Small Software Companies: The other side of the coin

Posted by Jack Crawford
Mar 7, 2007 at 11:29 PM

Interesting thread Phil. Thanks for the comments.

I’ve been in customer service management for many years so I have a particular interest in this subject.

My take FWIW -

The principles of good customer service are universal - and are independent of the particular industry. Product quality, value for money and service come to mind. It is not rocket science - just good business.

Consequently, I get impatient with companies like ADM who break every rule in the book. They have not earned any right to customer loyalty and IMO should be dumped without a second thought in favour of those who really care and run their business professionally and without forcing customers to jump through the hoops.

However, as Steve Z. said, customer service cannot be limitless (you’d soon go out of business) and should be managed in the context of the particular market in which the software vendor wants to operate. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve made feature suggestions only to be told - thanks but’s that’s outside our plans for xyz product. That’s fine by me - I now know what the obectives are for that bit of software. It’s when you’re told nothing or a pack of porkies that customers have a right to feel aggrieved.

Phil - I regard the trial/purchase/upgrade software model not as an element of customer service but the particular business model in which vendors operate. The software offer to customers is different from the iPod offer or the plasma screen offer. Software is just code, not a physical thing that you can hold in your hand. It has led to some companies offering service subscriptions just like a a magazine or gym. The model also allows software vendors to sell products that are still under development and would not be tolerated in other markets. Indeed we now expect continuous development and shy away from Version 1.0s. A certain company in Redmond made a fortune that way. That was why OneNote was unusual - it was quite mature from the very start.

I could go on - but the point is that the software business has some unique features that make it difficult to compare with other business sectors. Good customer service though should not be negotiable.

[Here ends the reading ...]

Jack