https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2020 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2020 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
 Channel Futures

Strategy


Customer Service Excellent

What Amazon Can Teach MSPs About Customer Service

  • Written by Jonathan Hartman
  • July 27, 2018
The time is now to focus on enhancing the client experience. Never has so much disruptive, transformational technology been available to service providers to solve customer problems.

The pressure to deliver a positive customer experience has never been greater. Real-time access to information and the ease of comparison shopping have elevated expectations and radically changed the buyer’s journey. How customers are treated has a profound effect on future transactions: Those whose problems are resolved with minimal effort are far more likely to repurchase goods or services and increase how much they spend. Do a great job, and they will reward you with more business. Here are some stats that prove it:

According to the Consumer Expectations in 2018 report from Avionos, 17 percent of consumers are willing to share even more personal information during the buying experience if it means Amazon can better anticipate their needs. Avionos’ 2018 Procurement Officer Report shows 78 percent of B2B buyers start their product searches on either Amazon or Google, and the growth of Amazon Business has led 65 percent of B2B buyers to make more business purchases through Amazon.

According to Walker Sands’ 2018 Future of Retail study, half of consumers ages 18-25, and 57 percent of those 26-35, receive one or two packages from Amazon per week, and just one in 10 consumers is concerned about Amazon gaining a monopoly.

Why is that? My take is, it’s the company’s maniacal emphasis on customer experience.

While channel companies may have a complicated relationship with Amazon because of its role as both partner and competitor, if you are looking for a customer experience role model in the digital realm, look no further. Amazon has redefined customer expectations in a way that is impossible to ignore. “Keeping up with the Bezos” is putting major pressure on companies in every industry, and the channel is no different. Whether you’re an MSP delivering remote services, an integrator focused on deployment projects or a product reseller, the customer experience is fundamental to any long-lasting relationship.

Not to mix my retailer metaphors, but channel partners need an “easy button” that their customers can press for a simplified buying experience, so that they can easily achieve their goals and feel good about what they have accomplished.

Harness the Amazon Effect

Amazon pioneered digital suggestive selling with its “customers who viewed this item also viewed” prompt. Amazon is also using artificial intelligence (AI) for product searches and fraud detection, among other functions.

“Machine learning drives our algorithms for demand forecasting, product search ranking, product and deals recommendations, merchandising placements, fraud detection, translations and much more,” wrote Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in a shareholder letter. “Though less visible, much of the impact of machine learning will be of this type — quietly but meaningfully improving core operations.”

Simplicity and satisfaction are at the heart of the Amazon customer experience. The company figured out long ago that the easier you make it for customers to do business with you, the more likely they are to keep doing so.

Yes, technology is foundational to a stellar customer experience, but only when you have the right client relationship. Technology alone can’t solve business problems. Partners need deep relationships with customers to understand the culture and personalities involved. 

For their part, customers must get to the true core of a problem by sharing with partners what’s causing them pain; otherwise, the desired business outcomes can’t be achieved, regardless of the technology.

By getting to know the customer as deeply as Amazon does, partners can help them in concrete ways, such as creating and maintaining user-friendly, responsive websites that are easily accessible from both computers and mobile devices. Well-run sites have to be supported by back-end systems that manage inventory, complete transactions and quickly deliver relevant information. Delivering all that is an opportunity to become indispensable.

Partners must collect and organize data about their customers to inform strategic decisions that strengthen the bond. Amazon seems to know what we need before we begin searching. MSPs collect plenty of data on their customers, thanks to the RMM and PSA systems they use to deliver services. The question is, how well they are we using that information?  MSPs – and channel companies in general – need to invest in areas such as advanced analytics, AI systems and mobile access to enhance the customer experience.

And don’t forget security: You can’t deliver a great customer experience if you fail to protect your customers’ data. Customers are less and less tolerant of a breach and won’t hesitate to pull the plug if one too many bugs (or worse) find their way into the network. When’s the last time Amazon apologized for losing credit-card data? 

Exactly my point.

