FINAL WORD
Placing the customer at the centre
As channel partners reshape their approach
to a new customer base, they must turn to
the priorities of the end-consumer to provide
true business value to their clients.
A recent report from Forrester
highlighted how customer obsession is
driving successful businesses. This model
of operation involves placing customers at
the centre of every business decision and
informing every move with large amounts of
customer data. Those operating within this
business model are enjoying “higher revenue
growth, customer satisfaction and employee
satisfaction”. The trend is only set to grow.
For example, organisations such as
Amazon pride themselves on this type of
customer-centricity, making every decision
to bolster customer experience and
improve trust. To keep pace, businesses
need to examine how they are addressing
their customers needs in their wider
business strategy.
Consequently, channel partners must
adjust their approach to ensure they are not
only offering direct customer facing value
Channel partners have
had to begin addressing
the needs of new
decision makers. autonomy to handle issues as they appear.
By having comprehensive network visibility,
IT administrators are able to measure
performance and quickly identify pain points
– whether at the device level, in the network,
the application or at the user interface.
At the centre of this sits measurement and
the ability to understand and adapt solutions
based on performance. To put it simply, if you
with their implementations but are providing
tangible proof to non-technical stakeholders.
Consider retailers, for example. Whether
in-store or online, they can live and die by
their ability to offer a seamless, efficient
and secure service to customers that drives
conversion. Bottlenecks in the system
that grind the business to a halt can have
a devastating impact on the bottom line.
Revenue aside, if checkout staff are unable
to operate efficiently at peak times, the
brand’s entire reputation could ultimately
be at stake. Moreover, the longer it takes
to resolve customer issues, the greater
the impact, including the potential loss
of customers, reputation and ultimately
revenue. To combat this, IT staff need the can’t measure, you can’t manage – visibility
is vital for every aspect of the business to
continually grow and develop processes and
allow a company to remain competitive. This
sort of intelligence allows a retailer to make
changes – or invest in specific technologies
– that focus on the issue at-hand. And the
ultimate winner? The customer.
As the IT team develops a new side of
the organisation’s offering supported by
a network of channel partners, customer-
facing staff are freed up and made far
more productive. These team members
are then able to focus their energy on
providing a better human experience for
the end customers. Proving value across
all areas of the business, not just for the IT
team is important, but proving how the end
customer ultimately wins is vital.
Changing tides
As business priorities continue to merge with
those of the customer, so too must the focus
of channel partners. Being able to provide a
measurable impact to the end-user through
successful technology implementations is
integral to a lasting, successful relationship.
As businesses undergo Digital
Transformation at every level, channel
partners must have the ability to adapt
quickly as priorities shift and new
technology and solutions are demanded.
Ultimately, by understanding a customer-
centric model and focusing on monitoring
performance and investing in agility,
channel partners will not only be able
to support innovation, but also give the
transparency to create real competitive
differentiation, now and into the future.
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