Does it feel like your running yourBusiness from a flip phone?
Are you operating your business from a Rolodex, or maybe you even consider yourself cutting edge because you went out and got a software package to help the process but is it starting to feel more like a flip phone than a smartphone?
In my business, I was the guy running a flip phone; to be honest, it may have been one of those old car phones. All my data was at my fingertips, with one huge caveat, the time and energy involved in finding the information I needed. I had a tiny window into seeing and using this information. It was a slow process of using the number pad to type out letters and drilling down through screen after endless screen to find the information I needed.
What is happening in the meantime? Your customer is on the other end of the line growing impatient, wondering why something as simple as getting a price and ordering a product could be so hard. They are probably on their smartphone searching for other providers in the area for an easier way to do business while on hold. Maybe even setting up an online ordering account.
This pain point was so big that my business resorted to printing daily price sheets for each desk, and we took orders on pieces of paper. After the customer got off the phone, these orders would be entered into the “amazing software system.”
Is this really what I had signed up for? We all know that those price sheets never always got printed for everyone and that staff members would take an order on paper to realize later they couldn’t find the customer in the system, so a call back would be required. “Don’t worry; we know what we are doing, but what was your address again, Ma’am?”
What is the one resource you cannot survive without? A customer. The most crucial aspect of your business is the customer and their experience. Price is not the only critical factor; customers will pay more on experience alone.
Why is our software not designed with the customer experience in mind? We should be able to load a customer snapshot and have a bird’s eye view of everything happening in that account in a matter of seconds.
Your customer should be in awe at how quick and painless this process is with your company. Your system should be tightly integrated to handle all methods of interaction. Ordering and paying bills online are huge, but why do we shortcut it? The customer expects the same experience online as they would calling you directly. Why have we patched these two systems together? The customer should be able to see all the information you see in your software system. This creates a customer who feels empowered and in control. This makes a lifetime customer. Why are mom-and-pop businesses losing customers to bigger competitors in most markets? Because they haven’t been able to compete in this area.
Simple is built around a customer-first experience. We took a different approach, tested it, and continued refining it daily. We have included online ordering and payments to ensure a fully integrated system with no patchwork. Customers can be loaded in seconds, and your staff will look like personal account managers for anyone they load into view.
How do I know this actually works? I’ve been in your shoes; I have run a heating oil and propane business and felt your pain. I got so fed up that I built a custom system to use and tested it in the real world on real customers. I couldn’t release updates fast enough; the staff and customers loved it. I was torn between building this software and running the business. Like many of you, I had a dream and loved what I was making, so I took the same leap of faith you did.
What is our mission at Simple Energy Software? Building software around your customer experience so you can become our next testimony. To see your business serve many generations to come. We are here to level the playing field and put you back in the driver’s seat.
