When I think of suppliers and clients I often prefer to refer to the relationship as a partnership of sorts.
Some people may view this as being merely a marketing ploy, however I would disagree.
If you are serious about your business and want to promote a positive image for it then you need to be very careful who you rely on to provide you with the required services.
In our line of business we deal with a wide variety of companies and individuals that help us do what we do the way that we do it.
Of course I would be the first to admit that you have to watch your costs. However you cannot afford to “cut corners” in the long run.
For example, when it comes to the company image there are a number of ways that this is communicated.
The more obvious ones are via the company site and the manner in which the team interact with the outside world – both clients, suppliers and everyone else. That is the direct image.
The other side of it is in marketing and advertising.
A couple of years ago we used to allow the magazines’ inhouse designers do the ad layouts for us.
It’s not something I would even consider these days.
Instead we have chosen to use the skills of one of Ireland’s best designers – Spoiltchild.
Why?
It’s very simple. Their work is excellent and they are familiar with our business.
Although I can understand why businesses might be afraid of paying designers the kind of fees that they are able to ask for I look on it as an investment.
If you open the pages of any printed publication, be it a newspaper or magazine, and flick through the pages you will see that there is a wide variety of ads. Some of them are slick and professional, whereas others look tacky and cheap.
Which company are you more likely to call upon when you need something?
Although more technical types maybe attracted to the technical features of a service they usually aren’t the ones who pay the bills.
Even in the more technical areas of our business we have to be very careful who we chose to rely on or even recommend for our clients. If you recommend a provider, be it for a service or goods, then their quality of service will be perceived as being a direct reflection of your own. It doesn’t matter that you do not have any control over the 3rd party, as your recommendation has by definition been seen as a “stamp of approval”.
You’re totally correct there Michele. In the hosting arena, Hosting365 are a good example. In my opinion they’re not the best hosters in the country (or the worst in fairness to them), but they’ve generated huge market share over the last couple of years due to slick marketing, clever PR, and ‘stack em high and sell em cheap’ pricing.
That being said, i’m still a customer of Blacknight. Which proves another point – marketing is indeed about image, but doesn’t necessarily guarantee the company in question provides a quality service. I’ve gone through nearly all the major Irish hosters in my time, so customer service to me says a lot.
Hi Hugh,
Well, we believe strongly that we are the best. No one has invested as much as we have, and while we suffered the growing pains of our rapid expansion, with our own datacentre, networks and now over 23 staff, we offer a service that is pretty unique in the Irish market. Our prices are hardly ‘cheap’ – Michele actually beats us on nearly every price! 🙂
Plus, it’s also fair(er) to compare like with like – if you had a dedicated server from us, how would it compare to Blacknight for example?
At the end of the day, we sign up more customers every week than all of our competition in the irish market put together, if our service wasnt top class, that wouldnt happen 🙂
Hi Hugh,
No offence taken and I hope none given and thanks fgor the compliment 🙂
You will actually find me on msn at ungodly hours- Michele can attest to that 🙂 🙂 🙂
However, you can call a freephone number 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and get to chat to our engineer who is standing in our data centre and who will respond to your every whim 🙂 That;s the beauty of a larger business. I have 24 staff, run by 5 dept. heads (of which Dan is one) so if I have a flu, I can actually take a week off (not that I would 🙂 : ) )
Slick marketing is everything, and, all credit to Michele, since he stopped using the rags / mags in house teams, his copy is seriously slicker and, I am sure, having a positive impact on business 🙂
Steve, I wasn’t having a go at 365 – on the contrary I was simply saying that slick, well thought out marketing can make a difference. I have had issues with your service in the past when I used to host with you, but then again i’ve been around nearly every hoster in the country.
You’re also right about comparing like with like – somehow I dont think i’ll be able to catch you or Dan on MSN at all hours of the day to discuss or resolve any issues, or restart services for me within minutes out of hours.
I’m sure you do provide a top quality service to thousands of people, but i’m a fussy bugger! Hehe. Once again from a branding point of view, you guys are doing an excellent job and thats a genuine compliment.
Yup, and bit up to Alan for the work he’s done for both of you! He’s a wee legend (well a tall one).