We are now more than seven months into the pandemic. We still don’t know when things will return to “normal”, but we are learning every day about how to deal with the new reality.
Before this all happened, service and support organizations for the most part were actively investing in new technologies to help improve their ability to support and service their customers.
Now, according to this KPMG Study, 56% of executives want to invest in new tech, but 4 in 10 have halted any new spending plans. Instead, they are shifting their focus to “must have” technologies, with cloud migration being one of the top areas of spending.
Cloud migration?
I get the importance of the cloud; reduce the infrastructure load, better enable technology deployment as part of your digital transformation, etc. But if you aren’t already most of the way there by now, it will be a time consuming and painful journey that will involve most of your organization. And in the meantime, how will this benefit your customers?
While it’s important to maintain your strategic direction and manage risk, shouldn’t there also be spending priorities in areas that improve the customers’ journey with your products? This study by American Express showed that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience. So if you invest in the right areas, you can offset that expenditure by having your customers help fund it. You can even profit from it. You should be asking your customers where you can improve their experience once they’ve invested in your products. That often starts with improving support. Consider these questions:
- Would it be better if my customers could resolve service issues on their own before calling support?
- If they have to call support, how can we apply the knowledge of our best experts right away, no matter where the problem is?
- How can we optimize services delivery so that sending someone onsite is our last option?
There are technologies available right now that cost less than an FTE (in some cases, much less). They can be implemented in days and have an immediate impact. And your customers will help pay for them if it makes things better for them. If you’re in the C-Suite and charting your strategic course in light of this new reality, don’t forget to consider the tactical moves that can help you better survive along the way.