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Extranet, The Unhappy Client: How To Fight Back And Keep The Business
by Laura Schweiker
Historically, there have been unavoidable situations that test an agency’s client relationships. Today, there are tools that can minimize, or even eliminate these threats.
As an example, one situation that plagues all relationships is the unexpected surge in project cost.
Its an old story. You send your client an invoice that is 30% higher than the estimate. The client goes nuts. Your response is that the copy was changed thirteen times in two days. And THEN there were the layout changes . . .
Nobody is happy. Your client really doesn’t think they made all those changes, and after-all, you’re told, it should have been right the first time.
So now you have to recreate all the time records and find all the copy versions. You discover that because things were happening so fast, vital information never made it into the traffic system or on to a conference report. Plus, you have to go through the emails of multiple agency people to see who said what to whom.
The result? You give-up and figure out exactly how much of your hard-earned revenue you are willing to sacrifice to keep the client happy.
This cycle is repeated everyday in agencies everywhere.
Which leads us to the central proposition: How an extranet can make you rich, and keep your client happy Let’s look at this same scenario at an agency that uses an extranet.
You send your client an invoice that is 30% higher than the estimate. Along with the invoice, you send a copy of all the comments, requests, and approvals made by the client.
Time spent creating the report: 90 seconds.
Quality of the evidence: irrefutable.
Net result: you get paid, the client realizes their mistake, and everybody is happy.
This sounds way too good to be true.
Maybe. But it’s not. A client extranet automatically organizes all the comments, requests and approvals made by your client, your staff and your vendors. Not only that, it also compiles a complete record of who saw what, when the saw it, and what they did with it. All the information is in one place, and can be available to anyone at any time.
Entries into the extranet can be made by any user at any computer, 24 hours a day. And everyone with an interest in the project can be notified and see all the entries immediately.
The bottom-line is that having a complete record of what everyone did and when they did it can be the saving grace. It can save time, save money and save your sanity. Most importantly, it can save your relationship. All it takes is the implementation of a client service extranet.
About The Author: Laura Schweiker writes extensively on the use of technology by businesspeople and is an evangelist for extranet (http://www.trichys.com) and intranet software (http://www.trichys.com/intranet-extranet/intranet-software.vm)
These articles on lifestyle and more
Return to the selection of extranet
You may want to try these articles on extranet
Extranet, Extranets For Litigators by Laura Schweiker Approximately 403 Words
Extranet, Bringing Architects And Their Partners Together: The Power Of A Secure Extranet by Laura Schweiker Approximately 448 Words
Extranet, Make Your Client's Life Easier: The Power Of An Extranet by Laura Schweiker Approximately 365 Words
Extranet, Not Being Advertised...how The Advertising Business Has Changed Over Time by Allan Kalish Approximately 1117 Words
Extranet, Intranet Implementation: The Advantages Of A Web-based Solution by Malcolm Brown Approximately 411 Words
Extranet, Using A Client Extranet For Efficient Online Collaboration by Malcolm Brown Approximately 611 Words
Extranet, What Is An Extranet? by Rick Mosenkis Approximately 330 Words
You may want to try these websites for additional information
http://www.cnet.com/Resources/Info/Glossary/Terms/extranet.html
http://www.sans.org/resources/policies/Extranet_Policy.pdf?portal570d5c43d8d1258b380d63b2b06e3141
http://mobiusvc.com/pages.php?pnextranet
The information provided in this article is the express opinion of the author. Exchangenet is not responsible for the content!
Historically, there have been unavoidable situations that test an agency’s client relationships. Today, there are tools that can minimize, or even eliminate these threats.
As an example, one situation that plagues all relationships is the unexpected surge in project cost.
Its an old story. You send your client an invoice that is 30% higher than the estimate. The client goes nuts. Your response is that the copy was changed thirteen times in two days. And THEN there were the layout changes . . .
Nobody is happy. Your client really doesn’t think they made all those changes, and after-all, you’re told, it should have been right the first time.
So now you have to recreate all the time records and find all the copy versions. You discover that because things were happening so fast, vital information never made it into the traffic system or on to a conference report. Plus, you have to go through the emails of multiple agency people to see who said what to whom.
The result? You give-up and figure out exactly how much of your hard-earned revenue you are willing to sacrifice to keep the client happy.
This cycle is repeated everyday in agencies everywhere.
Which leads us to the central proposition: How an extranet can make you rich, and keep your client happy Let’s look at this same scenario at an agency that uses an extranet.
You send your client an invoice that is 30% higher than the estimate. Along with the invoice, you send a copy of all the comments, requests, and approvals made by the client.
Time spent creating the report: 90 seconds.
Quality of the evidence: irrefutable.
Net result: you get paid, the client realizes their mistake, and everybody is happy.
This sounds way too good to be true.
Maybe. But it’s not. A client extranet automatically organizes all the comments, requests and approvals made by your client, your staff and your vendors. Not only that, it also compiles a complete record of who saw what, when the saw it, and what they did with it. All the information is in one place, and can be available to anyone at any time.
Entries into the extranet can be made by any user at any computer, 24 hours a day. And everyone with an interest in the project can be notified and see all the entries immediately.
The bottom-line is that having a complete record of what everyone did and when they did it can be the saving grace. It can save time, save money and save your sanity. Most importantly, it can save your relationship. All it takes is the implementation of a client service extranet.
About The Author: Laura Schweiker writes extensively on the use of technology by businesspeople and is an evangelist for extranet (http://www.trichys.com) and intranet software (http://www.trichys.com/intranet-extranet/intranet-software.vm)
These articles on lifestyle and more
Reprint this article free of charge as long as you keep the author's resource box or bio intact and the links active. A copy of the ezine or URL of the page where the article was reprinted emailed to the author would be very much appreciated. extranet
Return to the selection of extranet
You may want to try these articles on extranet
Extranet, Extranets For Litigators by Laura Schweiker Approximately 403 Words
Extranet, Bringing Architects And Their Partners Together: The Power Of A Secure Extranet by Laura Schweiker Approximately 448 Words
Extranet, Make Your Client's Life Easier: The Power Of An Extranet by Laura Schweiker Approximately 365 Words
Extranet, Not Being Advertised...how The Advertising Business Has Changed Over Time by Allan Kalish Approximately 1117 Words
Extranet, Intranet Implementation: The Advantages Of A Web-based Solution by Malcolm Brown Approximately 411 Words
Extranet, Using A Client Extranet For Efficient Online Collaboration by Malcolm Brown Approximately 611 Words
Extranet, What Is An Extranet? by Rick Mosenkis Approximately 330 Words
You may want to try these websites for additional information
http://www.cnet.com/Resources/Info/Glossary/Terms/extranet.html
http://www.sans.org/resources/policies/Extranet_Policy.pdf?portal570d5c43d8d1258b380d63b2b06e3141
http://mobiusvc.com/pages.php?pnextranet
The information provided in this article is the express opinion of the author. Exchangenet is not responsible for the content!
