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CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
36
Best for service
New supplier finder and certification
scheme rewards IT providers that really do
put their customers first
is supplying into the legal market already
and has successful relationships with law
firms like you.
“In the consumer market, there are lots
of review and information sites like Trustpilot,
Feefo, TripAdvisor and Reevoo that allow
people to make more informed choices. But
on the B2B side, in IT, telecommunications,
print, services and support, there isn’t really
that independent advice and filter, that
ability to find reputable, credible providers in
your sector who have the experience that you
require,” he said.
Ogden claims that unlike previous
B2B certification schemes or live review
sites, which can be open to bogus reviews,
techtick is based on detailed market
research into ‘outcomes and results’ –
Ogden himself is Market Research Society-
qualified.
As part of the supplier approval
process, techtick will survey customers to
assess the quality of the client experience
across pre-sales, project implementation
and post-sales support. For certification
in one vertical (e.g. education) and one
specialism (e.g. IT & infrastructure), a
supplier must have a minimum of five
satisfied customers in that sector. For each
additional sector (e.g. legal) or specialism
(e.g. telecommunications), the supplier
must have three clients able to provide
techtick with positive feedback.
Other requirements
In addition to customer audits, techtick
has various other requirements.
“We have a code of ethics that
suppliers have to sign up to; they must
have a defined complaints procedure, with
a nominated person; they need to have
traded for more than a year; we will do a
director and company check; we will make
sure they have business insurance; and
they must have a data protection policy
and a privacy policy. That’s the minimum
requirement. We will also take into account
external qualifications that they may hold,
such as manufacturer accreditations, ISO
9001 and the like,” explained Ogden.
Each certified supplier will have its
own profile page on the techtick website,
showing what sectors/technologies
they have been approved for, along with
feedback from satisfied customers.
Certification lasts for a year and is
renewable without further audits. To
maintain members’ high standards, the
techtick website enables end users to
submit feedback on their performance.
Should a pattern of customer
dissatisfaction emerge, a supplier’s
certification will be reviewed.
Clear benefits
Techtick is clearly very useful for end users
as a means of finding customer-centric
suppliers in their area. There are also big
benefits for IT resellers, including:
1
Lead generation
– techtick can be
used to make a request for information or
quote though the system;
2
Differentiation through customer
satisfaction
– techtick gives suppliers
a way of demonstrating their technical
expertise, their industry/sector experience
and their commitment to customer service;
3
Third party, audited research
–
independent techtick client survey
feedback conducted as part of the
approval process can be used by suppliers
for marketing purposes;
4
Recognition as a reputable supplier
– Certified suppliers can use the techtick
logo on marketing material, websites,
vehicles etc..
Open to all
Ogden says that techtick pricing has been
set at a level to attract suppliers of all
sizes.
“It is a relatively affordable process,
because there are a lot of smaller
organisations doing really good things,
good relationship-based local support for
their clients, and we want them to be able
to get involved as much as anyone else,”
he said.
The annual fee, which includes
membership approval for one market
sector and one technology area (e.g.
SMEs for IT & infrastructure) and end user
referrals and sales leads, costs £650 (or
£65 per month) for organisation with 10
or fewer employees, and £995 (or £95
per month) for organisations with more
than 10 employees. Certification for each
additional category or sector costs £250.
A corporate rate of £2,995 covers
Eight out of 10 consumers are willing to
pay more for a better customer experience
(see opposite), but with everyone claiming
to be the best for customer service, how
are end users meant identify those who
pay it more than just lip service, and how
can providers who really do go the extra
mile prove it?
Could techtick be the answer? Like a
Checkatrade for the IT industry, the new
supplier finder and certification scheme
provides independent validation of a
reseller’s capabilities and the quality of
the customer experience, giving IT buyers
an easy way to find a supplier in their area
with relevant expertise and a history of
customer satisfaction.
Techtick co-founder Mark Ogden says
there is a clear need
for such a scheme,
particularly amongst SMEs
and in vertical markets,
such as schools and legal
firms.
“These organisations
don’t have professional
buyers and they
don’t employ large
IT departments that
have that skill set. Yet
there is relatively little
independent, credible
resource to help them
locate the best providers
of certain technology
specialisms with experience in relevant
market sectors. If you are a lawyer – a High
Street or a regional firm with 20 or 30
lawyers – you are going to be much more
comfortable buying from someone who
Mark Ogden
