How to Deliver Great Customer Service in Enterprise Software

1 © Robert W. Dahlberg

For Arrayent, Inc.

How to Deliver Highly Rated Enterprise Software Customer Service • Part 1

Motivation Service Theory

• Part 2 Organization Roles Key Skills - 1

• Part 3 Key Skills - 2 Summary

“Charm School" Objectives

• Instill a trusted advisor mentality • Inspire Service Orientation

You will create THE Service Standard by which our competitors are measured

• Break 20+ Years of Engineering Conditioning There are no A+'s for being technically correct

• Share tricks of the trade

“Begin with the End in Mind”

Goal: Become Trusted Advisors

Anticipates & Exceeds Client Needs Proactive

Set and Exceed Expectations Listens, Matches Needs with Solutions Client Respects / Needs You

An Advisor / Confidant Always Seeks / Offers Knowledge Deliberately Conscious / Consistent Business Generation Team Member

Traits towards

Customers Trusted Advisor

Attitude Expectations Communications Relationship Knowledge Actions Viewed By Organization

Satisfies Clients Passive High Cheerfully Responds Customer Accepts You Friend Learns as Needed Somewhat Conscious & Consistent An Asset

“Good Enough Service”

What's Different about this Job???

1. The Arrayent Tech Support team is the primary customer solution provider

You are Arrayent to the customer Think service and solutions,

critique the services you see and receive

“Customer Corridor” Each of Us Sets an Impression

Customer Asks: Is Arrayent Competent? Customer oriented? Good partner?

“Customer Corridor” Customer Experience

(650) 260-4520

info@Arrayent.com www.Arrayent.com

Customer portal Trade

Google

Dev Kit Contract

Error Messages

Kick Off

Sales Collections Voice mail FAE AE SE Trade

Product Manager

Tech Conf’s

Job Interview Legal Dept.

Deploy

Exercise: Share recent customer service that you have received

What's Different about this Job?

2. You will NOT be dealing with engineering objectivity

Rather, human emotion, --> Customer's career is on the line --> Drives the need for service excellence --> Accentuates need for Business answers,

not technical answers

A Guillotine Story • Once upon a time

there was a Lawyer, Doctor and an Engineer....

"I Know My Rights!" I want to be face up, and

no blind fold!

The blade stopped so you are free!

“I want the same!" I want to be face up, and

no blind fold!

The blade stopped so you are free!

“I want the same!" I want to be face

up, and no blind fold!

“Hey Wait a Minute!..."

There's gum in the track!

The Bottom Line:

• Being technically correct or elegant DOES NOT MATTER

• Business Results Matter… Key Message

Charm School Agenda

• Motivation • Service Theory • Organization Roles • Key Skills • Summary

4 Steps in Learning

Depressed "Best"

Happy Lucky

Conscious

Unconscious

Incompetent Competent

Competency

Awareness

What Is Customer Service ?

Knowing Customer Requirements. Then Setting, AND Exceeding Expectations

Customer Service, So What????

Bain Consulting Group Fun Fact: It costs 5X more to win a new customer

than it does to retain an existing one

Concentrated Customers

In each segment 3 customers > 80% market share

Service Theory 101

Advertised Claims "Best"

"Worst" "Internally Focused"

Airlines FedEx

Engineering Co.'s

Explicit

Implicit

Random Consistent

Service Delivery

Service Deliverable

Source: The Alexander Group

Getting to Best

Advertised Claims "Best"

"Worst"

Explicit

Implicit

Random

Service Delivery

Service Deliverable

Consistent

Best = Explicit AND Consistent

• Explicit = Product Specification

• Consistent = Standard Operating Procedures

Data Sheet

Arrayent Being Explicit

• Explicit = Product Specification

Standard Demo

Consistency: Standards

Standard Eval

Standard Support

Web E-Mail Telephone On site

Optimizing for Service Quality

Service Quality = (What you deliver) - (Customer's Expectations)

Be Consistent

Be Explicit

"Promise only what you can deliver and … deliver more"

"The secret to exceeding expectations is to set them”

Be Consistent

Be Explicit

For Arrayent, Inc.

