Improve your Laboratory Services through regular interaction with your customers

A commercial testing laboratory falls under service sector and its growth is dependent largely on customer confidence and feedback. Such organizations cannot run in isolation and require regular contact with customers for resolving issues which can sour relationships if left unattended.

Customer Guidance

Customer guidance is just as important as feedback. Customers require to be continuously educated on:

• Hygienic conditions in manufacturing operations.
• Adherence to proper sampling procedures for specimens sent for analysis
• Special requirements, if any, for handling of samples that have to be made available to the testing laboratory
• Required quantity of samples for testing of all parameters
• Need for proper labelling for identification of samples
• Need for sending samples in clean and tamper proof containers
• Care to be taken for prevention of cross contamination at time of sampling

Customer Updation

In order to sustain high growth of business you should keep your customers updated regularly on:

• Information on newly acquired accreditation and recognition
• Introduction of new technologies and techniques and their benefits
• Groups of customers product wise should be updated whenever regulatory bodies revise the specifications of products of their concern
• Cost revisions – both hikes as well as discounted offers should be promptly communicated

Customer Feedback

• Customer feedback should always be welcome. Positive feedback motivates your group and negative feedback helps you introspect. Do not keep the feedback to yourself but make it a point to share it with your team.
• Send feedback questionnaire sheets along with analysis reports
• Organize periodic meetings product wise with different segments of your customers
• Reward your customers through special discounts on analysis for constructive feedback

Customer interaction is an art which can be used to your advantage to evolve a sustained growth of business. Learn to treat your customer as your partner of growth and never as an adversary because of his negative and caustic comments. A satisfied customer is like your brand ambassador as he will on his own spread the word on your efficient and reliable services to his contacts.

Please do share your experiences and offer your comments.