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Planning For Your Business
Customer-Service Provider Relationships-Is Yours A
Blessing Or A Nightmare?
We are all dependent on
service providers for our businesses to succeed. The
better you manage that relationship, the more
successful you will be in achieving your goals in a
cost-effective manner. The relationship is two-way
street. Service providers also depend on customers
to enable a successful deliverable. So, prepare:
Initial planning:
spend a good amount of time upfront reviewing your
business strategy, your marketing goals and your
budget with your service provider. Confirm in
writing the critical issues, e.g., the expectations,
the implementation phases, required deadlines and
deliverables. Indicate your preferences.
Strategic vs. tactical
goals: Plan the project with a long-term
strategic perspective, but implement in smaller
phases. By breaking down a project into smaller
deliverables, you are giving yourself a chance to
review progress in a manageable approach. Once you
are comfortable with the results of one phase, then
you can proceed with the next step (this may help
your budget process too.) A critical benefit to this
approach is that things change rapidly and you may
no longer want the original approach. With a phased
approach, you are cutting your losses and allowing
yourself and your provider to change directions in a
more cost-effective manner.
Documentation is
critical. The larger the project, the more
critical documentation becomes. Samples include
account information, login information, vendor
contacts, a list of directories where everything is
located, a list of all the hardware and software
products that have been used in the implementation,
and, where appropriate, how to use the solution.
Imagine transitioning to a new service provider in
the middle of a project without such documentation
or getting a deliverable that you don’t know how to
use!
Solution alternatives:
When a service provider presents an approach or a
solution, make sure the benefits, alternatives and
issues are presented to you before committing to
that solution. This analysis brings many benefits.
Half the battle is in knowing what to ask! This
analysis enables customers to realize what they
really want in their project deliverables. This
reduces much misinterpretation. It also shows your
service provider’s abilities.
In my 20 years of experience
with global, multi-million dollar initiatives, as
well as with low-cost projects, I found the careful
management of the services is critical to the
success of the projects. Whether large or small, the
same principles apply.
Dahlia Benaroya
has had over 20 years of experience in business and
technology fields. She is currently the founder and
president of Dahlia Web Designs LLC. Her company
provides innovative marketing and business solutions
for the Too Busy!. She offers clients cost-effective
solutions with her consultation, web design and
organizational management strategies and services.
Previously, Dahlia was a director at a major
international company, with responsibility over
multi-million dollar initiatives. Her current
special project is to help motivate children to
write by offering inexpensive online publishing
opportunities for children through her website
http://www.KidsLoveToWrite.com
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