Your Software Business Needs Raving Fans
By Abby Sorensen, Chief Editor
Software was still being shrink wrapped when Kenneth Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles published Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Customer Success in 1993. Fast forward 15 years later, and I’d still rate the time-tested theories in this book as a 10 out of 10. In fact, that’s exactly the rating I gave it when I discussed the book in a recent podcast hosted by Jim Roddy, Reseller & ISV Business Advisor at PaymentsEdge Advisory Services with Worldpay.
Jim and I – along with POS industry veterans Sean Buckley of Vend and Jeremy Julian of CBS NorthStar – dig in to how the book applies to POS resellers and software companies. You can listen to the episode here. And I’d strongly suggest reading the book too (it’s so short you can finish it in a sitting).
Your customer support operation is so much more than a cost center. Good service, and the loyal customers it creates, can make or break a software business. In a recent Q&A, Mikey Trafton reiterated how important happy customers are. He said, “What is a software company’s most valuable asset? Most people think it’s the company’s technology – but it’s not. If that were true, a startup with some amazing new technology would be acquiring a giant company like Oracle who has older, outdated technology. But of course, that’s not how it works. It’s always Oracle that acquires the little startup. That’s because Oracle has a more valuable asset than technology. It has an amazing customer list.”
After you’re done listening to our analysis of Raving Fans and brushing up on your customer service strategy, check out these articles highlighting best practices in software customer service.
- 3 Software CEOs Share Advice On Customer Support Operations
- How Good Is Your SaaS Customer Support? 4 Essentials You Should Know
- Customer Support Tips For Small Software Companies
- Why Customer Support Matters In Your Software Sales Process
The “On The Edge” podcast is designed for POS executives with a goal to educate them on leadership, management, hiring, sales, and other SMB best practices. Our first episode was a discussion about The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson. You can listen to that archived episode here. Our second episode was based on Built To Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, which you can listen to here.
To make sure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the Vantiv Advantage Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.