At Retail247, we believe great technology is only part of what makes a successful customer relationship.
Our customers need solutions that work for their businesses, but they also need to know that we understand their priorities, that they know what is happening and when, and that there is someone they can talk to when they need us.
That’s where Client Services comes in.
Our role is to put the customer at the heart of what we do, understanding their business, representing their priorities within Retail247 and making sure they get the best possible value from working with us.
Understanding our customers
Every customer is different.
They have different businesses, different priorities and different ways of using Origin and Archean. Some are implementing new solutions, others are changing existing processes, while others may simply be looking for ways to get more from the technology they already have.
So, for us, good Client Services starts with listening.
Regular conversations give us an opportunity to understand what’s happening within a customer’s business – what’s working well, what might be causing frustration, what’s changing and what’s coming next.
The more we understand that wider picture, the better we’re able to support them.
It also means understanding the business impact behind an issue or request. Something that looks relatively small technically could be affecting a product launch, preventing stock reaching a store or creating additional work for a customer’s team.
Understanding that context matters.
Connecting our customers with Retail247
Our customers work with different teams across Retail247, including Support, Implementation, Development and Product.
One of the most important roles Client Services plays is connecting those teams with the customer.
We want to make sure the right people within Retail247 understand what matters to our customers, while also making sure our customers have a clear view of what’s happening within R247.
That could mean helping to progress a Support issue, working with Implementation on a new requirement, agreeing the priority of a Change Request or bringing customer feedback into conversations with our Product and Development teams.
The customer shouldn’t have to understand how we’re organised internally to get something done. Part of our job is making those connections for them.
Clear communication and ownership
There are key deliverables that customers should be able to expect from us.
They should know what they’re getting, when they’re getting it and what happens next.
This becomes even more important when something doesn’t go according to plan.
Projects change, priorities move and occasionally things take longer than expected. Good Client Services isn’t about pretending those things don’t happen.
It’s about being open about them, taking ownership and explaining what we’re doing next.
We believe customers value straightforward communication whether the news is good or bad – and that consistency builds trust over time.
Helping customers get more value
Our relationship with a customer isn’t only responding when they need something from us.
We are also proactive.
That means understanding how people are using our products day-to-day and looking for opportunities to make things better.
Are their processes taking longer than they should? Is there functionality within Origin or Archean of which a customer could be making greater use. Could another part of the Retail247 solution remove a manual process or solve a business problem?
Sometimes the best way of finding that out is simply to spend time with the people using our software.
The better we understand how our customers work, the better placed we are to recommend solutions that genuinely add value.
Looking ahead
We’re also continuing to develop Client Services itself.
As Retail247 grows, we want to become even more proactive in the way we manage our customer relationships.
We’re developing a more joined-up view across our customers, bringing together areas such as client health, projects, new customer onboarding, Support, Change Requests and future opportunities.
The objective isn’t to create more reporting it’s
about using the information we already have to identify things earlier where a customer may need more attention, where a project needs support, where we’re seeing recurring issues or where there may be an opportunity to help a customer do something better.
Ultimately, it should allow us to spend more of our time looking ahead with our customers rather than simply reacting to what’s already happened.
Putting customers at the heart of what we do
Retail is constantly changing, and our customers are dealing with everything from new technology and changing consumer behaviour to product launches, warehouse projects, peak trading periods and tight deadlines.
Our job is to understand those pressures and make working with Retail247 as straightforward as possible.
We want every Retail247 customer to know who they can talk to, to feel informed about the things that matter to them and to have confidence that we’ll take ownership when they need our help.
And, importantly, we want to keep listening.
Because putting customers at the heart of what we do isn’t a Client Services initiative or a process – .
It’s how we want our customers to experience Retail247.
