Airport Business_May-June_2021 - 33

FBO MATTERS
purchasers. " Even the FAA recognizes
that sales professionals must have the
tools to provide reasonable and nondiscriminatory
discounts, rebates and
otherwise to larger volume customers.
While all this sounds simple enough,
the most common personnel mistake
made among businesses is to place
high performing Customer Service
professionals into sales roles. While
many are no doubt are successful, the
problem tends to be a misalignment
of motivation, as opposed to skill set.
Customer Service professionals are
motivated - among other things - by
pleasing others. A positive, memorable
experience which creates brand
loyalty is what drives customer service
professionals. Said simply, customer
service professionals like making others
happy - and they excel at it.
By contrast, the sales professional
tends to be driven by the " win " of
landing the customer in the first place.
Once landed, however, the salesperson
has little to provide that same customerother
than the occasional check in.
The win in hand, the customer should
be turned over the to the customer
relationship manager - a role played by
Customer Relations professionals. Who
are these people? What is their role?
As the name implies, Customer
Relations maintain the customer
relationship post-win. They act
as customer advocate within an
organization, ensuring the customer's
needs are met or ideally exceeded
at every touch point with the
company, no matter the complexity
of request. Larger companies often
assign " Key Account Managers, " a
tacit recognition the value provided
an organization by certain customers
is of a magnitude which requires
direct, constant nurturing - lest
the relationship be lost. It is the
step into Customer Relations - not
Sales - where the Customer Service
professionals find themselves after
years in the trenches of serving
others. The goal of course is to ensure
the brand being put in front of the
customer always is the company's
brand; not the personal brand of
the Customer Relations individual.
While the concept of one's personal
brand versus their company brand
is a topic for another article, soul
searching is sometimes required to
differentiate for both company, and
employee - because the difference
between the two is razor thin.
If Business Development isn't a
department per se, nor a title for many,
what exactly is it? It is the sum of an
organization's work towards a single
mission: Profitability. The secret sauce
requires the generation of interest in
a product or service, the consistent
delivery of customer service, a strategic
sales effort and customer relations to
ensure the customer feels valued not
only during the first point of sale, but all
subsequent sales. Like a recipe however,
if even one ingredient is left out, the
flavor is off. However, when all four
- Marketing, Customer Service, Sales
and Customer Relations - are perfectly
balanced, the flavor is very special
indeed. 
MAY/JUNE 2021 \ AVIATIONPROS.COM / 33
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Airport Business_May-June_2021

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