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Episode 18 - How ISO Certification can get you More Customers
Episode 18 How ISO Certification Can Get You More Customers
Episode 18 – How ISO Certification Can Get You More Customers
In this episode of the Quality Hub podcast, Xavier Francis interviews Renee Ferry and Kevin Metz from Core Business Solutions. The episode explores how management systems, particularly ISO certifications, can help businesses acquire customers. Renee emphasizes that ISO certifications serve as differentiators in various industries and enable companies to bid on government contracts.
Core Business Solutions publishes ISO Certification podcast episodes weekly. You can find more episodes here.
Episode 18 Key Content
Hello, everyone, and thanks for listening to the Quality Hub chatting with ISO experts. I’m your host, Xavier Francis, and I’m here with Rene Ferry, Customer Success Manager, and Kevin Metz, sales and business development manager, Core Business Solutions. So glad both of you could be with us today.
It’s our pleasure. Thanks, Xavier, for inviting us.
Yeah, thank you for having us.
Absolutely. Today’s show is entitled “Customer Service is Easy If There Weren’t Any Customers” and we’ll talk about how management systems help you acquire customers. But first, we’d love to hear about Rene and Kevin, their experiences, and journeys. But let’s start with Renee.
Okay. Well, I’ve been a customer success manager here for the last four years. However, my tenure at Core Business Solutions has been six years. I started as a project manager for the company and then we decided as a company that we thought it would be a great approach to have our customers have one point of contact. Once they started working with us. So I call myself Julie, the cruise director. For those of us who are old enough to remember the Love Boat, all of our customers get to come through me. I get to welcome them to the organization. I got them connected with their consultant and got their program started. And then I end up being their point of contact. Moving on to anything else they may need from Core Business Solutions. Previous to that, I have probably almost 30 years of experience. Again, not trying not to show my age.
Yeah, how is that possible?
In both marketing and project management, mostly focused on the healthcare industry and sales and marketing industries. So…
That’s great. Yeah, that’s a lot of experience. And I know that the customers do love working with you.
Absolutely.
You’re looking out for them and what they might need from us.
Developing relationships with customers has been one of my favorite parts of my job.
That’s great. Well, how about you, Kevin? What do you do?
Yeah. So my journey started about ten years ago. I worked for a government contractor. I got my first real exposure to the ISO standards there because it does show up a lot in the government contracting space. From there, I was hired by Core to be a sales consultant, and this was about seven years ago. And at that point, I got a really good opportunity to work with our client base. And I like to say and you know, our owner, Scott, likes to say that we’re, you know, in sales where the first consultant they speak to.
Oh, that’s a good way to look at it.
Yeah, we got a good chance to understand, you know, who our customer base is, and how we can help them. It’s more than just pushing sales. It’s about really putting something in front of them that’s going to make sense for them in the long run and hopefully help them become more successful in the long run. Now I manage a team here at Core Business Solutions and got lucky enough to move up the chain, but managing a team and instilling those ideas and thoughts into the way that we work with our customers. And so that’s a little bit about my background.
Well, that’s great. I want to thank you both for being here. We have a lot of experience and hopefully, you’ll bring a little bit of a different point of view of what we are talking about. So what we’re talking about today we’re talking about how ISO standards can help you acquire customers. And let’s start with Renee. From a high-level perspective, how do ISO certifications help you get new customers?
Well, Xavier, all ISO certifications can be a differentiator in any industry. Companies that promote their ISO certifications as part of the quote process can stand out against their competitors. And if their competitors are already certified it doesn’t knock them out of the competition either.
So you can stand out or not be eliminated just by a certification?
Exactly. Yes. And also for companies that bid on government contracts being ISO certified will allow them to bid on contracts that they were not eligible for previously. Many of these contracts will award points for being certified to certain standards, and with several of the ISO standards, customers can choose to work on more than one simultaneously which positions them very well for government contracting season.
And that’s an enormous and integrated management system, correct?
