Boutique Inspiration: A Visionary Approach to IT
Obsah
Recently, we have witnessed visionary advances that seemed like they have left the pages of stories.
Artificial intelligence in the hands of ordinary people, commercial spaceflight or drones for personal transportation — this is just a fraction of the technical progress that surrounds us.
But other “visionary” activities are also being rolled up – one of them is the approach to managing a company in this progressive and mainly digital world. Many steps forward are only in virtual reality and lose touch with the real reality.
This is also the reason why technologies are so dehumanized. Automation brings higher efficiency. The virtual world, in turn, has less personal contact. Although there are so many different approaches to developing these digital wonders and many of them are based on well-functioning human teams, the personal approach is lost on the way to the end customer – especially with XaaS offerings.
So what is the visionary approach to management in these difficult conditions in terms of approaching those who matter the most, the customers? Little wonder, the progress is the transition to the attitude that retail boutiques have had for decades.
Why a Boutique? 🤔
Boutiques are the epitome of personal approach. I will borrow a description from a colleague who experienced exactly how things should be done in such a store. I don’t want to offend anyone by using a woman to represent a shopping assistant – that’s what happened in our colleague’s story.
When you arrive, a shopping assistant will personally greet you. At that moment, she takes you for a human being, a person with a specific need, and she is there to understand that need and help the customer as best as she can.
But her personal approach doesn’t end there. She listens carefully to what a particular individual is struggling with, and her knowledge of the store she works for helps her find exactly the solution the customer is looking for.
She also makes the customer comfortable and makes sure that he can try everything on and think it over in peace. She helps with good and honest advice throughout the entire process, so that the customer can take away not only what he needs, but also a good feeling. The feeling that he is human and that he was also treated as such.
Why Should It Be a Role Model for IT? 🧐
Because many IT industries are the exact opposite. It is an impersonal environment that is difficult for many people to grasp and in which commodities are often used. However, a company must be able to use them to bring it the desired benefit.
IT often lacks a human face and a corresponding approach. This is a consequence of the approach of technology giants who have focused on providing services to the largest possible number of people. On such a scale, it is almost impossible to maintain a personal approach.
Due to this setting of the IT market, users often have a very bad experience with customer support, they get lost in managing what they have purchased, and they experience frustration from all of this.
In our company, we also tried to sell “bagels” – package the IT environment as a commodity and voila. But when selling and buying infrastructure, this approach simply does not work – at least not to everyone’s good taste.
So What Does an IT Boutique Look Like? 🎯
From the retail one, we can borrow 3 main principles for the IT boutique:
- Initial analysis
- Training from technicians
- Available support
Initial analysis
Companies come up with a vision of an IT infrastructure that will meet their needs. To be satisfied, they must get the right service. So the point is to find the best possible solution, not to do business at any cost.
Otherwise, the result would be an angry customer who gets an Achilles heel instead of a titan. But the opposite is also true – companies should get used to the fact that they can only get a well-fitting infrastructure from an IT boutique.
Training from Technicians
Expert advice is always helpful. That’s why an IT boutique should focus on providing personal support to newbies who need to navigate a new environment. This way, users not only get the head start they need, but also technology that suddenly has a human face.
Available Support
IT is a field where few people can do without help. That’s why we almost always see technology companies equipped with technical support. But it doesn’t always provide real help. Sometimes users wonder if they are a ball on a chain or a hot potato. That’s how bad an approach can be.
An IT boutique should be proactive. If someone calls with a problem, the response should be a solution.
Not all IT services are suitable for selling in the IT boutique style. But if we are talking about IT infrastructure for companies, this is definitely an area where it should be used. After all, IT infrastructure is the backbone of today’s companies – how do you want to function if it doesn’t work?
So, do you have experience with an IT boutique?
