Service...hopefully with a smile!

So you think you've got a wonderful piece of software that you're going to sell! Before you go for the gusto and release it, look beyond your short-term sales revenue aspirations. There are many pitfalls as well as opportunities associated with customer service. And those can mean the difference in your company's profitability over time! Here's a set of questions designed to help you think through issues associated with three basic types of customer service and support:

• Installation
  What percentage of customers will use your documentation or the READ ME files before they contact Customer Support? When are customers most likely to be installing your product, and how does that correspond to the hours that Customer Support will be available? How sensitive is your product to software and hardware environments? How long will it take you to talk someone through an installation problem over the phone? Can you effectively deal with installation problems by e-mail? Is it possible to remotely connect to the customer's system? Or will firewalls or other security measures preclude remote connection? How technically savvy are your customers? How critical is it that your product be installed quickly? Have you asked any pre-release users whether they would have paid for any type of installation-related services? Are there any special migration aids you can offer to assist in the transition from a competitive product the customer is already using?
• Customization
  Could the value of your product be substantially increased by adapting it to use special forms, procedures, or databases that are unique for each customer? Is it possible to create add-on modules that help customize your product to a particular industry, country, or region? Have any pre-release users of your product suggested extensions that don't apply to your target market at large? Does it make sense to use third-party system integrators to provide customization services? (Using third-party customization services can help increase the geographic reach of your company while permitting increased sales with minimal staff growth.)
• Defect support
  Will customers buy your product on an as-is basis? Do you offer toll-free telephone support? During what hours will you provide Customer Support? How well do the hours that you're providing Customer Support correspond to your customers' hours of operation? What type of response time will you offer your customers? How much customer interaction is required in diagnosing problems? Is e-mail support adequate? Can you remotely connect to your customers' systems? Does it make sense to offer different levels of service (and fees), dependent on the customer's needs for a response? How and when will you provide defect corrections to your customers? Will customers with installation problems be supported at no charge? Will your development personnel be used to provide product support, and what impact might that have on your plans for a follow-on product? If your product will be sold through some intermediate channel, can and should that channel provide the initial level of customer support?

Before you set the price on your product and related services, make sure you understand which services are essential and to whom they are essential. Consider both the cost and the value of those essential services when you set your product price. Many software newcomers underestimate the cost of services. Desirable but non-essential services present a revenue opportunity worthy of investigation. And all the gray areas in between are simply marketing challenges--suggesting the need for a new definition, a different segmentation of services, or even a chance for your product to leapfrog the competition! The best time to start thinking outside the box is before the product ever goes in! Make sure your thinking begins by understanding your customers.

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