Customer Experience has a central place among the business buzz phrases of the decade and for good reason. It encompasses everything in the way a customer interacts with you, from the website to aftercare.
It is now common wisdom that a customer should receive the same high quality of service every time they interact with you and in every place they meet your brand – in order to encourage them to come back again.
When it comes to ERP customers, this is even more important because the relationship is a lengthy one and so a high standard of customer care is essential throughout.
Builds partnership and trust
Long term relationships are important in the world of ERP because this is not something that gets delivered in a package to your door. Technology partners have the potential to be valuable and trusted advisors whose worth lies as much in the expertise they can share as the software they install. Without that trust, projects can and do fail, particularly when a customer is reluctant to take the best advice offered.
Word of mouth reputation
Reputation matters more than ever today because in a world of fake news and sponsored content a recommendation from a trusted source is worth millions. Any company with a reputation for delivering a smooth implementation experience is on to a winner because customers often find it challenging.
Cloud changes everything
Unlike on-premise ERP, cloud contracts now give customers the option to leave after a short period. That means that retention is more important than ever to cloud ERP vendors. It’s not hard to see why a good experience at all times has become so important in the cloud world. Customer satisfaction is key to renewal.
Integrity
The internet is filled with ERP horror stories that can be painful and even embarrassing to read. There is no doubt they have an impact across the whole industry and put hurdles in between vendors and potential customers. Like trust, it is vital to establish integrity from the outset. Then when things go well each partner is protecting the good reputation of the other and they have a collective stake in the project’s success.
Long term relationships
Companies who value long term relationships will make every effort to ensure the implementation goes well because they know their reputation is on the line. I would recommend that anyone selecting an ERP implementation partner asks specific questions around the issues of integrity and trust and finds out whether they are working with a team for the long haul or if they simply vanish after the implementation is over.
A note about remote
As we enter the second year of Covid 19, a lot of projects have been carried out remotely. These have often been faster and just as successful as before but it undoubtedly makes it harder to forge those face to face relationships. We have all had to make a bit more effort but it is not impossible. Our team at In Cloud Solutions like to talk about “sprints” where interactions are regular but short. With a little bit of social chat and some concentrated work effort – you can achieve a lot and still make friends!
Have fun!
One of my favorite customers makes me smile when he says that ERP implementations should be fun. It might not be the first word that springs to mind but why shouldn’t everyone get on, have a laugh, and tackle the task at the same time? I would love to hear from people who have had a good time with their customers on implementation and whether that correlates to a great reputation for delivering a good customer experience.
