Chances are you’ve been following our articles about the many benefits of implementing document management software (DMS) in your organization. You’ve decided to take that very important step to increasing your efficiency, productivity, and profitability by purchasing document management software and successfully implementing it. Then in the coming months of implementation, you begin to see tangible benefits to document management in your office. As a result of your increased efficiency, the company begins to see growth, more employees are hired, and office space and services are expanded. This is excellent news, except you begin to notice a problem: the company you purchased your document management software from does not have adequate customer technical support to adapt to your company’s growing needs.
As the above shows, purchasing and successfully implementing document management software is not enough. It is equally important to purchase software from a vendor that has robust customer and technical support to adapt to your company growth and the ever-changing technology landscape.
Implications of Poor Customer/Technical Support on Your Company
As you begin to expand your company, managing technology is the last thing on the to-do list for many businesses. It becomes vital to focus on front-end business while your document management software works flawlessly in the background. This can only be possible through technical support that is able to help solve problems at a moment’s notice, because as well all know, things eventually do go wrong. Finding the right document management software vendor can not only save money but can also make the difference between a failed or successful company growth.
Below we list some of the implications of engaging with a vendor that does not offer proper technical support.
- Increased frustration due to unknowledgeable support staff. Some document management software vendors make use of call centers to handle customer queries and support. These representatives typically use standard scripts for the first level of technical support and are not educated on anything other than the scripts they are provided. This can be incredibly frustrating for experienced users seeking support on very specific topics, as well as being very time-consuming to go through the basic scripted solutions as call centers would not normally escalate your problem until they have verified that you have went through each of the basic solutions first.
- Increased frustration due to lengthy wait times. Many software vendors promise technical support sometimes in excess of 48 hours. This is a major drawback for issues such as downed or malfunctioning systems.
- Vendor is limited in the delivery of technical support. There are also some vendors that may only offer technical support via email which can be very inefficient for certain types of technical problems. In addition, back-and-forth emailing can be time consuming and even more so when emailing across different time zones. Another drawback of email is that sometimes, depending on the nature of the problem, it may be difficult for the customer to explain in words the exact problem. The technical language barrier between customer and tech support can prove to be a huge turnoff.
- Vendor charges for each support issue submitted. Believe it or not, there are companies that will charge you for technical support on each submitted issue. Some may charge annual support and maintenance, which may include unlimited support. On the other hand, there are vendors that will include unlimited free technical support as part of their software package. This can be a very inefficient technical support scheme as one cannot predict when problems may arise. Having a vendor charge for each issue can result in additional unnecessary fees during the lifetime of the software.
What Should I Look for When Selecting a Document Management Software Provider?
Now that we have shown you what poor technical support looks like, we have listed below what the traits are that you should look for in terms of customer support when selecting a document management software vendor.
- Dedicated customer support. In contrast to the first point described above, having a dedicated customer support system would not only eliminate the associated frustrations of call centers, but will also provide you with someone who is familiar with your organization and issues you have had in the past. This type of support typically knows your level of expertise and will skip areas which they know do not apply. Dedicated customer support technicians are generally subject matter experts that can solve higher level issues without having to transfer you to another level of support.
- Quick turnaround times. Good customer technical support would offer prompt responses to technical issues. Critical items would be responded to with even higher priority.
- Different methods of customer support. This is crucial since, as described above, email is not always the most efficient form of communication for certain types of technical issues. Having multiple methods of customer support is a huge plus when trying to achieve maximum results. Other channels of communicating support include live chat, phone, and remote assistance.
- Good tracking system. Vendors who provide robust customer service would typically use an online tracking system for client issues. This provides a way for customers to have an idea of the status of their issues.
- Good fee structure. This is subjective, however as mentioned previously, the pay-per-support issue is typically not a good model. Have a look at the vendor’s fee structure for providing support. Some of the best companies provide free technical support with purchase of their software and tend to be the most popular among users.
As you can see, in addition to looking at the functions and features of the document management software you are about to purchase is just as important as considering the level of customer support that they provide. If you would like to learn about eFileCabinet’s customer technical support, contact us; our support staff is eager to answer your questions.