The Customer is All That Matters

According to Forrester, focusing on the customer now matters more than any other strategic imperative.
Fellow Tampa blogger, Dave Risley, recently wrote about Over-Delivery. Although it is cliche, how many companies actual over-deliver on what they promise?
Outages, fluid FOC dates, porting nightmares - sure, these are sometimes beyond your control, but did you set the proper expectations with the customer? That is the most important part (of sales).
In this article, 3 Keys to Customer Retention, the number 1 key is "Set Expectations". Going the extra mile is number 3, but notice how it centers on over delivering on customer CARE, not support, but CARE.
Another point is ease of doing business. My last interaction with Radio Shack was a lesson in why brick-and-mortar are losing.
People will tell you it is about Price. It is when nothing else is quantified. Customer Service, Loyalty Programs, White Glove Service, User Reviews, Raving Fans - all help tilt the balance over price.
DSL, T1, and other resell services require proper setting of customer expectations, but anything cloud - including Hosted PBX - is all about on-boarding. Either way FOCUS on the CUSTOMER!