To get the greatest return on your telematics solution, your provider needs to understand your business
Your business has a lot riding on a successful outcome when you implement a telematics solution. So, too, does the telematics solution provider, as the provider understands the importance of its business of having satisfied, long-term customers.
Of course, this mutually beneficial outcome isn’t a foregone conclusion. It requires a concerted effort on the part of the solution provider to really understand your business, your unique needs, and how you will define a successful implementation.
Most providers have a dedicated professional – typically with the title customer success manager or customer success specialist – whose job it is to help set the implementation – and your business – up for success.
You have a responsibility, as well, to engage with the customer success professional to ensure a mutually beneficial working relationship.
Here are some of the ways you should expect to work with a customer success professional to drive a successful implementation of your telematics solution.
Let the customer success specialist really learn your business. While the customer success professional works for the provider, their job is to help make sure your telematics solution implementation goes well. Make sure you give them the time they need and include them in any internal conversations you have where they can gain exposure to your business, your goals, and how you plan to use the solution.
Too often what happens is that the relationship between the customer and the customer success professional becomes transactional, with perfunctory conversations happening only once every few weeks – or even less frequently – and that are focused on filling as-needed knowledge gaps about how to use the solution. In these situations, the customer success manager’s ability to help drive a successful implementation is limited because they have a limited view into the customer’s true needs and the dynamics of their operations.
Leverage them as a trusted advisor. Similar to devoting the time needed to bring the customer success professional up to speed on your business, you also need to be willing to embrace them as a trusted business advisor who is there to help your business be successful with telematics. They need to know your rationale for selecting the solution, as well as your specific goals and objectives. We talk a lot in this blog about the importance of a telematics solution provider being a true strategic business partner. That partnership must be based on mutual trust – with your company doing its part to show it trusts the customer success professional.
Work together to document a customer success plan. A good customer success professional will be able to work with you to create a documented plan for the implementation. This plan will include milestones and measurable goals, and how you will involve all important stakeholders in the implementation, whether through communication, training, or both.
Just as you will supply specific information about your business and your needs, the customer success professional should also be able to draw on best practices they have learned while working with other customers – ideally businesses that share similarities and needs to your own.
Make your service expectations clear. Another defining characteristic of an effective customer success professional is their ability to provide timely and effective support. As you will be new to the telematics solution, you will need a lot of support, and the responsiveness of the customer support team will likely have a great deal of influence on how favorably you view both the telematics solution and the vendor.
As the customer, you shouldn’t be shy about sharing your expectations. And the best telematics solution providers – who prioritize metrics such as first-call resolution and minimizing the number of calls that need to be escalated to other teams – will be happy to meet them.
No Shortcuts
Whether your company is new to telematics or is switching from another provider, there are few shortcuts when it comes to a smooth implementation. The truth is you can’t make that happen without the support of the telematics provider and their customer success team. By the same measure, the customer support team can’t make it happen without you doing your part.
A successful telematics solution implementation is a partnership that requires everyone – the provider and your company – to be heavily involved.