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When you think of Amazon, you probably think of one-stop shop. Customers can get just about anything they need on the platform, in line with Jeff Bezos’ vision. However, the idea of meeting many if not all of a consumer’s needs is not exclusive to retail. As service providers track retailers online for the next decade, software developers can create analog digital marketplaces that meet the day-to-day operational needs of service organizations.
Companies succeed when they software to work for the companies, rather than the companies working within the software. Each component should be designed to solve users’ real problems, such as complicated billing processes, contactless check-ins and bookings. Most importantly, companies need to listen to their customers and let them determine what the product should look like.
Related: How To Maintain A Relationship With Your Customers By Learning What They Need
Experiencing client pain points
As you develop the software behind your platform, talk to people in the industry to learn what features the technology should have. Those interactions and efforts will show you what your potential customers want and need.
Of course, there are limits to how you can help your customers. You can’t pay their rent or pay their electricity, but you can provide everything else they need to help them do that for themselves. If you never abandon this goal and keep asking for feedback to add additional features to your software in response to changes in market demands and technologies, your customers will stay with you for the long haul.
Related: 3 Ways to Connect with Your Customers and Improve Their Experience
Small inconveniences can cause big problems for everyone
Whatever service a customer provides, it is almost inevitable that they will encounter minor inconveniences in their work that cause friction and delay. Many clients learn to tolerate these problems because they do not initially have good solutions to solve them. But this often means they end up working harder and spending more than they need to, and in the end what seemed like a minor problem can turn out to be huge systemic consequences or additional hurdles.
This should be paramount when building your platform. Help your customers stop putting up with difficulties and give them a way to get rid of all the annoying little problems they are dealing with. But we understand that pain points have their own unique footprint. What one company is going through may not be what the other company is going through at all. Spend time with many customers to understand not only the broad support your technologies must provide, but the ways you can try to respond to individual facilities through customization and à la carte packages.
As you develop your own one-stop shop, keep in mind that every industry has its own issues and each individual business has its own specific needs. Ask yourself: “What do my customers regularly encounter?” and “What does their day usually look like?” You can also look at it in terms of “What tasks can we take away from the customer through technology to help them fulfill their potential?” These direct interactions give you an idea of how you can bring the different functions together. There is no substitute for this kind of direct investigation.
Hands-on customer service is at the heart of your best product
Don’t be afraid to take a very hands-on approach. If necessary, act as your own customer service representative and personally handle user complaints. This work can help you get even more personally involved in problem solving. Refuse to get away from the heart of the matter, because you can’t serve your customers if you don’t really know what they’re feeling every day.
When looking at new options and designs, always look through the eyes of the customer and find out how to realize a good solution. The more you are on the front lines of development, and the more you can interact with the people you are building for, the better your one-stop shop will be, as each interaction increases your empathy for the people you need. to have.
Related: The ripple effects of high-quality customer service
Evolve your one-stop shop with many new questions
Service companies face all kinds of tedious tasks that can make the job less efficient and more difficult. But computers are designed to cope with those tedious tasks. It is possible to help providers manage them for smoother operations with creative, customer-centric development. Plus, you can put the many types of support they need in one place. It’s just a matter of being willing to take the time to discover the unique pain points for you and being willing to humbly walk alongside your client. Once you’ve connected with the people providing the services, keep asking questions to evolve and ensure the one-stop shop continues to deliver in relevant ways.
