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Customer Satisfaction

The Risky Business of Using Techs To Sell

Posted by Sid Saleh on April 28th, 2009

A sizable number of technology companies use their technical support or field service engineers and technicians to sell a variety of services and solutions to their existing customers. The logic usually follows this rationale: On a daily basis, our technicians – or techs – see or talk to our customers who trust them. Therefore, they’re in a good position to do some selling. As those who have tried using their technical staff to sell can attest, this logic doesn’t hold up.

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When Customers Are Not The Top Priority

Posted by Sid Saleh on March 31st, 2009

It's a foregone conclusion that airlines have lost sight of the customer a long time ago. Driven by a singular focus on reducing cost and maximizing revenue, airline executives are consistently signaling that the customer is no longer their number one priority. This has trickled down to their services marketing staff who are producing offers that exude desperation and incompetence. When you lose focus on the customer, anything goes – the sky is not even the limit anymore.  Read more »

Let's Double Our Service Price

Posted by Sid Saleh on February 9th, 2009

At any point in time, a service marketer somewhere is in the thick of raising service prices – an unenviable task at most technology companies.  If only Scott Adam’s could listen to the internal discussions that typically take place, Dilbert could easily double or tripple its readership. Opinions run the gamut.  Some advocate unrealistic price increases, as in “let’s double our prices now.” While others express fear of mass customer exodus for simply maintaining price increases in line with inflation.

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Cisco Contract Data Yields Tracking and Revenue Improvements

Posted by Sid Saleh on October 31st, 2004
In spite of all the investments into customer relationship management tools, service organizations struggle to maintain complete and accurate customer data particularly the invaluable service contract data. For one enterprising group at Cisco, cleaning contract data paid off big. Once a customer buys, the information about the customer, related transactions and service entitlements disappear in corporate IT’s black hole. The resources required to find, clean and maintain contract data has been a low priority that is tough to justify. After you read this story, you may want to raise data maintenance to a higher priority.
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Those Worthless Targeted Promotions

Posted by Sid Saleh on October 1st, 2004

Marketers and sellers sometimes allocate significant resources to promotions such as those launched to attract new customers. Such promotions are often done at the expense of programs designed to keep the loyal ones from switching to competitors. How do these promotions impact loyal customers? Are they effective?

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Service & Support Implications of Home Entertainment Systems

Posted by Colin Campbell on March 31st, 2003
In the last few years, personal computers and home audio and television products have been converging to create a wide range of sophisticated home entertainment systems. The service and support of these systems represent a new set of cost and infrastructure challenges for some manufacturers and retailers while presenting revenue opportunities for others.
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Choose Your Customers Deliberately or Else...

Posted by Sid Saleh on February 23rd, 2003
A high-speed Internet access service provider is a living demonstration of the positive consequences of choosing the appropriate customer segment(s) to serve. Now, under new management, the re-start Ricochet Networks is trying to inch its way into a tough market dominated by larger and meaner players with deep pockets.
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Steering Projects towards Success and Profitability

Posted by Sid Saleh on January 23rd, 2003
Professional services firms start new projects with high expectations of success. However, many projects fail to meet their original goals leading to client dissatisfaction and low margins. Service providers can minimize or avoid altogether failed projects by carefully selecting the right client, actively managing the client relationship and methodically evaluating client performance.
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Client Responsibilities that Help or Hurt Projects

Posted by Sid Saleh on October 22nd, 2002
A close look at the impact of a client’s role on the success or failure of a project reveals a great deal that clients can and should do to ensure project success. In this article we highlight a recent study that identified specific roles for which clients are responsible. Lance Bettencourt of Indiana University, Amy Ostrom and Stephen Brown of Arizona State University and Robert Roundtree of Howard University completed a study of the professional service practices of an IT solutions provider that provides web-based development and e-commerce solutions as well as network integration and business intelligence.
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Can You Grow Business When the Client Expects a Renewal Discount?

Posted by Sid Saleh on October 4th, 2002

A ServicesRevenue Business Case.

Greg Moore hints to Fran Butler that he’s expecting an overall cost reduction of 10 to 15% as their lunch is served. Fran is not surprised since her company’s contract is due to expire at the end of the following quarter.

As they leave the restaurant, she is not pleased when he tells her that he is being pressured by Bob Michaux, the president, to solicit competitive bids. Fran was hoping she’d get a chance to grow her business with Greg’s organization.

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