and troubleshoot any issues, like holes being too close to bend lines. Then, if we make any changes to your drawings, we will send proofs for your inspection before quoting the parts. After a quote is approved, you will receive an order confirmation that includes a ship-by date. In this type of service industry, lead times matter. We pride ourselves on meeting your deadlines. As soon as the job is finished, we will notify you that the parts are ready and work with you to arrange shipping.
Contract Manufacturing
Hard contracts in this industry tend to hurt either the customer or the vendor in the long run. At Edge Metalworks, we don’t do a lot of hard contracts due to materials cost movement, opting instead for an open-ended agreement that either party can drop out of. This way, we can easily complete repeat jobs with a variety of products for a client. We’ll also follow up with recent clients to increase the likelihood of an agreement forming.
High Volume Parts
High volume parts are excellent to contract. It helps us provide consistent scheduling and pricing because we can order materials ahead of time to protect both parties from price fluctuations. When we have an agreement, showcasing our teamwork, communication, and personalized experience helps us maintain good relations with those clients.
Competitive Advantage
Building personal connections with clients gives us a competitive advantage over other laser-cutting companies. Since this industry is so competitive, laser-cutting businesses such as ours need high-quality customer service to maintain strong relationships and differentiate ourselves from other businesses. Our company places value on personal communications and relationships; our clients are not just a number to us. We give a personalized experience by using customers’ names, understanding their needs, and completing tasks when they need them.
Our Expertise
As a dedicated cutting and forming shop, we can focus our attention and resources on a subset of metal fabrication. This allows us to keep our equipment and procedures up to date. Rapidly evolving technology requires large amounts of capital to keep machines up to date, so fewer types of machines mean fewer dollars spent on updating equipment. Additionally, confining our scope of expertise allows us to master our processes rather than trying to be a “jack of all trades”.
Start Your Personalized Experience
Edge Metalworks works hard to give clients a personal relationship when delivering their laser-cutting needs. Whether you need 5 prototype parts for testing or 5,000 brackets for production, we help you move fast without sacrificing quality or communication. We maintain a straightforward and uncomplicated process, so we can give a better, consistent outcome. We work with many clients to give them the laser cutting, laser tube cutting, and parts forming services they need for their equipment, making sure that working with us is fruitful in the end. If you’re looking for a better working relationship, contact us today.