When it comes to your business, you don’t want to use just any printing company that you happen to come across on your daily travels. This type of company can play such an important role in the success of your own business, which is why there are steps you need to go through to ensure you are using the best company to suit your business requirements.

Even a seasoned supplier makes mistakes. This vendor over-reached, won the chance to expand into a new market, then fell flat on its face. In this case study a decades-old company performs poorly yet learns exactly where it is falling short. A formal candid feedback project gave the customer a chance to spell out his expectations. In this case study the vendor wasn’t terminated early; their contract was simply allowed to expire with no discussion of renewal.

A company in commodity sales is often blind to its differentiators. Firms that offer anything more than warehouse fulfillment and a convenient Web site may overlook the competitive advantage of value-added services. In this case study a supplier learned they were measuring themselves against the “also rans” in their category rather than against the industry leader, who turned out to be their only relevant competitor.

We’ve all heard of “voice of the customer” feedback. What about “voice of the prospect” guidance? One company found itself in an increasingly crowded, aggressive marketplace, yet had many long-time loyal customers. They were doing something right to hold onto these accounts. They wanted to cash in a bit of the goodwill they’d built up to find short-cuts in their business development process. In this case study, at the end of the feedback interview, a long-time customer offered guidance to help one of his favorite vendors compete more effectively. He spoke frankly about what he expects from a salesperson who’s asking for an audience.

A company in technical sales is often led by someone who knows the product but doesn’t enjoy being the public face of the company. Staying inside one’s reclusive comfort zone can cause a leader to miss out on cues that frustrated customers are ready to switch from no-bid renewals to a competitive bid process. In this case study, a sole-source supplier didn’t have the perspective to deduce the scope and nature of the problems that were putting their most important relationship at risk.