The email that ended my career
"The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business"
Currently there is no company that provides a great way to find usable, relevant, and immediate customer support. (Company A) needs to tap into this market, by creating a community through the use of their applications.
In the future, software companies are going to standout from the competition by creating a social network based on their existing user-base. Since there are millions of customers that use (Company A) products, such a network will be available instantaneously and will include a massive knowledge base from which users can tap into. Because of this large user-based-model, solutions to users problems will be answered instantaneously, and satisfaction levels will grow. As satisfaction levels grow, (Company A)’s brand equity will become more positive and increased sales will naturally follow.
Most software purchases are hindered by fears related to adopting new technology. Adaptation and sales, especially in our current economy, hinder on (Company A)’s ability to answer and calm these fears. To these companies, its not about saving a relatively small amount of money, but about the assurance that the product being sold will ‘work’ seamlessly within their current infrastructure.
The online experience, the inspirational ‘wow’ factor, helps, but is attributed more to the company/firm who provides the experience. When one finds a site, which inspires them, that augments their experience, they don’t think about the software that built it, so much as the company/design firm who created it.
That’s not to say that (Company A)’s online marketing isn’t important, but that it plays a smaller role in sales. The same can be said for ‘saving time and money’. It is important, but it doesn’t address the fear of adopting a new technology, for even if a product is shown to save time, the data is relative to a company’s ability to quickly implement and learn it.
In conclusion, (Company A) must focus on assuaging the fear that customers have when upgrading to their products. They need to tap into the huge user-base that already exists and turn it into a knowledge base that is both usable, easily accessible, and quick.
(Company A) already has the means to gather information. Application installations provide relevant information about their customer and specific needs. There are product user forums, (Company A) ID, etc. However nothing is centralized. The fragmentation of user groups makes searching for support on (Company A).com a terrible experience, which leads to poor customer satisfaction levels.
(Company A) needs to refocus on the customer, letting them know that the company cares about their post-purchase needs, and understands the issues they may encounter. (Company A)’s customer base is intelligent enough to understand the difference between marketing campaigns and are therefore conditioned to ignore most, if not all if it.
The first step (Company A) needs to take is to consolidate their user-base thereby strengthening their knowledge base. Future installations of software will automatically provide each user, not only with an ID, but a centralized area on (Company A).com, which is personalized to their needs. They should be able to input questions within applications, and get instant notifications without having to go back and forth between the browsers/email-clients. This solution streamlines the process and addresses the sense of immediacy that our society has come to expect.
(Company A) needs to be the leader in this. As it currently doesn’t successfully exist in the market, the immediacy of (Company A) to address and implement such a solution is of utmost importance.
Currently there is no company that provides a great way to find usable, relevant, and immediate customer support. (Company A) needs to tap into this market, by creating a community through the use of their applications.
In the future, software companies are going to standout from the competition by creating a social network based on their existing user-base. Since there are millions of customers that use (Company A) products, such a network will be available instantaneously and will include a massive knowledge base from which users can tap into. Because of this large user-based-model, solutions to users problems will be answered instantaneously, and satisfaction levels will grow. As satisfaction levels grow, (Company A)’s brand equity will become more positive and increased sales will naturally follow.
Most software purchases are hindered by fears related to adopting new technology. Adaptation and sales, especially in our current economy, hinder on (Company A)’s ability to answer and calm these fears. To these companies, its not about saving a relatively small amount of money, but about the assurance that the product being sold will ‘work’ seamlessly within their current infrastructure.
The online experience, the inspirational ‘wow’ factor, helps, but is attributed more to the company/firm who provides the experience. When one finds a site, which inspires them, that augments their experience, they don’t think about the software that built it, so much as the company/design firm who created it.
That’s not to say that (Company A)’s online marketing isn’t important, but that it plays a smaller role in sales. The same can be said for ‘saving time and money’. It is important, but it doesn’t address the fear of adopting a new technology, for even if a product is shown to save time, the data is relative to a company’s ability to quickly implement and learn it.
In conclusion, (Company A) must focus on assuaging the fear that customers have when upgrading to their products. They need to tap into the huge user-base that already exists and turn it into a knowledge base that is both usable, easily accessible, and quick.
(Company A) already has the means to gather information. Application installations provide relevant information about their customer and specific needs. There are product user forums, (Company A) ID, etc. However nothing is centralized. The fragmentation of user groups makes searching for support on (Company A).com a terrible experience, which leads to poor customer satisfaction levels.
(Company A) needs to refocus on the customer, letting them know that the company cares about their post-purchase needs, and understands the issues they may encounter. (Company A)’s customer base is intelligent enough to understand the difference between marketing campaigns and are therefore conditioned to ignore most, if not all if it.
The first step (Company A) needs to take is to consolidate their user-base thereby strengthening their knowledge base. Future installations of software will automatically provide each user, not only with an ID, but a centralized area on (Company A).com, which is personalized to their needs. They should be able to input questions within applications, and get instant notifications without having to go back and forth between the browsers/email-clients. This solution streamlines the process and addresses the sense of immediacy that our society has come to expect.
(Company A) needs to be the leader in this. As it currently doesn’t successfully exist in the market, the immediacy of (Company A) to address and implement such a solution is of utmost importance.