Door Industry Journal - Winter 2019

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk Industry News THE door industry journal winter 2019 9 The Single Most Important Question a Company Should Answer Steve Hudson, the Managing Director of JD (UK) and Alutech Systems, explains how important it is to understand your core competence to secure the future success of your business… Steve says, “A company needs to have certain foundations in place: • They need the right systems and people (or they won’t be able to scale) • And before that they need to be able to consistently deliver on their promise (or they won’t retain customers) • And before that they need the right pricing strategy (or they won’t be profitable) • And before that they need a well-defined product menu (or they won’t be able to sell) • And before that they need to understand their core competence Few firms ever answer that last question, so everything that should follow is doomed to mediocrity before it’s even begun. Understanding your core competence is the single most important conclusion you will ever reach. It will determine: • What you communicate in your marketing? • What products and services you deliver? • More importantly, what products and services you do not deliver? Understanding your core competence sounds so simple and yet only a tiny proportion of companies ever do so successfully. It all begins with answering 3 simple questions. It is the intersection of the answers to these three questions that represents your core competence. 1. What is it that you can do brilliantly? For us its customer service. 2. What is it that is being neglected by your competition? Our customers felt they were being neglected by their supplier. 3. What is it that matters most to the audience? Our customers want more than to be treated as a number. When we asked ourselves these questions at JD (UK) and Alutech Systems, the answers clearly showed that the one thing that we do better than anyone else in the market and that our customers really care about is ridiculously good customer service. The key to delivering an exemplary level of customer service is the values and commitment of all of the employees of JD and Alutech Systems, which goes to make up the culture of the company. The goal is for customers to view us as THE company to go for if you want to have a better level of service than any other suppliers in the industry. To achieve this, it’s important that we have a clear and aligned set of values with our company. I spent time with each area of the business to define 5 or 6 things that each department promised to do to provide ‘wow’ to our customers. Together, we picked out those that REALLY defined us and now we display them in each department as a daily reminder of the values that should underpin all activities. The only trouble is that a core competence in itself, whilst critical, does little to protect you from competitors who wish to position themselves in a similar space. If the core competence is to actually count for anything, it needs to be developed it into a more expansive brand identity. For us, this has meant a complete redesign of our websites, which is just one aspect of what we look forward to launch in the New Year, with a full roll out set for 2020”. www.jdukltd.co.uk | www.alutechsystems.co.uk VALUES!! • ‘NO’ & ‘DON’T KNOW’ ARE BANNED • HONESTY 100% • TREAT EVERY CLIENT LIKE THEY ARE NO. 1 • WARMTH & FRIENDLINESS • NEVER GIVE UP - PERSEVERE • NEVER FAIL TO CALL BACK • LISTEN AND BE PATIENT • NEVER EVER ASSUME JDUK SALES OFFICE COMPANY VALUES • WORK TOGETHER, NOT AS INDIVIDUALS • MAKE THE CUSTOMER FEEL WE ARE PART OF THEIR COMPANY • MISTAKES HAPPEN AND WE FIX THEM • QUICK EFFICIENT SERVICE • WE DON’T SAY NO AND ENJOY THE CHALLENGE • KEEP THINGS SIMPLE - FOCUS ON ONE THING AT A TIME