Tackling the big guns

• NAOMI HULBERT
• 24 January 2008
• Page 1 of 2 : single page

Photo credit: Getty Images

Topic 1: Keeping telcos and internet companies in check

Naomi: Business is often disrupted when users have to call the ‘help desk’ of their ISP (internet service provider), and get a recorded message telling them to trouble-shoot from the website...

Larry: Internet services are not always easy to understand. The average user has no idea of the issues involved with ADSL or data speeds or wireless networking and so on. On some of the most well known ISP websites, a lot of this information becomes confusing, particularly when web hosting and business packages are added into the mix. Commonly, the customer service on these websites assume an unrealistic level of knowledge. A good ISP will provide logical information on their website that’s easy for new users to understand. If you are having an issue, there should be clear FAQs, so you can feel confident you know what’s going on with the connection you are paying for.

David: Too many telcos and ISPs couldn’t care less about customer service, and charge irrespective of their service levels and customer satisfaction. They pay lip-service to customer service and a high ransom to economic rationalism.

Andrew: In regional areas in particular, one of the big issues with doing business is that choice is limited when it comes to telcos and internet companies. My advice is simple: do your homework before changing carriers.

Seamus: One great lesson anyone who has an ISP should take here is that it pays to threaten your ISP with a call to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman if you’re not happy. You can guarantee the ISPs will always try and pin any problem at your end, so if you’ve done a little due diligence and know this isn’t the case, tell them you’re happy to complain to the Ombudsman and their tune is likely to change. They have to pay a fee for every investigation the Ombudsman undertakes, and they’d much rather avoid this.

Andrew: Yes, you can complain to the Industry Ombudsman but, in my opinion, doing your due diligence in the first place is more important. In North Queensland we recently had a new ISP start up. Thousands of people joined, and after 12 months they still couldn’t provide a service, eventually going broke and leaving a $28 million debt. Here’s a tip: make sure all your email addresses are labelled to your company, not the ISP. This way if things go wrong, your customers can still contact you on the same email address and you don’t have to reprint all your business cards and stationery.

Naomi: And what about telcos? Apparently complaints to the Ombudsman about landlines were up by nearly 37 per cent in 2007, so a lot of people are unhappy...

David: A simple word of advice for all small business owner-operators: take the time to check all the pages of your phone bill. There’s a reason why the bills go for so many pages! I know of one business that had two telephone lines, but then upgraded to cable broadband and neglected to notify the telco it no longer needed the second line. This oversight continued for 18 months until the business owner noted the charges on page 5 of the bill, but by then the telco had happily charged rent of more than $2,000 for an inactive line.

“TOO MANY TELCOS CHARGE IRRESPECTIVE OF QUALITY LEVELS. THEY PAY LIP SERVICE TO CUSTOMER SERVICE AND A HIGH RANSOM TO ECONOMIC RATIONALISM” David Hutchins

Seamus: Again, you can threaten to complain to the Ombudsman. When you and your business are made to play the ‘it’s not our fault’ dance by telcos and ISPs, it’s time to play hard and make them earn their monthly fees.

Topic 2: Using web-based communities for business

Naomi: Is Web 2.0, all those online communities that encourage interaction such as social networks and blogs, the next big thing in business marketing?

Seamus: No one needs to go anywhere near Web 2.0 just for its own sake. I can imagine some people being hit by the buzz and being told they must get some Web 2.0 in their life. Ridiculous. Are you selling something? Or are you building communities? If building communities makes no sense to your business, then screw Web 2.0.

David: Sure, but most small business owners understand the value of word-of-mouth referrals. These days, with Web 2.0 spawning social networking sites, business referral sites and a worldwide platform for critical as well as happy customers to air their opinions, smart business operators are getting the skills to ensure their web presence is positive rather than negative. My advice is to cruise the web to gain an idea of whether people are talking about you and if they are, listen.

Seamus: You should pay attention to the wider online world. Don’t change your site, change your web habits. Participate in online discussions related to your business. Don’t fake it, and don’t just promote your own business. Netizens (net citizens) are hardcore cynics and will see through that instantly. Be real,share your expertise and people will respond.

David: For some businesses, it might pay to be proactive, ensuring their websites are useful and have some form of interaction with their target market. It might mean hosting podcasts (online audio), or video casts, so that people can download them and find out more about the business.

Larry: I think the most useful aspect of Web 2.0 for small business is with online support forums. General users are able to swap advice and offer support for products you might be selling. If you refer general online support enquiries to your support forum, most of your customers will have their problems answered quickly. This way, online support forums work like a more interactive FAQ, preventing you from having to repeat the same advice. Forum participants benefit by being able to position themselves as a consultant within the industry while the business benefits by reducing support costs. In fact, many small business consultants use these forums as highly effective networking tools.