Contents
Reliable Service
Whether it’s time clock software, an accounting solution or another business management system, you may be considering purchasing new software for your company. Aside from vetting the quality, functionality and price, it is helpful to vet the customer service and support for your prospective product.
In the age of Amazon.com and other successful online giants, consumers are growing accustomed to responsive and prompt customer service. Customer support is an important part of your overall product experience, and poor customer support can be frustrating – while great service is often the key differentiator between products with similar functions, quality and cost.
Responsive Support
To vet customer service, you can search your potential vendor on software review sites like Capterra or Software Advice. There may be customer comments on social media channels or business reviews that show up from an internet search of your potential vendor.
Are the majority of the reviews positive? If there is a bad review somewhere on the internet, is there a thoughtful and concerned company response? A well-handled response to an unwarranted bad review will tell you a little more about how well a company supports its customers.
Your Time is Valuable
Great customer service often resolves questions and problems on first contact. Forrester research shows “53% of customers are likely to abandon their online purchases if they can’t find quick answers to their questions.” How available is your potential vendor for answering pre-purchase questions about features and price? Early communication issues with a company could point to similar issues later on.
- High quality software that meets to your company’s needs can prevent extraneous support issues. What are the reviews about the ease of delivery and implementation of your software, as well as post-purchase support? Are the features reliable, easy to use and not too cumbersome? Is there a replacement policy or quick system fix if your software malfunctions?
- Is there consistency across channels? If you ask questions or access support through email, chat, phone call, or have multiple interactions, all support staff should be empowered to access your customer order history and support ticket history to handle your issue properly.
- Does customer support have the expertise and resources to answer your questions or route you to another expert If there is an exceptional issue? Notice how long are you on hold – is the phone menu quick and easy to navigate or are you placed on a lengthy hold, stuck in proverbial “phone jail?”
Excellent Delivery
In some organizations, the quality of customer service may be under-developed because some customer service centers are seen as cost centers. A smaller more agile company may provide better service than a large corporation with technological hurdles for sharing customer information across large departments.
Great customer service is a valuable component of an overall software package. As you move through your software vetting process, you will discover if your potential vendor is a customer-centered organization – a company that prides itself on customer service and delivers that promise.
This post was written by guest blogger Alix H. at TimeClick Software’s partner Passport Software. Learn more about Passport Software’s professional level business accounting software. Passport Software’s payroll module has an optional interface with TimeClick Software.