December 11, 2000

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Boise Cascade Gives Businesses What They Want

By Sandra Swanson

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oise Cascade Corp. takes a time-worn approach to establishing much of its customer-service strategy: Ask businesses what they want, then give it to them. That philosophy certainly applies to Boise's revamping of bcop.com, the Web site for its office-products division. "Users have to maintain ownership of a site," says Robert Sieger, director of E-commerce for Boise Cascade Office Products. By constantly seeking user feedback, companies foster greater customer loyalty, he says.

When it comes to E-commerce, Sieger has plenty of reason to take the guesswork out of knowing its customers' needs. Online sales comprise 30% of Boise's office products sales, and Sieger expects that percentage to double next year.

To encourage customer feedback, Boise relies on customer-quality councils--regional gatherings of top Boise customers where improvements for all aspects of the business are discussed--as well as a newly formed tech advisory board that solicits customer opinions on fine-tuning the site, which has more than 185,000 registered users from 11,000 companies. One common refrain that Sieger has heard when speaking with customers: Help companies encourage their employees to comply with Boise contracts.

"It's hard to get buy-in on contracts," says Sieger. The reason: the lure of instant gratification. Purchasers are often tempted to pick up pens or other supplies from a local store instead of ordering through Boise. As a result, an average of 40% of purchasing occurs outside of contracts. Boise is responding by creating an E-loyalty program that promotes contract compliance by letting buyers earn points with purchases. Slated to launch in March, the program can be customized by companies so that points can be redeemed for Boise merchandise or for employee time off, for example.

In its paper-products business, Boise is launching a Web site with invoice and order-status informa-tion despite not yet having full E-commerce capability because that's the data customers want most, says Bob Egan, Boise Cascade Corp.'s director of IS. Two-thirds of the calls to customer-service reps are information requests about existing orders. "It's a huge convenience for customers who are reluctant to call customer-service reps repeatedly," says Egan.

Boise customer Scott Cunningham appreciates the company's willingness to keep customers happy. Cunningham, a corporate buyer for Putman Investments in Boston, recalls a recent crisis that occurred after 6 p.m. on a Friday. Boise's sales force wasn't available after working hours, so its operations staff stepped up to the plate and ensured that an emergency load of paper was delivered the following Monday--at no charge. Says Cunningham, "They'll do anything to solve problems."

Photo by Steve Welsh

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