In any industry or business, getting people in the door is a key to success. Perhaps an even bigger challenge is keeping them coming back. Great service makes your customers feel that you care about developing a long-term relationship, more than just closing the deal.

Here's a case study on a company who understands how great customer service is essential for creating new customers, keeping loyal customers and developing referrals for future customers, which is why they turned to O'Neil. Software.

The Technology User: Pioneer Records & Information Management

Records storage and management customers today can be fickle, flush with choices.  Poor service at one record center might just drive them down the street to your competitor, or to another website to explore other options.  And although many companies focus on price and product to gain competitive advantage (and make no mistake about it  -  these factors are important), creating a great customer experience leads to genuine customer loyalty.

At a time where customers often complain about the lack of service, or the feeling like they mean little to business, providing excellent customer service can set you apart from your competitors.  And by emphasizing it in your Marketing strategy and then backing it up, you differentiate your company from those that don't deliver on their promises, creating a sense of uniqueness about your business.

At least that's what Pioneer Records & Information Management, based out of Houston, Texas determined.  In business seven years, this company is a climate-controlled storage, inventory services, secured shredding, file room relocation, scanning and imaging, digital data repository.  With 400,000 + cartons stored, they have approximately 200 customers and continue to grow.

Kevin Phelps, Division Manager notes:  "When I started with Pioneer, it was fulfilling the idea of the company's owners of adding a records and information management division to the business support services.  I had the luxury to start day one using O'Neil Software.  Having worked with it in the past, I knew it would be the solution for the type of first-rate business and the customer service Pioneer wanted to offer."

CHALLENGE 1: PEOPLE DRIVE CHANGE. TECHNOLOGY ENABLES IT. LET'S UTILIZE IT.

From the telephone to the cell phone, television  to the Internet, history seems to arrange itself around innovations in technology that turn out to be true game changers.  And that's exactly what Pioneer wanted to do...set new standards in their industry, business operations and customer service performance.

Kevin points out:  "For example, invoice processing generally follows the 80/20 rule.

80% of billing may be processed without a problem.  However, the other 20% creates problems or exceptions that require 80% of your customer service staff to resolve.  Issues such as  invoice disputes, insufficient approvals, cost center errors, duplicates, discrepancies in quantity, price or date.  All of these situations lead to invoice management problems that require time and resources to remedy.

He continues:  "Having worked with other software packages in the past, I knew O'Neil's software would help Pioneer avoid the headaches associated with tedious invoicing and labor-intensive backtracking; time-consuming research; belabored  communication with the customer; excessive documentation; numerous requests for additional information from multiple parties and manual routing.  All of these record center activities drain both internal and customer resources.  Instead of these cumbersome processes, Pioneer  would be better able to manage and monitor information through the use of O'Neil Software's technology. Customer Service staff and clients alike could focus their efforts on activities that are productive.  Historical research, problem querying and manual routing would be virtually eliminated."

CHALLENGE 2: REAP THE REWARDS OF A GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE REPORT CARD.

Your customers are an indispensable element of your business and maintaining good relationships with them is of the utmost importance.  So being able to track and trace all  of their records and streamline invoice processing with an automated solution is imperative.  It not only enhances your business productivity and cash flow - it solidifies customer relationships for the long haul.

Kevin notes:  "The first and most important characteristic of your software is to be able to track and trace where every storable item is at all times.  The second is to make sure you are being fair to the customer and your business by accurately billing what you are storing.  With the Operations work tied into the Administrative function in generating the invoicing, it leaves little room for error.  I tell our customers that our invoice is also our report card."

He adds:  "We basically chose O'Neil Software because of their years of experience in inventory tracking technology and their relentless desire to constantly improve an already great software solution.  Using their software to all of its capabilities has allowed us to produce work flow procedures and set up monitors that will let us know if we have missed a step in those procedures and simply re-train where needed.  The fact is if you are not spending wasted hours researching misplaced items, then you are controlling your costs and enhancing your customer service."

Using O'Neil's RS-SQL^® you can find what you need, when you need it, guaranteeing 100% service accuracy and efficiency.  It ensures correct billing for every activity performed and has the flexibility and power to handle the most complex record center business processes.

CHALLENGE 3: NO SURPRISES - EVERYTHING WE NEED READY TO USE OUT OF THE BOX.

Pioneer wanted it all:  invoicing, scheduling, automatic monitoring and reporting, error trapping, complete search capabilities, wireless technology, portable computing, remote access, remote employee and customer features, retention scheduling, language translation and multi-site functionality.  These are just a few of the key features their company was looking for, designed to increase their record center's efficiency, productivity, profitability and ensure customer service satisfaction.

They also wanted help desks and training resources available;  customer support 24/7, 365 days of the year; no hidden fees or usage charges; stripped down or outdated software versions requiring add-on modules.

Kevin cautions:  "I've worked with other software solutions that simply did not have the complete package ready to use out of the box.  Separate modules for invoicing, reporting and customer interface were needed in addition, or were not as refined as O'Neil's.  Many years of listening  to what their customers wanted and needed has made theirs a great software package."

THE SOLUTION: ENSURE NEW AND REPEAT BUSINESS THROUGH THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY.

Lots of companies can offer you software products, but do they bring new, as well as  repeat business and revenue to you?  Repeat business is not accidental.  Instead, it occurs due to a relationship you've developed over time by providing superior customer service, oftentimes through the use of technology.

Is your software doing all this for you?