Introduction.

Technical support, and why it works for some and not for others.

Consider this scenario: Company A and Company B are offering the exact same computer. Company A’s system is $50 less, but the customer knows their reputation for support is just awful. Company B costs $50 more, and the customer’s brother just bought one and says the support is amazing—the best he’s had with any company. Which system would YOU buy?

Let's be honest. The technical support department for any computer manufacturer bleeds money from the company, is a source of a great deal of negative press, and can literally destroy the reputation of any company if it's not handled very well. Think of any of the huge manufacturers and what's the first positive thing that comes to mind? I bet it's not their customer service or their support. Why do these companies fail when others do very well?

It's very simple. You can draw parallels between the size of the company and the quality of the support, if you like, but it’s truly incidental. The companies that have the worst support tend to be the ones most geared towards selling large quantities of retail systems to the largest possible market, and that’s where most of the money goes. You want someone to buy the product, so you dump your money into marketing, placement, presentation, and advertising. New sales are the fastest way to build your business, after all.

Computer manufacturers often fail to recognize the importance of what happens after the initial sale. They don't care so much what happens after you purchase the system because, after all, support ALWAYS loses money for the company no matter how much you charge for an extended warranty. Those companies don’t think outside the box.

That's stupid, guys. If you have to spend money on support costs, why not take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the interaction? Customer service should always extend past the purchase and into the after-sales experience. Technical support is the most "technical" side of customer service, but it's actually more important than even the "sales" side. It's easy enough to make a sale, but a hell of a lot harder to keep that customer coming back for your product year after year.

Instead of looking at the after-sales experience as a chance to garner word-of-mouth or to build a tradition of reliability, large manufacturers dismiss it as a necessary evil to the industry. They outsource it to reduce the impact on the profit and loss statement. Small manufacturers recognize the fact that they need that word of mouth, but aren’t sure where to draw the line between doing too much for the customer and doing too little.

When your company’s product breaks, it creates an opportunity instead of an obstacle. It’s an opportunity to open a dialogue, create a relationship, and prove that your customer can trust you. The customer is angry, rightfully so, and it's your job to make him love you enough to come back next time and buy again.

Turning a bad situation around is hard, but it is possible to do it and not only conserve money for the department, but make money. You’ve got to start with the fundamentals and work your way up, and that’s what this series of articles will address.

Keep in mind that the series is geared towards small to mid-sized companies that will probably not have a tiered support frame or multiple locations, but do everything in-house. Tiered support falls into an entire different set of rules, and is more on the level of corporate level support.