So how can partners beat Amazon at its own game? User-friendly technology is key, but nothing replaces the personal touch. It’s the emotional aspect. People react intellectually to a hassle-free experience, but whether they come back to you is often an emotional decision. Any contact with customers in face-to-face meetings, on the phone or through email must strike the right tone. You must be responsive, listen and address their questions and problems to ensure a positive experience.

If contact with a human in your organization is off-putting to customers, the experience suffers. Make certain you are backing up the technology with great people skills; otherwise, you can’t truly deliver an excellent customer experience.

As vice president of sales for PlanetOne, Jonathan Hartman is responsible for driving sales initiatives, increasing revenue and closing record deals across the company’s growing nationwide partner base.

Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Business Models Mobility RMM/PSA Sales & Marketing Security Strategy

Related


  • Cloud Certification
    Protegrity Partners Get New Program with Added Training, Certification
    Protegrity partners asked for access to more training.
  • Cloud Apps
    Getting Clients Ready for an 88% Increase in Cloud Adoption
    Cloud apps are a saving grace in retooling companies during the pandemic.
  • Blackjack Double Down
    SAP UK Reveals Plan to Double Channel Revenue in 3 Years
    SAP UK says partners are “our multiplier,” outlining a three-year transformation of the business.
  • Cybersecurity Roundup
    Law Firm Cyberattack Exposes Tens of Thousands of Patient Records
    Cybercriminals prefer to target entities like law firms because of the enterprise data they possess.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Palo Alto Networks Unveils Bridgecrew Acquisition, Prisma Access 2.0
  • How Remote Working Promotes Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
  • Tactical Threat Intelligence Has a Critical Place in a Layered Cybersecurity Strategy
  • Why Cloud Storage Protection Is a Top Opportunity for MSPs

Galleries

View all

Channel Partners Virtual 2021 Is the Hottest Ticket in Town

February 26, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

The “Roaring 20s” Are Coming

February 25, 2021

Three Ways MSPs Can Improve Supply Chain Security

February 24, 2021

SASE: The Key to Mitigating Business Transformation Risk

February 22, 2021

Webinars

View all

A Partner’s Perspective on Channel Success in 2021

March 17, 2021

XDR and Why it Matters to MSPs

March 24, 2021

Top Security Trends Impacting Technology Security Providers In 2021

March 25, 2021

White Papers

View all

Ready To Add Cutting Edge IoT Solutions To Your Portfolio?

  • 1
February 25, 2021

What Is The Value Of Distribution For The Internet Of Things?

February 25, 2021

The Internet of Things (IoT): Where do You Begin?

  • 1
February 25, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Virtual

March 2, 2021 - March 4, 2021

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

FASTCHAT: How SOAR Eliminates Security Challenges and Elevates Service Provider Revenues

January 6, 2021

Happy Holidays from Channel Partners & Channel Futures!

December 21, 2020

FASTCHAT: How Old, Unpatched Technologies Are Creating New Security Threats for MSPs and Their Customers

December 3, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

Amazon WorkSpaces @awscloud DaaS client will be available on @IGEL_Technology virtual endpoint client OS.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@VMware cutting more workers in California as part of ongoing #workforcerebalancing. #layoffs… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

#CPVirtual is March 2-4. It’s the hottest ticket in town — any town, since it’s 100% online — so make sure you have… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@datto, @ThreatLocker partner to streamline #MSP secure business operations. dlvr.it/RtYvJK https://t.co/nKGnwbblNO

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

Infographic: Why Partner with Sierra Wireless and GetWireless? dlvr.it/RtYh1m https://t.co/KcBFzXIx7l

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

Infographic: The Sierra Wireless Essential Series dlvr.it/RtYgxv https://t.co/CatxbRHzXr

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

#Threatprotection is no small matter for #MSSPs. Find out what vendors say you have to do this year to protect your… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

Cloud strategies and cybersecurity are key, and #COVID19 will have more impact than #Brexit on U.K. channel, says… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021

MSSP Insider

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Channel Partners Online

Want more? Find more channel news and analysis on our sister site, Channel Partners.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Online
  • Channel Partners Events
  • MSP 501
  • MSSP Insider
  • IoT World Today
  • Webhostingtalk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X