Introduction
When I first ventured into the ERP industry in 1998, the concept of customer satisfaction was not a prevalent part of the business lexicon. The reseller I was associated with had 400 customers and only one person on their help desk. Typically, a customer would contact their sales representative via telephone if they needed assistance. Email, now the backbone of customer-to-vendor communication, was still in its infancy in the business world. Hotmail was launched in 1996, Yahoo Mail in 1998, and Gmail in 2004. Helpdesk software was available but expensive, and the options were limited.
During the subsequent seven years, I collaborated with Executives, Salespeople, Operations Managers, Consultants, Developers, and Accountants. However, the absence of Customer Support professionals was glaring. Our business and the entire industry did not prioritize Customer Satisfaction. This lack of emphasis on customer support was a clear area for improvement and change.
An awakening
In 2002, I traveled with my company president to visit a highly frustrated customer. As was typical in our industry, the implementation took longer than anticipated, and the budget increased alarmingly. It was a brutal meeting. We had made mistakes; our staff was not performing in a manner suitable for a professional. It was necessary to make concessions, which meant losing the revenue we had been counting on. It was not a small amount. Ultimately, we kept our promises to the customer, but the experience was less than satisfying, and the relationship was strained for as long as I can remember.
The three-hour car trip back home allowed my friend Forrest and me to investigate why this project failed. We made many decisions during those three hours, but the most important was becoming more customer-centric. We pledged to incorporate the customer’s voice into everything we did from that point forward.
By 2008, still without a single dedicated customer care staff member, we won successive annual awards for customer satisfaction in our yearly industry meetings. I have always been proud of those awards and still have one of them on my shelf of memories to this day. We learned how to listen to our customers. We invested in them. We brought them closer to us. We got them together for education and to celebrate their successes. We even gave them awards! We changed what mattered most in our business to things that mattered the most to our customers. Over three years, we had zero customer churn, which was unheard of. It was hard work, and it was worth it.
A new focus
In 2010, after being acquired by another company, the company vice president noticed that I had an unusual relationship with the customers in my region. I was asked to take a new role in the leadership of our customer support department. In those days, it was just me and one or two individuals. Although I am no longer there today, this department is approaching 30 full-time staff members, serving over 1,000 customers globally. This is tremendous, but the primary focus is a reactive force that answers only when the customer asks for help. For most customers, this service is assumed and is a given – it has become a commodity, and everyone has a customer service department.
My interests were in serving customers with education, information, and community. Over the next 14 years, we would generate monthly newsletters and create user conferences, weekly web chats, and podcasts to keep our customers educated, informed, and connected.
Today, I am interested in an even more proactive approach to serving customers, which has been the driving force of my work with customers for many years. Today, I serve as our Member Success Director. This concept has many proactive efforts that seek to connect more deeply with our members.
- I used to wait until the implementation process was complete and the system was live before engaging with a member. This caused much of my information to be secondhand. Now, I attend meetings as early as possible, as often as possible, throughout the customer’s lifecycle. Hearing their voices from day one, knowing the complete history of the relationship, and being aware of all the challenges and accomplishments improve my ability to serve as an advocate for their requirements and greatly enhance my ability to help align our entire team.
- Following Go-Live, I will meet with members once a week for a month. This will help them transition from working directly with their consulting team to working through our Mission Support and ticketing system.
- This transitions to a once-per-month meeting. In this meeting, we will review the past thirty days, examine open and closed tickets, and discuss any significant endeavors currently underway.
- Additionally, we expect every member to participate in Quarterly Business Reviews (QBR). These meetings aim to keep everyone aligned and ensure that the current systems align with current requirements and future growth plans. They are an opportunity to strategically plan for improvements and initiatives long before they become urgent.
- For the first time in my ERP journey, the publisher hosts an annual conference open to all. Partners, Solution Providers, and Customers/Members are all invited. Long an advocate of this type of event, I look forward to inviting all our members to participate and enjoy the opportunities for learning, inspiration, celebration, unity, and togetherness.
Conclusion
In the modern business world, customers have more influence than ever before. Building customer loyalty and protecting a long-term mutually beneficial relationship isn’t just an idea but an imperative. It’s my privilege to take the lead in ensuring we deliver value to our members throughout their entire lifecycle.
Too many years ago to remember, I was taught the phrase, “The secret of successful relationships with customers is caring about what they care about.” I’ve done my best to keep this top of mind. Today, we refer to our customers as members.
If I have ever had any secret sauce, this is it: I see customers or members as my friends. For me and my friends, it’s personal. I want them all to succeed.