High Tech Charm School

• Part 1 Motivation Service Theory

Traits towards

The Bottom Line:

• Being technically correct or elegant DOES NOT MATTER

• Business Results Matter… Key Message

"Promise only what you can deliver and … deliver more"

"The secret to exceeding expectations is to set them”

Be Consistent

Be Explicit

Charm School Agenda

SW Company Roles and Responsibilities

“Sales” “Support Team

Manager”

Support Team

Customer

“Pre-Sales” “More-Sales”

“Sales” Responsibilities

• Job One: Maximize Customer Orders • “Manage” the customer

Coordinates early technical support with Support team Ensures customer deliverables arrive as planned Responsible for all contractual issues Works with “factory” to generate final schedule and

commitments to customer Attend status meetings, design reviews

• Manages all non-technical communication to customer • Runs interference for Support team as required

“bad cop”

Support Team Manager

• Job One: “success” of all customer engagements

• Pre-sales Assists Salesperson with initial customer contact, as

needed Assigns FAE/AE/SE and supporting resources to projects Reviews and provides input to benchmark/Eval plans

• More Sales Reviews and provides input to support plans Attends and audits internal/external design reviews

review

• Recruit, retain, motivate FAE/AE/SE staff

Support Team Responsibilities

• Job One: Make customer successful • Pre-sales responsibilities

Demos Analyzes customer requirements and identifies technical

roadblocks and issues Primary technical interface to customer Assist in Proof of Concept tasks “good cop”

• More-sales responsibilities Primary technical interface to customer Responsible for creating and executing support plan Teaches customer to fish (how to support themselves.) Communicate weekly project status to internal/customer Performs hands-on work as required in project plan “good cop”

Support Team Charter – NOT !!

Surrogate R&D • Architect fixes • Write code 0%

Support Team Charter -- NOT!!

Surrogate Salesperson • Quote product/service price • Call the resource shots • Order entry paperwork • Quote product pricing • Approve evaluation • Approve benchmark • Negotiate license agreement • Sign SLA agreement • Sign NDA • Expedite Contracts Dept. • Expedite Operations Dept. • Tell account why we can't support them

Support Team is the Good Guy

• Let the Account Manager play the "Bad Cop“

• NEVER tell a customer: "You are too small for me to spend time with you", or

"the AM says I can't spend time with you“

• Better:

"The salesperson prioritizes my time, please take up that issue with her"

Then give the salesperson a heads up!

Charm School Agenda

Key Skills

• Establish Credibility • Problem Solver • Recovery • Business Answers • Saying Yes and No • Crisis Management

Steps to Establishing Credibility

3. Commonalty

1. Propriety

2. Competence

4. Intent

Propriety

• Meet customer expectations of appropriate business behavior:

•Dress •Manners •Language

•Punctuality •Respect •Honesty

Competence

• Establish your ability to solve problems by Providing information on your background Demonstrate your knowledge of the customers design

situation

Warren Buffet

Commonality

• Find areas of common interest: Discuss a third party that you both know Meaningful interests and common beliefs

The Master: Jimmy Carter Navy Veteran Farmer Engineer Nuclear Engineer Governor Church Deacon Father

Intent • Convey a sincere interest in the customer's

benefit: Follow up on commitments Body language Care

Mother Teresa

4 Steps to Establishing Credibility

3. Commonalty Find areas of common interest: a. Discuss a third party that you both know b. Meaningful interests and common beliefs

1. Propriety Meet customer expectations of appropriate business behavior: dress, manners, language

2. Competence Establish your ability to solve problems by a. Providing information on your background b. Demonstrate your knowledge of the customers

design situation

4. Intent Convey a sincere interest in the customer's benefit: a. Follow up on commitments b. Body language

Credibility is

Fragile

Introducing … The Arrayent

Arrayent Hall of Shame…

• “You’re the only customer with that problem“

Customer: “Why?”

• "We've known about that problem for a year!“

Customer: "So why didn't you tell me about this problem last year!!"

• “Because you have the first version, we fixed it for everyone after you.”

Customer: “Why not us too?”

• ""That problem will be fixed in the next release (I hope)"

Customer: "You told me that the problem would be fixed!!"

• "Yes the product can do XYZ in the next release (I hope)"

Customer: "This time you said it could do XYZ, But it never has!"

Strengthening Your Credibility

• "I Don't Know" is OK Follow-up strengthens credibility and customer

relationship When in doubt, communicate

Key Skills

Is The Customer Always Right??

Beware: Customer Solutions Disguised as Customer Problems

Too Common are: Customer Solutions Disguised as Customer Problems

• Customers will talk in terms of solutions, NOT problems Customers want to

be helpful

• Your job: Uncover their positive intent

Arrayent Example

• “We need the Arrayent backend to send local time to refrigerator every time it’s logged in, and support daylight savings time.” Problem or solution?

