Offer something new
Offering something new is another effective outreach tactic. Netsolve, a management services provider, is encouraging its customers to sign up for services they previously haven't used.
A program Netsolve launched earlier this year provides customers with credit based on their monthly recurring revenue, explains Melissa Mine, director of marketing at Netsolve. That credit can be exchanged for services they are not currently using. A customer using Netsolve's wide-area networking management service, for example, could use the credit to try the company's virtual private network service.
The program will run through the end of this year. At that point, customers wishing to continue with the new service will pay the regular price.
Some companies are fundamentally rethinking their service lines. At MicroE, president Tod Shedlosky says he periodically reinvents the company to enhance its appeal to customers. The 16-year-old Harrisburg, Pa., firm started out reselling hardware, then segued into Internet services, and now pushes wireless technology. In June, MicroE introduced a wireless broadband Internet service for its Central Pennsylvania client base. "It's one more way to retain customers," he says.
Customer retention is typically something companies work on after the sale is made. But Szilva believes a customer retention philosophy should be built into the sales process itself. Too often, she notes, solutions providers start fretting about customer retention only after they start losing clients.
Szilva says you must put a plan in place to deal with the messy side effects of deploying technology. Solution providers should advise their customers on project risks and discuss the potential workarounds, an approach that Szilva describes as so-called service recovery. "You retain customers by preparing them," she says.
IT providers, however, haven't been especially good at managing their customers' expectations. "The computer industry doesn't do that," Szilva says.
Szilva's company provides sales seminars for solutions providers in conjunction with The ASCII Group, which represents independent computer resellers.
Among those independent resellers is Richard E. DeFord of Central Communications Service, the customer retention function boils down to "brutal honesty."
"If a customer comes and asks me something, I tell them the truth, whether it is going to mean a sale for me or not," he says. "Customers appreciate the honesty and are willing to pay me more for the products I represent when they know I have their best interest in mind more than my bottom line."
An era of honesty, after months of unrelenting hype, may be just what this industry needs right now.
Four customer retention keys
Consider more frequent customer satisfaction surveys. A steady stream of feedback can help root out problems before customers are lost.
Stay close to the customers--even if they aren't buying. A range of tactics from Web seminars to invitations to sponsored events can keep you on the customer's mind now and lead to business later.
Review service lines. Make sure your offerings haven't grown out of step with customers. Outsourcing, for example, is gaining momentum, while high-end consulting is hurting.
Don't over-promise results. Managing the customer's expectations and identifying potential risks will build your credibility and boost customer loyalty.
