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Working the Web:  Link customers to fast, efficient services

One of Lee Printing's customers had a problem. The shower door manufacturer had 1,000 distributors nationwide who needed brochures mailed to them. The reps had to write down the information and get it to another department, which filled the order internally. The distributor would get their brochures several days later.

To improve customer service and be more efficient, Coastal Industries Inc., is signing with Lee Printing. Coastal's distributors will sign onto Coastal's Web site and choose printed materials through a direct link to Lee. The order is shipped in 24 hours.

"Right now, someone has to take time out of their busy day to box, tape, label and ship," said Ray Adams, vice president of sales and marketing at Coastal. "We're not in the business of mailing brochures. We're in the business of manufacturing shower doors."

Brothers Andy and Darral Lee realized they needed to improve turnaround two years ago. They offered a version of the program, Leetrac, to some long-time clients and spent months coming up with a best practice.

"We knew it would offer our clients an advantage," Andy said. "Each Web site we work on is customized to that client."

Making sure your site is easy to maneuver but still catches the eye is a tricky balancing act, said Steve Steuart, business development manager at Idea Integration.

"The days of eye candy in Web sites are gone," he said. "Flashy Web sites without content don't do anything. The key to success is role play. Ask yourself if you are a user or a customer or a vendor, then think what you need on the site. When you do role plays, you can anticipate what people want."

Andy and Darral spent nine months developing the product and took it to Adams for feedback.

"When we left his office, he could never repeat any of it to his employees," Andy said. "The information was not clear and we knew we had to make it more accessible." The Lees went back to the drawing board to develop a system that would help customers as well as clients' customers.

Thousands of dollars can be spent on Web site design, but the bottom line has to be how many people are going to see the information on the site and use it to their advantage.

"Nothing is worse than spending $10,000 or even $1,000 on a site that no one uses," Steuart said. "You have to have a good discovery phase with your users. Interview them and listen to your customers."

Lee Printing was founded in 1964. Second- and third-generation family members run the office. Head of the information technology department is Chris Lee. He was instrumental in making the new product effective and easy to use from a customer service standpoint.

The Web sites links help eliminate insurance, warehousing and assembly costs for Lee's clients. Lee Printing contracts with its clients for a specific amount, then prints the number of brochures needed. Clients are billed monthly.

Darral's favorite book, "Raving Fans" by Ken Blanchard, talks about setting the tone of your business to reach your goals. He looked to the book on a regular basis when putting together the project with his brother.

The brothers are trying to help others streamline their business while doing more for customers.

"What we're trying to do is be leaner," Andy said. "Customers are different than years before. Customers have additional responsibilities of purchasing agents and are taking over tasks that weren't theirs just a few years ago."

The Lees recently tried to purchase six cell phones for the company. The store was out of them. More importantly — it had no brochures left. "Come back in a couple days," the clerk said.

The sale didn't go through.