Posts Tagged ‘recession’
Living in The Freeze – Help Desk Software
September 20, 2010 | 
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With the economy still suffering, many businesses are having to continue to maintain and grow operations with frozen budgets. This makes it especially difficult when resources are needed for vital equipment and software.
Every day our sales staff gets calls from people searching for solutions to streamline their request processes. A number of those calls turn into customers – some may select another solution – but many find themselves halting their quest for software because they do not get budgetary approval.
Not only is this disappointing for us, because we know how much time and money will be saved by streamlining their processes, but it forces essential departments to not have the opportunity to work at optimal levels. They are never given the opportunity to demonstrate a profit past the initial return on investment.
But let’s face it, any investment can be prohibitive when the cash flow is not there. That is no reason to close the door on essential software purchases. A ‘cloud based’ hosted solution, where software services are ‘rented’ so to speak, can be a good interim solution. The up front costs are very low and the monthly fee is predictable. A licensed, in-house version can be purchased at a later date when budgets open up (although many organizations choose to remain hosted to reduce demands on their IT departments).
For those requiring an in-house solution, an annual subscription service may be just the thing. Software is licensed for in-house use (data is retained in-house) and is ‘rented’ on an annual basis. This reduces higher up front costs.
So if you are still in need of a help desk solution and the project has been shelved due to finances – please take a look at all your purchase options. There may be a win-win in the picture for everybody!
In-house purchased, Cloud (hosted) and Annual subscription versions of all of the Novo suite of products are available – please contact us for a quote and free trial.
Posted in Help Desk Software | 
Tags: cloud, help desk, Help Desk Software, help desk solutions, helpdesk, recession | 
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Maintain ‘Priceless’ Customer Support
We all love the MasterCard ‘priceless’ commercials, so here at Novo we have created a version of our own.
- Average cost of email support request- $21.00
- Average National cost of a desktop incident – $ 32.00
- Keeping your current customers happy with great customer support - priceless!
Well, not exactly priceless, but you get the idea. In a recession it is all too easy to move focus to increasing sales – after all, companies cannot exist for long without positive cash flow. That remains a given.
But do not forget the impact of losing customers to your bottom line results. While you are ‘wooing’ new customers – other companies are ‘wooing’ yours. Make sure your customer service is running strong and the customers you already have are being well served. A solid support department not only helps retain current customers, but can help build new ones. Many buyers look at support as a key factor in their decision making.
So beware the costly outcome of overlooking your valuable customer service operations. It could be a ‘priceless’ decision.
Knowledge Management Wisdom from the groundhog!
Wouldn’t it be nice to know if the ‘economic winter’ has passed and spring is on its way? It would help us with our hiring decisions, production, spending, and more. After all, success is in taking ‘the right risks’ at ‘the right time’ and giving ear to the season.
We may not know yet if we are in the positive recovery phase the news reports that we are – or if the business climate will stay ‘chilly’ for a while longer, but one thing is for sure - almost all of us have been impacted by this ‘winter’ season in our business. We have some thawing out to do – some cleaning up and reorganizing of our business plans – and for some even starting over.
Either way we encourage you to get your ‘knowledge’ in order. Having company knowledge in a central place is essential for any business climate. Through March 31, 2010 the Novo Knowledge Base is only $2010.00. If you would a like ‘no hassle’ demo or a free 30 day trial to test it out please contact us.
Using customer support software to fill in the gaps
Economic indicators are improving and confidence is slowly returning, but it is still not business as usual for most organizations. And while some analysts say that the recession is ‘technically’ over, the reality is that many people are still losing jobs and looking for work, and many employers need jobs filled but cannot afford to fill the positions at this time.
There is no blueprint for coming back from the kind of economic jolt we are experiencing, but as would be expected, business leaders are exercising caution in delegating spending and re-growing their businesses.
As cash flow is improving you may be ‘reframing’ the business plan you probably threw out the window last winter. You may be prioritizing what needs repair and where do you go from here?
Like many businesses you may find yourself unable to rehire at this time, but are experiencing a ‘hole’ where an employee used to fit. This season is a good time to look at your business processes. Is everything as efficient as it could be? Could the implementation of a software tool help you automate some of your day-to-day tasks, so you can optimize your current staff?
Everyone is having to do more with less in these days, and things may not ever go back to the way they were, but perhaps in some areas of your business things may run better and more efficiently than before the recession. And then when you are able to hire again, your staff can be focused on more important areas than just wasting time with redundant tasks. Rebuild a better company than you had before the recession!
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Novo Solutions is a leading provider of customer support solutions. Our flexible support solutions include tools for creating ‘business rules’ and ‘workflows’ for automating processes, saving our clients time and money. Contact us for more information at www.novosolutions.com.