Jerry Davies, Managing Director, Roland DG UK has built a team that is dedicated to putting people first, and here he explains more about the philosophy at the core of all that Roland DG UK do.
Roland's customer-first philosophy dates all the way back to Roland founder Ikutaro Kakehashi, also known by the nickname Taro. A Japanese engineer, inventor and entrepreneur, Kakehashi was the inventor of the MIDI sound interface – invented to solve a problem being experienced by an entire industry at that time - an achievement for which he was later honoured with a place on Hollywood's RockWalk. Taro was a pioneer in meeting customers' specific needs.
At Roland DG this continued commitment to 'meeting specific customer needs' often means identifying the right product for each individual business. This credo informs our strategy at every level, from research and development, to manufacture, and it's for this reason that we are renowned throughout the industry for producing real, relevant solutions that address our customers' challenges and exceed their expectations.
We don't believe in selling large volumes of units to as many customers as possible; our goal is to be the best, not the biggest.
But our philosophy is about more than that: it's also about putting our customers at the very top of our agenda. Every business claims to provide great service, but in an increasingly hard-nosed and profit-driven world, customer care is too often seen as a costly overhead that has to be tolerated but not invested in. Roland bucks that trend.
Not just a printer or a cutter…
The great thing about our dedication to customer care is that it benefits everyone – our reputation gives us a competitive edge, but it's our customers who enjoy the real benefits. When you choose Roland, you don't just buy a device. Our RolandCare warranties offer a level of service that is unrivalled in the entire industry, providing the security that businesses need to grow further.
To help our customers get the most from their equipment, we also offer a huge range of training courses, webinars, videos and other resources designed to boost productivity and help you to discover new ways to make money.
Roland: Part of YOUR team
The personality of Roland is also reflected in each one of our employees. Aside from technical skills and qualifications, we go to great lengths to hire individuals who share our values – chief among them being the desire to help our customers find effective and efficient solutions to their challenges.
Anyone who has come to see Roland at a trade show, or visited our any of our regional head-quarters, will have experienced the enthusiasm and energy among our people. In turn, Roland employees become part of your business journey.
A purchase from Roland means that Joe Wigzell, our Creative Centre and Academy Manager, also joins your business as your acting Head of Training and Skills Development. Mark Jones and his team of factory-trained and fully Roland accredited technicians become your accessible, professional on-call service department. Rob Goleniowski and his team of product specialists become your free technical consultants. In short, everyone in our team becomes a part of your team – free with any product you buy from us.
Improving lives
Roland has also forged links with universities, academies and with operations like Mission Motorsport. These relationships are important because they help us show the world what Roland devices are capable of, but also reaffirm our mission to not just make printers – we change lives.
Mission Motorsport is an excellent example - a charity established to aid in the recovery and rehabilitation of those affected by military operations by providing opportunities in the motorsport industry - they exist to improve lives and set people on the path to new opportunities and, at our core, this is what we aim to do at Roland DG UK.
So, if a customer were to ask why they should buy from Roland, I would answer with a question: What do they want to achieve?
If we have a solution that addresses their challenges, I would of course tell them that our equipment leads the way in terms of quality, flexibility and reliability, but I would strongly emphasise the additional benefits they would enjoy from RolandCare, Roland Academy and the wider Roland community.
The truth is that no other manufacturer can rival the complete package we offer, and even outside our industry, there are very few companies who can make their customers feel part of a global family in the way that we do.
