Thursday, 26 Oct 2017 18:14 GMT

The Service Life of a Product

David Catanach, director of the British Sign and Graphics Association, says making the service life of a product clear from the start could save you a lot of bother later on

Would you like that for two or five years?

One of the old tried and tested sales techniques was to ask the customer if they wanted, say, two or five of something. This way, the choice has already been made for them, but athey felt like they were in power and getting a good deal by choosing the amount they want. Even if they said just one will do, the sale was more or less confirmed. If they said none, then there was more work to do, so timing is just as important as what exactly is being sold.

By the way, a tip for parents, you can expand this bit of psychology to other situations such as getting small children to eat broccoli. Do not ask if they want broccoli, just ask if they want two or five trees. Beware though, there is an indeterminable age limit using this technique when talking to young children about brassica. Anyhow, I digress.

Seriously, this is a technique that takes away a choice of either doing something different or going elsewhere. It makes you focus on giving an answer to the question rather than allowing one to express their own requirement and is mainly answered with a number. This way, no offence is given to the person posing the question. It happens every day and in ways so subtle, you do not realise it is taking place. From a sales point of view, there is nothing wrong with it as it is considered a ‘closing’ question.

Try getting the cheapest way of buying a train ticket from a machine at the station. It is programmed to sell only certain types of ticket and has no second thoughts to look again at the requirements and come up with an alternative. Meanwhile, the human being sat behind the counter should be able to come up with more than one suitable alternative. Sound familiar?

The businesses that tend to survive are the ones that are flexible enough not to exist within strict margins. This is because they know that to give their customers a choice of what they can offer, is more likely to lead to a sale. For example, most customers would not have a clue what vinyl to specify, they rely on you being the expert to use the proper materials. But you yourself know that some vinyls last three years and some last five years (subject to certain conditions not breaking manufacturers’ warranties of course) and then you ask the same closing question of ‘three or five years?’

The businesses that tend to survive are the ones that are flexible enough not to exist within strict margins. This is because they know that to give their customers a choice of what they can offer, is more likely to lead to a sale”


The same could be said for other materials. Do you want that wooden sign to last for two or three years? How about that steel construction? Ten or 20 years? And so on. It is limiting the choice, but firming up the expectation.

Cost matters

The thing is though, when supplying signs, customers are more likely to be not at all interested in how long it will last, more like how much will it cost. I argue that longevity and cost go hand in hand and it should be accepted that if Mr and Mrs Customer want the sign to last one year, it will cost ‘x’ and if you want it to last ten years, it will cost ‘y’. What is wrong though with presenting that scenario?

In any event though, walk down your local high street and guess the age of the signs above the shop doors. Some I would wager well exceed their service life, as the customer was more concerned about the cost, and expected something that would never deteriorate at all, ever.





Actually, going to the trouble of offering an alternative demonstrates that some thought has gone into the project and opens the door of opportunity for the sign-maker to excel rather than simply abide by the initial brief. Granted, it does not work for every case, but in giving an alternative, you have more openings to engage the customer and form that ‘people buy from people’ bond that is so critical.

One other thing on this subject. In my personal view it should be compulsory for you to detail in any quote and/or invoice, the expected ‘service life’ of the product you are intending to supply—subject of course to inspection and maintenance during its lifetime if, or as, necessary. Your ‘warranty’ is a completely different animal to service life. A warranty is a commercial decision by you to warrant the replacement or repair of goods should they fail within a certain period.

One other thing on this subject. In my personal view it should be compulsory for you to detail in any quote and/or invoice, the expected ‘service life’ of the product you are intending to supply”

 
However, if I, as a customer, fail to ask you in the brief that I want a sign that is going to last five years, or you do not tell me that the sign made from those materials is only going to last three years before a replacement should be considered, then it is a different story. In the event of something going wrong, under BS559, the British Standard for sign-making, the confusingly entitled warranty will seek to enforce that as no agreement was made at the outset, then up to ten years’ service life could apply.

If anything, you should not have any hang ups about saying how long the service life is of the product you are supplying. After all, even top marque car manufacturers do not expect their cars to last forever. This advice is simply a means to encourage sign-makers to improve even further on the way they professionally present themselves to their customers.

Bottom line is though that simply writing down the service life covers your backside (every pun intended). It can be one line of text that will save you a lot of bother later on. You could also add how to maintain and inspect the sign (if required), but that is another subject altogether. Do you want to hear about that next time or in six months’ time? There you go, still got it in me.


Public Notice:
  • Giving customers a choice is more likely to lead to a sale
  • Customers tend to be more concerned with cost than longevity
  • The service life of a product should be made clear
  • How to maintain and inspect the sign is also important



The British Sign and Graphics Association (BSGA) history dates back more than 70 years when a group of leading sign-makers formed the Master Sign Makers Association (MSMA) with the aim of promoting the sign industry and defending its interests. For more information on the issues discussed in this article visit www.bsga.co.uk or tel: 0845 338 3016.



Your text here...