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Taking client-centric traditions to the next level

Info Touch Technologies Corp.'s new COO, James Sanders, is a fervent believer in pushing customer-client relationships to levels that maximize value for both parties.

July 21, 2002

In my 20 years of senior management experience with leading technology and insurance companies, I have made a conscious choice in favor of the customer-centric approach versus the procedural standard. That way, I'm placing client loyalty at the top of my personal checklist.

I believe that one cannot allow processes based on corporate convenience to determine and deliver the needs of the customer. We must start with the customer and work back up the chain.

The last couple of companies I worked for did not have the perception of maximum client-customer service when I went to work for them. You need to go out to the customer and find out what they are looking for. By doing that, you can design products in ways that suit customer needs.

It's finding out exactly the needs of the customer, you survey customers -- trying to see what they enjoy from their purchase -- what they look for from their platforms, and finding out what we can do to further enhance their needs. We've got to really open those lines of communications and make sure it's a continuing partnership. I'm not a great fan of the phrase "customer service;" I prefer "customer-synergy." The customer and provider have an equal responsibility in the relationship, they have to work together to find the best solutions.

James Sanders

The danger is that a company will try to be all things to everybody. The trick to avoiding that is to focus on your core competencies, and do everything else by exception.

Tapping into sources

My philosophy centers on the way we treat our external as well as our internal customers.

The people that work with you -- suppliers, providers, etc. -- are the most crucial part of organization. They are the ones that talk to your customers each day. Companies need to tap into the knowledge and experience they gather.

Working with customers as a product is brought to market is also significant. So many companies design a product and go out and market it and hope it fits. I prefer to go out and survey customers, find out what they are looking for, and build processes and our product offering on that.

One of my favorite sayings is that the front line is the bottom line. The closer you are to the customers, the more it impacts the bottom line. The clerk taking calls probably knows more about the business than anybody else. One of the reasons I entered the kiosk industry with Info Touch is a shared belief that all activities are prioritized around customer retention -- understanding and supporting customers, creating a knowledge and information flow around their needs, and communication and empowerment.

Creating synergies

Any service that exceeds the relationship expectations of our customers -- and emotionally bonds them to us -- provides the substantial, strategic, and competitive benefit that increases the loyalty of existing customers. This in turn creates four important, positive elements in the customer-client dynamic:

Reliance on value as opposed to a dependence on price: There is a certain value in working with best practices. If you continually go out and market on price, price, price, somebody will come along eventually with a cheaper product. There has got to be a real value in dealing with your customers. Listening to them is essential.

Positive referrals decreasing acquisition costs: You go out and market yourself through seminars and traipsing door to door wearing out shoe leather. It's all about turning your customer base into a volunteer workforce, getting them out there, spreading the good news about your products. If it costs $1,000 to land a customer and they turn around and refer you to someone else, you've slashed your acquisition costs in half.

Increased efficiency created by familiarity with customers needs: You understand what clients are looking for and what products best suit them. Somebody may come to you and buy 10 kiosks, but if that client likes the product he or she will come back and order another 20 or 50. The more you work with them, the easier things get.

Increased margins, higher profits and a greater market share: This last point is easy to figure out. If you successfully execute points one through three, this is the end result. And this is what we're all here for.

In my view, one cannot solely drive customer loyalty by creating ever-higher levels of customer satisfaction. Loyalty differs from satisfaction, as it is a behavior, not an attitude. Perceived value, the customer's own assessment of our performance, and that customer's belief in our ability to provide benefits are the true barometers of loyalty.

James Sanders is chief operating officer of Info Touch Technologies Corp. A 20-year veteran of the technology and insurance industries in Canada and the UK, Sanders previously worked in executive positions at TINY Computers and Kwik Fit Insurance Service, and was director of customer service for DX Communications.

[Editor's note: Info Touch Technologies became Tio Networks in April 2006.]