Technology touches nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Yet, powering the new automation age in healthcare requires more effort than merely choosing a vendor. Alongside every successful technology implementation there’s a need for human interaction. Customer success is created and sustained by training, support, and ongoing communication. To empower your customers and your business to thrive in a digital world, include the following four tips.
Be Honest with Your Customers
Being honest with customers builds credibility and creates trust. A healthy mix of taking responsibility and fixing what goes wrong lets customers know that your business was built on integrity. Once you’ve lost integrity, it’s difficult to keep customers loyal. Listening to the needs of customers, empathizing with pain-points, and encouraging enhancement requests lets customers know that their opinions are valued. Honesty sets the tone for the kind of work culture embraced at your company. In our 2022 Best in KLAS reviews, customers interviewed stated that Boston Software Systems keeps their promises. This is an integral part of why we’ve been successful in healthcare for over 30 years.
Know Your Product
Just as you can’t manage customer expectations without being honest, you can’t support a customer’s needs without a thorough knowledge of your product. Customers want to feel assured that your knowledge is not displaced. Knowing the intricacies of your product lets customers rest easy knowing that if a problem arises, you will know how to fix it. Gone are the days of Shiny object syndrome (ironically called SOS). Shiny object syndrome is a pop-culture concept where people focus on a new and fashionable idea, regardless of how valuable or usable it may be. The shiny object focuses on something new, exciting, and maybe even trendy, but in the end it’s just another variation of the same old thing. Health IT has become really good at SOS, which doesn’t reflect well in the long-term. Build a product that provides meaningful value to the customers who use it. That’s why Boston WorkStation consistently receives such high scores in product value. Because we created and enhanced a product, based on customer input at every juncture.
Have a Clear Vision and Dedicated Leadership
There’s no doubt about the effectiveness of data to promote the right behaviors in Health IT. Communicating these touch-points to customers through “use cases” gives customers a better understanding of how and why a particular change is tangible and measurable. But, everyone in leadership must share the same goals and priorities. If one person believes in demonstrating value by one method and another by something entirely different, delays and confusion in how the product aligns with existing priorities can get lost in translation. Focus on your customers’ needs, how you’ll meet their evolving demands, and the resonance of your products and services with your overall capabilities. There was one lesson we learned as we navigated the pandemic. The companies who lead with a dedicated vision will emerge from this crisis (and future ones) stronger and more resilient than they were before.
Always be Accountable
When you’re accountable, you take ownership of customer challenges and barriers to success. You do whatever it takes to correct issues when things go wrong. To become more accountable, make sure that you’re clear about your roles and responsibilities. Highly accountable people are clear about what needs to be done. They think carefully and realistically about a project and give you an (honest) answer that you can rely on. When something gets in the way, they assess it, resolve it, and communicate proactively to everyone involved so there is no confusion. Making sure everyone is on board with the results is an important aspect of accountability. A good leader always takes responsibility for their actions and the consequences of their decisions. Accountability as a core value provides your company a distinct advantage. This advantage creates a level of integrity that keeps customers loyal and brings them back again and again.
About Boston Software Systems
Being successful for 35 years takes honesty, a clear vision, product knowledge, and accountability. By building trust, listening actively, recognizing and addressing issues, and showing customer appreciation, our leadership team and all employees have fostered an atmosphere of continuous learning and sustainability. Our loyal customers depend on us as a digital ally to optimize workflows, boost revenue cycle margins, and bridge the gaps between disparate systems. Let’s continue this conversation. We’d love to speak with you about our key differentiators and the reason behind our three decades of success in healthcare automation.