The Path to Quality

MEETING – AND EXCEEDING – CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS IS A FULL-TIME COMMITMENT

WHAT IS QUALITY?

Much like beauty, quality is in the eye of the beholder. It’s a subjective word that can mean very different things to different people. And if those people do business together, not seeing eye-to-eye on quality can lead to less-than-expected results. Quad/Graphics avoids the pitfalls by approaching even the most complex project with a very straightforward definition of quality: It’s meeting or exceeding customer expectations from both a print and service standpoint.

“Quality is part of the culture at Quad/Graphics,” says Mark

Siefert, customer service representative for Special Interest Publications at Quad/Graphics. “How we interact, how we communicate customer expectations – they are all part of a larger process. It’s simply about getting the job done right. “We continue to find new ways to meet our customer’s needs, because each customer is unique. We need to address the complexities that surround each publication, and cater solutions to each customer. That’s why we have many options for solutions

“ We want our customers to know the people who are going to create a quality publication for them, so we use a process called ‘on-boarding’ as one of our first steps in building a relationship.”

within the Quad/Graphics network to address challenges that customers encounter, from scheduling flexibility and distribution solutions to PMS inks and color control on press.” According to Mark, technology impacts how people define quality. “Today we have the most advanced platform in terms of our Smartools. For example, if customers need to track delivery of a shipment, they can do that on the customer home page. We also provide essential advertising management and flat planning through Publisher’s Studio, a tool that helps customers save time while also ensuring quality.”

WORKING TOGETHER

However, technology is only a tool that gets you closer to achieving quality. “Like customers, each issue is unique to that customer,” Marks says. ”Through a strong partnership we are able to find solutions together – especially in the case of special interest publications, where every aspect of a publication must come together in a tight time frame, right out of the gate.” The partnership begins with Quad and its customer getting to know each other. “We want our customers to know the people who are going to create a quality publication for them, so we use a process called ‘on-boarding’ as one of our first steps in building a relationship. The CSR (customer service representative) coordinates a conference call with the customer and the internal team to work through all the variables needed to get the job done right. This call is crucial to getting all the right questions answered up front so nothing is missed. It also helps solidify the CSR’s role as the customer advocate in the plant, the person who makes sure everyone understands the customer’s needs and expectations.”

While the initial on-boarding is crucial to meeting the customer needs and creating an initial relationship, Mark emphasizes that it is the ongoing active conversations and continued reassessment of customer needs that build a long-term partnership. “As the relationships evolve, we continue to work with customers on new ideas and suggestions to help their businesses. It’s about continual improvement – refining the process to make it easier and more efficient for them, and for us.” Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4