Yes. I also highly recommend to my customers that once they obtain certification they add the certifications to their website. Many companies are doing research on vendors, suppliers, and subcontractors by checking out websites either before or as part of the vetting process. Also, having a press release put together is a great approach in standard day-to-day interactions with customers, companies that promote that they are ISO-certified, assure their customers that they are focused on quality.
And it truly makes a difference when potential customers know you have one or more certifications. And in some realms they are requirements. This is great to know, Renee. Now, Kevin, what type of management systems do you find are the most effective for customer acquisition?
All management systems can, you know, provide value in the customer acquisition process. The better question normally is how to identify the management system that’s going to help more effectively attract new customers for you. This can be weighed with a lot of different factors. Sometimes it’s, you know, the business size, the industry you’re in, or just your level of investment.
Okay. Does that also maybe where they want to go, and what their their long-term goals are?
Exactly where you want to go as a business. How invested you are today in getting these things in place can dictate how much time you have to put into it. I always like to say this my golden nugget, my, you know, the golden rule when I kind of talk to a customer or a prospect, its quality is the language that speaks to all. At the end of the day, everyone understands that. They understand it’s a foundational piece to their business and it’s a foundational piece to these management systems in this landscape. A quality management system can oftentimes be a requirement or a barrier to entry for businesses and getting more work. We see it in most industries, such as government contracting, manufacturing, distributors, and service-based companies. I mean, you can name any industry and, you know, quality plays a part.
And in all of these standards are similar because they’re built on an Annex SL. 9001 is a good place to start and get familiar with that.
Absolutely. And just to add another to the list, you know, a strong management system that’s gaining a lot of momentum right now is also cyber, anything with cybersecurity. This is a hot topic. I think we all know that.
Well, a lot of people are coming under malware. They’re getting, you know, ransomware. It’s it’s happening to a lot of people.
Absolutely. And one of the things that you have to pay attention to, because a lot of people think just, you know, protect the customer’s information, protect their information, You’re golden. You got to worry about your company’s information and the employee’s information as well because in today’s landscape, it’s just very important for that to be, you know, considered.
Yeah. And everything lives on your computer.
Absolutely. So you need to make sure you have controls in place. So a cybersecurity management system is going to go a long way. ISO 27001 is one of many that we see a lot growing throughout the, you know, the industry standard industry.
Kevin’s point is that, is a very good one. We’ve been helping customers with either general cybersecurity or cybersecurity requirements that are imposed on them, either by their customers or by government entities with whom they’ve been working for the last few years. And we’re learning as much as they are through the process. It’s an ever-changing, living, breathing thing.
Absolutely. Customers are becoming more aware of how important their data and their customer’s data security can be. So, Renee, what are some more of the common challenges is that basic that businesses face when implementing management systems to attract customers?
We say it all the time in its purest form. Going through the ISO process is not just about hanging a certificate on the wall, and becoming certified is not the end of the story. It’s the beginning of a story. Going through the certification process, the focus is on creating documents and materials processes and essentially establishing a management system. Then comes the job of implementing the new management system throughout the organization and creating a culture of continuous improvement.
It really should be way more than just a certificate on the wall.
And also not to be taken too lightly. Successful management systems are those that have leadership and upper management involved. It sets the tone for the whole company. Those who don’t have leadership and upper management engaged may struggle a bit more. The other more common challenge is maintaining the certification from year to year. If a customer doesn’t do anything to keep the management system up to date and running a year goes by in a blink.
Customers often find themselves in a position where they don’t have the requirements in place in preparation for the annual external audit with their registrar. Some of those things are things like internal audits, management reviews, and periodic approvals of their documents and materials. We support our customers not just through the initial certification process, but offer ongoing levels of consulting support to maintain their certifications from year to year to include assisting with the activities that need to be accomplished throughout the year.
I mean, we’ve said it so many times here on the podcast, keeping your quality management system up to date and using it is essential, and gaining the business benefits from it. You can’t do it if you just do enough to keep the plaque on your wall that says you’re certified. Kevin, What are some of the best practices you’ve seen for developing a management system that focuses on generating sales and driving revenue? I mean, it’s eventually about the money.