• Underlying Problem: Energy Star Delay Defrost Spec.

product shall automatically move the defrost function outside of a 4-hour deferral period, as follows:

• 6am to 10am – November 1 through April 30 • 3pm to 7pm – May 1 through October 31

Arrayent Example

• “Turn off the radio in the thermostat when not- connected-to-cloud lasts for > 15 minutes.” Problem or solution?

• Underlying Problem:

“we want a way to save battery drain when the gateway is not around.”

Problem Solving

• Resist the temptation to jump to conclusions, give a quick answers

• Key: solve the “right” problem

• Ask, Listen, confirm

For Arrayent, Inc.

High Tech Charm School

• Part 1 Motivation Service Theory

Traits towards

Key Skills

• Establish Credibility • Problem Solver (Continued) • Recovery • Business Answers • Saying Yes and No • Crisis Management

Too Common are: Customer Solutions Disguised as Customer Problems

• Customers will talk in terms of solutions, NOT problems Customers want to

be helpful

• Your job: Uncover their positive intent

Dig Deeper -- Ask One More Question

• There are no stupid questions

• Assume = Ass * U * Me

• Asking is powerful tool to give you thinking time

Johnnie Cochran

The Active Listener

• Confirm what you heard “I understand your concern to be

<playback what you heard>”

• Clarify what you heard “I am not sure I understand,

please explain one more time”

• The customer yells:

• "Hey!! I need a screw driver with a longer handle, and I need it Now!!!!"

What do you do???

Quiz Answer

• The Customer wanted a hammer!

Problem Solving Summary

• Customer’s often ask for help with an ill-conceived workaround to a more fundamental problem

• Strive to uncover the business problem behind the question

• Listen, confirm what you hear

Key Skills

Customers Know Stuff Happens

What Do Customers Want?

1. Friendly, caring service 2. Flexibility 3. Problem solving 4. Recovery:

• Apologize • Take responsibility for fixing • Go the extra step

Source: Kaset International

British Air Study:

The Value of Fast Recovery

Customer Repurchase Rate

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

Complaint notmade, noresolution

Complaintmentioned,

not resolved

Complaintresolved

Complaintresolvedquickly

Source: Technical Assistance Research Project

Key Skills

Give Business Answers

• You are not in Engineering School any more!

There are no A+'s for being technically elegant

Our Ultimate Customer

• The Person Who Signs the Checks!

• Time to Revenue

Give Business Answers

• A Business Answer Focuses the Customer on what is Important:

Her Business & Her Job

Business Answer Advantages

• Forces a customer/business orientation (not techie)

• Focuses the discussion on business goal (the why), not means (how)

• Generates two sided discussion / discovery

When in Doubt….

• Come back to business objectives…

Schedule Cost

Performance

Key Skills

Saying Yes

• Say Yes Only When You Can Deliver Or commit to when

you will have a plan

“You can't pull a rabbit out of a hat

unless you put one there first.” -- Harry Houdini

The “Service No”

• Answer with 2 Answers “Here’s what WE can do”

“Here’s what YOU can do”

“Service No”: Example

• We cannot get ABC on DoReMe “Here’s what I/we are going to do”

“Here’s what you can do”

Key Skills

Crisis Management

• React Now, Think Later: " I sent a e-mail to 5 people (but it was not

directed to any one person)" "I'll fly in tomorrow (who will write that code?)“

• Better is: Think now , react later

Think Now, React Later

• Understand what is really going on Ask questions to give you time to think

• Think through the sales implications Defer to the Account Manager

• Understand and Set Priorities If you don't someone else will! Put the customer's issues down on paper

• Take Ownership of Problems Until you get positive acknowledgement that Someone else has accepted ownership

• Ask for due dates (the acid test!!)

Charm School Agenda

• Motivation • Service Theory • Design Center Roles • Key Skills • Bringing it all together

Becoming a Trusted Advisor

Desired Customer Perception:

“Arrayent is the Platform

for Connected Products”

Success: Customers Depend on Us

• Become the Trusted Advisor that the Customer Depends Upon

• All our actions add up to Arrayent, Inc.

• Service Team Goal: Become a trusted advisor

Each of Us… A Trusted Advisor

Traits towards

How to Deliver Great Customer Service in Enterprise Software

Business

Transcript of How to Deliver Great Customer Service in Enterprise Software

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