CRM - November 2008 - (Page 19)

Insight The vendor, no matter the level or quality of customer service provided, has a captive customer—and customers don’t always respond well to captivity. “At the end of the day, the [high-tech] customer doesn’t care how their issue is As high-tech companies seek new directions, is the being tracked or how you’re dealing with customer experience falling through the gap? contact information,” says Joel Bomgar, acknowledges that its processes, deals, and chief executive officer of Bomgar, a proRM within the high-tech industry is—unsurprisingly— customers are diverse. According to Greg vider of virtual remote-support systems. complex. First, customers can Box, the technology relationship manager “They care about how you can [solve] be anyone: an indirect part- for global markets with the company’s St. their issue.” Bomgar’s firm essentially ner, a product reseller, a client, or a con- Louis branch, there are people devoted to takes over customer support, remotely sumer. Given the intricate nature of the taking technology out of the equation and controlling a caller’s cursor or computer, technical product being sold and the bridging the gap to address customer putting an end to the miscommunicamultifaceted relationships required to needs. The technical account manager’s tion or flawed Web self-service all too get the product out the door, maintain- role is to work directly with customer ac- common to high-tech customer service. Another problem in high-tech suping positive customer experiences re- counts to understand each customer’s particular business and the goals that port is the help desk itself, which is often quires a holistic approach. “What I often find is that customer customer wants to pursue. Box says the outsourced overseas. “[It’s] one of the things IT companies service [in the high-tech industry] is sort managers align the cusof hit-or-miss,” says Kimberly Collins, a tomer needs with approThere are people devoted to have done most poorly,” Bomgar says. “Not only Gartner analyst specializing in CRM. priate applications that will taking technology out of the is this a frustrating exShe points out what many might intu- drive the most value. “There’s an investment equation and bridging the gap perience [for customitively suspect: “The more [customers] ers], but it becomes pay for solutions, the higher the expecta- that needs to take place to address customer needs. twice as frustrating tions for customer service.” However, the on both sides,” says Mike with language barriers.” relationship of cost to customer service Manchisi, chief technology And, as Collins points out, a customer doesn’t seem to universally apply in officer of MasterCard’s St. Louis office. high-tech. The problem, Collins says, is The level of involvement, he adds, in- calling a support outlet is already frusthat high-tech firms often don’t truly cludes not just having a detailed under- trated. If a contact center or service page have the customer experience at heart. standing of MasterCard’s products and cannot solve the issue, the customer exEven high-tech companies with rich services, but also reading the customer’s perience basically goes out the window. Collins does say, however, that she customer data and frequent customer Securities and Exchange Commission touch points can still miss out on deliver- regulatory filings and knowing what sees live agent chat as a possible mechaing positive customer experiences. Take, each company is doing. Manchisi and nism for helping customers with highly for example, the typical paperwork for Box both say that MasterCard tries to technical needs. (See “Contact Centers terms and conditions: The information is eliminate the techno-jargon, speaking Chatting to Success,” page 18, for more presented in a minuscule typeface, and in on the customer level with the goal of on chat.) As for other recommendations for high-tech companies looking to imverbose and complicated jargon. Lior transparency always top-of-mind. This all comes back to Collins’ point prove the customer experience, she adArussy, president of customer experience consultancy Strativity Group, pointed to about customers expecting more serv- vises thinking about client retention in this during a session at CRM’s desti- ice when they’ve paid a higher price. the long term. As in many other indusnationCRM 2008 conference this past She says it’s especially true with high- tries—and perhaps even more critically August. “It’s intimidating,” Arussy told tech software that asks for a hefty up- given the specialized world of highthe crowd. “It’s not customer-centric.” front licensing fee. When the provider tech—creating community forums and A rift may exist, to a certain degree, charges maintenance fees, too, cus- gauging customer feedback is a good between customers and high-tech com- tomers expect an even further level of place to start. —Lauren McKay panies, but some in the industry are rec- support. “Once the customer pays upIN HIGH TECHNOLOGY ognizing that and trying to remedy the front licensing and is now paying mainTOP Salesforce.com problem. For instance, credit-card pow- tenance, the technology provider has Oracle erhouse MasterCard—which provides them,” Collins says. This can lead to or Eloqua VENDORS ADempiere management] [for campaign technology solutions to its network— feelings of suffocation and frustration. MARKET FOCUS: HIGH TECHNOLOGY The Complexity Chasm C 3 Source: Gartner www.destinationCRM.com CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | NOVEMBER 2008 19 http://www.Salesforce.com http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - November 2008

CRM - November 2008 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Working with the Years CRM on Twitter Virtual Spenders Contact Centers Chatting to Success The Complexity Chasm Required Reading Generational Spending: A Special Report Who, What, Where, When, Y The Slackers’ X-cellent Adventure The Boomer Boom The Matures Endure Boosting Productivity North of the Border Changing the Channel Invicta’s Thrill of Victory Secret of My Success Connect Re:Tooling Pint of View

CRM - November 2008

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