That’s what everybody says, right? So and that’s a great question. I mean, it can be answered in a way that represents the way that core thinks about these things, which is don’t just build a management system or document processes for the sake of an auditor or an outside source. When you have such a narrowed focus during the implementation, it affects the way that you think and you’re using these management systems, you know, to better yourself and focus on the continuous improvement aspect. You want to shift your mindset to that.
There’s a reason why a lot of people want this in place for you to work with them, and that’s because it’s not just a piece of paper, it’s actually what standard when you use it to its best is going to give them. If they’re looking to be your customer.
Yeah, and to that point, when you spend the time building the system that represents you and you talk about it or you’re asked about it by a prospective client, they see that you’re not only going to have that paper on the wall, but you really believe what it represents and that it could positively impact, you know, the work that you potentially do with them because you’re living these management systems in a way that will positively impact them through the opportunity of, you know, continuous improvement and a proper mindset.
Again, it is living your management system. I like how you put that and it will show.
I have several times that I can think of where when you have a system you believe in and you’re more, it’s more than that framed piece of paper on the wall in the lobby. You know, you’re like a proud parent. You highlight it in the process of winning more business. What makes you special and how, how the Sometimes there is something you want to, you know, show that you’re proud of because it makes a difference from you and your competition. Another quick tip. I always like to, you know, kind of throw out there and, you know, best practice in advertising is I’ve helped customers understand the proper way to advertise it. It goes beyond just posting it on their website. It can get a return on value almost instantly if you do things right. And one of those things is you have to go to your current customer base and emphasize, Look what we did. We went out, we got a management system in place. A certifiable management system. We go to them and we show them what they achieved. And with that they say, Oh my gosh, that’s great because we couldn’t offer you certain work before. After all, we had a requirement in place that required a management system. And now you have it. So it kind of opens the floodgates, so to speak.
Good points. Yeah, really good points.
Kevin’s right. You know, I get to work with all of our customers, not just while they’re going through the certification program, but afterward. And we hear those stories all the time.
Yeah, really good points. And I believe, next week we’re going to be talking to Lori Engle, our VP of marketing, and she gives some other great tips on how to promote your certification more from a marketing standpoint. So you should tune in for that if you’re interested. This has been great information today. And Kevin, you sort of shared a broad story on how ISO has helped some of our customers gain more business. So, Renee, do you have any stories on how a company that we’ve worked with or you’ve had in the past has seen more business from being certified?
I’ll tell you, my customers usually fall into two different groups for the most part, this is in general, but either they are looking to start to bid on government contracts and they work with us to get the certification and then we see them enter into that new world of business that they’re able to open up for themselves. But there is also a pretty large group of folks that come to us because they have customers requiring them.
So it’s a flow down.
It is. And they come in pretty nervous and a little apprehensive. Kevin and his team do a great job of trying to make them more comfortable in that process. And then I get to see them complete that certification and meet those requirements and I will tell you, the fact that they come back for either additional certifications is for advice, assistance, guidance, and direction on continuing their continual improvement process. For me, that’s that’s just a success story all the time.
Absolutely. I mean, we’re not here just to get them certified and walk away. We want to help every business and help it grow. That’s one of our core values, you know, is customer-focused.
Customer focused?
Yeah, exactly. You took it out of my mouth.
Yeah. And real quick, Xavier. To that point, you know that you just said we’re not just here to get a customer, get them through the process. I mean, one of the things that core focuses on, and going back to Rene’s point about creating a culture is we live with them to create that culture. We do improvement planning at the end of all of our programs because we believe that the culture needs to be built in again for all the reasons we just discussed.
And kind of do nothing but positively affect your bottom line. Well, that’s just awesome. And I just really want to thank both of you for being here, talking with us, taking some of your time, and sharing it with us today. Appreciate it.
Absolutely. Thank you for having us.
Thank you for having us. Absolutely.
And thank you for listening to the Quality Hub today. We hope you’ve enjoyed it and have some new ideas to help you with your business if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the Quality Hub on your favorite podcast app so you can catch the next episode when it drops. Thanks so much and have a great day.