Chesapeake, Va.
Ann Derby, CTSM
Director of Marketing & Events
Init Innovations in Transportation Inc.
In today’s technology-rich environment, staying in tune with customers is a fluid and dynamic process. The goal should be to engage and empower customers by providing relevant avenues of communication where meaningful connections are fostered.
Making that happen may look different for each company, but some key factors may help to reach that goal. Below are a few methods that Init uses to promote healthy customer communications.
Customer e-Support Portal is an online resource that allows our customers to connect with us at any time of day or night. When there is a need for service or support, a request can be submitted through the portal where our customer support staff is alerted via e-mail of the new request. Our customers may then track the action being taken to resolve the request.
The Customer e-Support Portal also allows our customers to see their tickets, create filters and view dashboards in order to manage their request.
A customer may also call our customer support line to talk to one of our team members regarding a question or to submit a new request.
Interactive Webinars allow our customers to receive training on current products and to learn about new system features. Init’s in-house technical experts host the webinars using live system demonstrations and open discussions, which help to facilitate customer engagement.
The interactive webinars are a direct outcome of our customer working group meetings which incorporate five main objectives: collaboration, sharing of best practices, developing common practices, future development of Init products and cost cooperation.
Working group and user group meetings are customer-focused events that provide collaboration opportunities with other Init users worldwide, personalized product training, news on trending and future transit technologies, and private meetings with Init staff. These meetings provide plenty of face-time with Init managers, customer support personnel, product engineers, developers, and sales team members.
The Technology e-Newsletter is a biannual e-newsletter that highlights the latest Init product developments. Many times our customers’ suggestions are incorporated into these emerging technologies.
Social media and video are must-have tools for effectively reaching customers today. This involves the use of several media channels for customer engagement. Through Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Whitepapers provide content that builds our customers’ confidence in our role as an industry thought leader. It is one approach that we use to address the topics that matter most to them. Our whitepapers enable customers to have straightforward subject material for speaking to issues that affect our industry.
The INITiative is a publication distributed to our customers and business partners to offer articles from a global viewpoint. Stories cover progressive technology and innovative transit projects. Front page news regularly highlights different customer projects demonstrating our commitment to showcase their successful systems.
Cultivating healthy communication requires modern platforms where customers are empowered and actively engaged. We believe it’s the key factor in building strong partnerships in the 21st century.
