Determining the right balance of product and support to take to market can be a daunting task for any organization that is looking to differentiate itself in a very competitive market.   Among the many factors to consider, there are some key ones to keep in mind:

• Customer needs – customers will likely have unique needs in using your product across the customer base and those needs have to be accommodated
• Local expectations – some countries or regions have differing expectations on the level of support companies should provide and companies need to be able to respond to those needs
• Complexity of the business/technology – the greater the complexity in using the product will drive the need to provide greater levels of support
• Competitive forces – if the product in relationship to competitors’ products is difficult to differentiate, differentiating on service and support is a worthwhile consideration
• Maturity of the industry and trends – based upon the level of maturity of the industry, support may not be as important, as customers will have a lot of familiarity operating the various products available

There is no question that finding the right balance can create a considerable competitive advantage for an organization.

Customer Support Successes
There are countless stories, both good and bad, about how companies attempt to find the right level of support to provide their customers.

Take Nordstrom as an example of how to support customers well.  Doing a Google search on “Nordstrom customer support” will yield countless websites documenting their commitment to customer support.  There is a legendary story that I recall from Business school, where we talked about a customer who returned a set of tires to a Nordstrom store.  The customer insisted that the tires were bought from that particular Nordstrom, when in fact; it was purchased from the retailer in the same building that Nordstrom currently occupied.  In the end, Nordstorm allowed the customer to return the tires and thus created a legend on how to provide great customer support.  I know I personally take that into consideration when shopping there.

Likewise, Zappos has built its name on providing amazing customer support.  Like Nordstrom, Zappos has numerous stories about very unique customer support scenarios.  Having purchased from Zappos many times, I know they have an approach to customer support that is unparalleled for a retailer like them and that is what drives me to return to them.  They take what is typically a very automated and impersonal approach to online shopping and make it very personalized.

There are several others that come to mind that I could share on the positive side and similarly there are quite a few that say they emphasize customer support, but really don’t (I won’t name any names here).  Companies like Nordstrom and Zappos truly use support as a competitive advantage and that is part of what makes them very successful.

CAKE’s Approach to Support
CAKE recognized early on that a key to success would be a high quality support for customers using the product.  As such, CAKE was one of the first companies to provide direct, 24/7 support to all customers licensing CAKE along with an Account Manager.  For the reasons mentioned earlier, like customer needs, complexity of the business, etc., CAKE decided that it was critical to establish itself not only as a provider of a great product, but also one that will go to great lengths to ensure that customers get the support needed and when they need it.

Beyond that, CAKE also LISTENS to customers.  CAKE takes great pride in an ongoing, candid discussion with all customers about how they are using the product today and how they might be better able to use it in the future if it were enhanced.  While not all requests can be accommodated, we do our best to ensure client satisfcation.

Being a high-tech SaaS company isn’t just about building the best product and putting everything on auto-pilot.  It is about maintaining the perspective that product innovation must be a constant, great ideas come from customers and that the product must be balanced with the right level of support for customers using the product.   This level of support must be constantly reviewed and enhanced as dynamics in the business change.