How we optimized client satisfaction through IT management and support

At Avisi, we develop and maintain bespoke software for our clients. We realize that our customers are enormously valuable. Therefore we are always searching for possibilities to improve our service in order to maximize client satisfaction. For one of our clients, we have developed a notary ecosystem that contains several applications, each with a different purpose. We continuously update these applications with new functionalities. We are also responsible for the maintenance and support of the ecosystem. In this blog post, I will go into detail on how we managed to bring customer satisfaction regarding the support of this platform to a higher level.

One dedicated support for all applications

As I mentioned above, we are responsible for managing an eco-system containing several applications. Last year we noticed that customer satisfaction was not optimal, as it took some time before support tickets were resolved. That was the moment we started to look at our process. By then, each application within the ecosystem had their own DevOps team, responsible for the development, maintenance and support of their application. It became clear that this caused internal communication issues at our end since many tickets were not related to just one application and procedures were not clear for everyone. On top of that, the teams ended up in a split between development and support.

To solve this, we decided to restructure the organization around the application ecosystem. We decided to create a dedicated maintenance team, responsible for the support of all applications. A team specializing in solving issues, whilst being aligned with all procedures and, most importantly, a team of individuals who are aware that communication is key to client satisfaction. We started off needing the support of the development teams to get familiar with the application but this time investment has paid out well. Our team is now specialized in solving issues across all applications, which means the development teams can focus on creating awesome new features. Restructuring our processes has made our client a lot more satisfied with the speed of solving issues as well as the way we communicate!

Adding Dynatrace to our tools

Once we were ‘installed’ as a support team, we wanted to do more than just wait for tickets. Instead, we wanted to be able to solve potential issues before they became a problem for our customer. That’s where Dynatrace comes in. Dynatrace is an application monitoring system. It warns us when unusual events occur, such as peak traffic or failures. Since we started using Dynatrace, the number of tickets has dropped significantly.

The key to customer satisfaction - an extra take away

In my opinion, a change of structure and adding new tooling can definitely help to improve customer satisfaction. The most important aspect, however, is communication. A customer understands that reproducing and solving issues can take some time, but they won’t understand if they are not getting any updates. Give your customer the feeling that they are in control. If possible, advise your customers and give them options. Imagine there are two ways to fix an issue: quick and dirty or sustainable (which usually take some more time). Advise your customer to choose the sustainable solution but don’t decide for them. Never forget they are your customer!

All in all, restructuring our processes, adding Dynatrace to our tooling portfolio and improving communications has led to an enormous increase in customer satisfaction. And this makes me satisfied.