“The customer is king.”

“The customer is No. 1.”

Most organizations brag about their commitment to the customer — to the point where I suspect many people have become skeptical of these kinds of statements. This is especially true in business technology, where customers historically have found it hard to get the great service they were initially promised.

More Than Lip Service

That environment has changed, however, as more businesses are moving to cloud-delivered technologies. When cloud providers say they have to earn their customers’ business every year, it’s not a sales pitch. They really mean it.

Here’s why: Businesses typically pay for cloud solutions with subscription fees vs. the large one-time upfront costs required for onsite systems. And it’s a lot easier for a business to cancel a cloud subscription than to abandon an onsite system that required a huge capital investment. This has created an imperative when it comes to cloud providers’ customer service.

Collaboration and Community

In the spirit of “show me, don’t tell me,” I was pleased to demonstrate to more than 700 customers at PowerPlex 2013 what my company, a cloud provider, is doing to prove our commitment to them.

I highlighted things like our new training programs and Plex TV for customized learning. And I shared details about a new Plex Community that relies on the latest social collaboration technology so users can come together anytime to resolve issues and share expertise. This new community is even more interactive and dynamic than our existing Plex forums and wikis.  

Your Needs Are Our Needs

Our new mechanisms for information-sharing and collaboration are based on an understanding of how customers want to interact with us. Like other leading cloud providers, Plex Systems constantly works to understand customers’ needs and collaborate with them for guidance on every aspect of our business.

Customer collaboration has already driven the development and launch of tools like IntelliPlex for business intelligence reporting and SmartPlex, which expands Plex use to virtually any mobile environment.

Collaboration is also driving our product roadmaps, which include a friendlier user interface and many new features.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

In long-term commitments, actions matter far more than words. Collaboration, responsiveness and a true community focus are the things that customers expect when their business solution providers say customers are their top priority.

They are the evidence that lends credibility to statements like the one I made with all sincerity to PowerPlex attendees: “YOU are our mission.”

Everyone’s got a great customer service story. What’s yours?