The return of Customer Service

I’m now in year 33 of my?full time?working life (surprising news, I know, due to my youthful looks. I must have a pretty good skincare regime, right?) and in that time, I’ve seen trends come and go, as trends tend to do.?People used to buy from small businesses and took comfort from this. Then the age of the behemoth arrived with?Amazon, Apple, etc becoming huge B2B concerns, as well as their?spectacular?D2C land grabs.??

The most fun?trend?for me to lampoon was the one from a few years ago that?sales people?were no longer needed, as content was now king and would inform potential clients?with everything they needed to know about a product or service. “Everything is on our website, including prices, so don’t be bothering us with your daft questions please”, seemed to be the message.?An alternative “Field?Of?Dreams” – if you write it, they will come. And buy things. With no fuss. Because we don’t like fuss.?Well, you apparently don’t like people either….?

It was thinking about these two areas particularly that inspired?me to write this. The move from buying from small “Mom & Pop” businesses and the?leaning on content creation alone both made me question the motivation of the?sellers and the buyers. Was anyone taking good old customer service seriously? Did anyone care that they maybe weren’t talking to an expert in their field, but a number on a payroll? Thankfully, I’d argue that now we do care again about?both of these?things.?

That’s just as well really, as in the UK, there are around 6 million private registered businesses.?5.7m of these are classed as “micro businesses”, meaning they have less than 9 staff (From UK Parliament) If you have?buying on your list of role responsibilities and you aren’t engaging with the micro business community, you are closing the door to a lot of knowledge and expertise.??

Here at Cannafull, we see this huge wave of potential clients coming to us after they’ve?spoken?to the first few names on Google.?“I didn’t feel we were being treated seriously”,?“They didn’t really seem to be that clued up on the industry”, “There was a lack of product knowledge”. These are the three main complaints we hear about the big boys in the CBD game.?And whilst I?feel for the person on the receiving end of this, it makes my life a hell of a lot easier!?

There can be a reticence?from suppliers towards smaller clients, or new starts?and a tendency not to treat them as serious prospective clients. These?businesses may?tend to need their hand held a bit more, effort needs to be made to help them to market?with their products. They possibly need assistance in finding a banking partner, advice on social media?do’s?and don’ts,?may be unsure what they can and cannot claim about the product. So why not offer that help? Why not help someone get a foothold in the industry??It’s maybe a couple of extra phone calls, a few extra hours. But treat people as how you would wish to be treated.?Our team here, particularly myself and?our CEO,?Rick, have a wealth of connections to introduce to prospects and clients alike. I probably average out at 10-15 introductions a week, putting people who can help one another together.??

Clued up on the industry as a whole? Box ticked. Need to talk about timescales to?hit a certain delivery date??Want to talk through the pros and cons of certain types of packaging??You possibly need steered through the murky waters of certification and what a Responsible Person is.?There’s?so many?regulatory?hurdles to get over in the CBD industry, that prospective clients need to be assured that they are dealing with a supplier who knows the sector back to front.?A great opportunity to set up a call with our Ops Director, Sarah?who knows everything there is to know about?the CBD sector.?If you want to be treated with respect, taken?seriously?and guided through?the potential pitfalls, she is your absolute go to person.??

We spend a lot of?money and effort seeing what others are doing in CBD and often come across?websites and?brochures of dozens and dozens of products. It doesn’t take the?most keen?of eyes to?see that either these are being formulated in-house, or manufactured in-house, but very rarely both.?So?in that case, with so many products, none of which are taking the full A-Z journey through a business, how is it possible to know everything there is to know?about them? Even I, with our?15?products and keen eye for?detail don’t know all the answers.?But when I don’t, I know where to find them. In steps our Creative Director and Formulator, Tamara, who comes up with our product ideas, formulates,?tests?and writes our Standard Operating Procedures for each one.?Tamara is always keen to step in for me when a conversation goes in-depth about a certain ingredient, or the full efficacy of our products. She has a wealth of knowledge on all our ingredients and our supply chain, so a chat with her will give any prospective client the confidence that they are with the correct supplier.?

Sure, there are advantages to dealing with larger business.?Multi national?distribution, economies of scale, etc. But if you need?good old advice and help, if you need a?grown up?conversation, if you want to be treated with respect and given the level of importance that you deserve, you won’t go far wrong?by?engaging with?a?supplier who respects what you need and can empathise with you and?your requirements.?Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today at Cannafull if you have any CBD or skincare questions.?

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