UPM_News_2016

How to win the customer’s heart

Coffee with Ken

Do you have a motto that guides the way you do business? “Lead by your own example. This means being on the frontline and showing your team the way. An- other motto dates from my youth, when I played handball at top lev- el: Never lose your fighting spir- it!” “I’ve been in the business for 38 years, so there are quite a few things to be proud of. I am proud of the team spirit and high level of motivation within our sales team which has led to better perfor- mance than many of our peers.” Please share one tip “Respect others and be friend- ly towards everybody. The same rule applies in both private and business life.” What is your company’s biggest asset? “It is definitely the ability to re- new and innovate. UPM is doing a great job at transforming us into a leading Biofore company.” Who has inspired you in your business life and why? “ Matti Alahuhta , the former CEO at KONE Corporation. Last Christmas I read his book on leadership. What I like about him is his strategic thinking and very customer-focused mindset. He seems to be a great people’s “I glance through the daily news- paper every morning at the break- fast table and go back and read the most interesting articles on the sofa in the evening. My choice at home is good old Hufvudstads- bladet , the leading Swedish-lan- guage newspaper in Finland. When I’m travelling I go for the local newspaper to get a view of what’s happening around me.” What achievement in your career are you especially proud of? that is invaluable in life or business. leader, too.” What is your favourite newspaper and favourite place to read it?

During a career spanning nearly four decades, Ken Ehrnrooth has nurtured hundreds of long-lasting customer relationships. “Delivering a superior customer experience starts with putting yourself out there and truly understanding your customer’s needs.”

Text: Riikka Schenk Photo: Anja Wechsler

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in long-term partnership with them, not just negotiating from one period to the next. Trust and be trusted in the founda- tion for long-lasting relationships. “To build trust it’s important to com- municate in a timely and honest man- ner, and never make promises you can- not keep. We have to show engage- ment, treat the customer’s challenges as our own, and show that we truly val- ue the relationship,” reveals Ehrnrooth. “Behaving consistently over cycles is crucial, too: nobody likes nasty sur- prises,” affirms Ehrnrooth. Superior customer experience Ehrnrooth emphasizes that the entire team must be engaged and committed to delivering a superior customer expe- rience. “It’s not a one man show, but a team effort, from the frontlines to top

n these challenging times, publish- ers and suppliers must work in part- nership, helping each other navigate through to a successful future. Despite current headwinds, or perhaps because of them, unit price only is starting to lose its position as the main criteria for selecting a supplier. “Our customers are true profession- als and they see the value of a coher- ent commercial policy, reliability, com- mitment, innovations, product devel- opment and sustainability, which all are becoming increasingly important,” says Ken Ehrnrooth , Vice President of Sales, News & Retail at UPM Pa- per ENA. Making the right choice The UPM’s aim is to be the preferred supplier to selected customers, working

management. The whole team has to show a positive attitude, an open mind- set and determination. I always say: if there’s a will, there is a way’.” According to Ehrnrooth superior cus- tomer experience is the only meaning- ful way to differentiate in the commod- ity business, as this is something that cannot be copied: “Competitors can try to copy our quality or service, but they cannot copy the way we connect with our customers,” he emphasizes. “Superior customer experience means that we have happy customers who trust UPM and appreciate dealing with us. In the end, it’s all about mutu- ally achieving a win-win situation that benefits everybody.”

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