MDC Newsroom
Data centers tend to be thought of as that first physical layer of technology: cabinets, fiber, crosses, air conditioning, racks, cables. When we hear about customer experience we come to mind layers above; however, data centers are part of the entire customer experience and must act accordingly.
According to Harvard Business Review, customer-centric is the sum of all the interactions a customer has with a company. All points of contact that create a general experience. For this reason, the location and design of the site, the operators that converge on it, the equipment used, the communication by the team, the digital products, the service, support, and operation should be thought of by putting the client in the center.
Having competitive prices, transparent SLAs and high-quality operational services are not everything; in fact, they should be the basis of any data center. Being a customer-centric implies other characteristics that are equally relevant, and these are some of them:
Understanding needs
The understanding at all levels: technical and business. Being centered on the customer means knowing correctly market trends, emerging needs, common objections. Both the technical and commercial departments should understand very well the possible needs of their client, and what they do not know should be asked without fear, only then can they channel them properly and open the door to proposals that improve, at some point, the business of your clients.
Monitoring and proactivity
Large companies tend to have dozens of clients, none is a priority, and the follow-up happens from the client to the company and not the other way around. A data center customer-centric is pending follow-up even if the client does not ask for it. Detect possible complications, news that may impact the business, new alliances, possible needs according to market trends, is part of the first proactive actions that benefit both parties. On the one hand, an informed client and on the other the strengthening of a commercial relationship.
Simple and direct communication
The use of specific terminologies can make it difficult to understand information. The data centers must know very well the interlocutor with whom they will sit down to converse and send their best elements to achieve effective meetings for both teams. To have the right people for either a strategic meeting in a commercial tone or for a planning or innovation meeting involving the presence of certified technical personnel.
We are connecting worlds, the relationship with multicultural teams is part of the daily work, having a bilingual team is essential for communication. Some companies in our industry assume that English is the official language and some customers must adapt to it, but we are joining communities and digital closing gaps, the first step must be from the companies that make the connection possible.
Agile processes
The ability to respond to any mishap within the data center is an obligation, not a differentiator. Agility includes other aspects, from the process to raise the client’s requirements, the response time or the ability to react to external circumstances such as political announcements, essential business alliances or legal provisions that must be adopted in a short time. The data center customer-centric must be prepared to combat bureaucracy and opt for agility.
Development of digital products
Digitization permeates all sectors, and ours is not the exception. In recent years we have seen a ‘boom’ in the development of digital products; however, each product should be thought for the benefit of the customer and not as a response to the digital transformation that in theory, any organization should have. If these products do not meet any need or do not provide real value, something is going wrong.
The data centers have significant challenges, make the security of their teams visible, keep their clients up to date and provide them with value in business issues, such as the alliances that could be made with other operators or service providers and the well-designed digital products. They represent a great opportunity.
The bad customer experience is a terrible business
High implementation costs due to lack involvement with the client, overflow of calls to help desks to solve problems arising from poor communication, are two small examples of the costs that may be not ensuring the customer’s experience in all respects. Companies must change the focus of product-oriented designs, in which it is first developed and then marketed without having contemplated whether it was what the market needed.
With a multicultural team and a customer-centric vision, MDC is designed to satisfy the need to connect Mexico with international operators through three strategic cities: McAllen, Laredo, and El Paso, under a neutral scheme and with the key carriers that will allow the more significant opportunity of business for your clients.
