By Ken Parnham

The stories I hear are horrendous! One of our customers came to us because their previous ad server only provided them with a helpline telephone number which when called gave them a ten digit reference number for a particular issue they had when rolling out a campaign live and were told to “Look it up themselves” in the manual. Ultimately there was no personal sales support and the 24/7 support turned out to be a lot more limited than advertised. The service-side to the deal and promises made in the original pitch meeting turned out to be nonexistent or at most, very limited.

As an ad server provider this troubles me greatly and I think customers shouldn’t stand for it – neither should the industry. It’s very tempting for vendors to focus on the technology solution – to try and add as many bells and whistles as possible convincing yourself that this is what a customer wants, but by doing this they risk overlooking the customers key areas – specification, service and product efficiency. By focusing on these areas they will win return custom and long term relationships. Growing the company and investing in customer relationships is critical for success. Adding to support, sales and project management teams will ensure a good level of support which clients deserve.

Providers need to work together with customers and partner up with them, it will serve them well. Also – showing a commitment to solutions with continuous release cycles which ensure products exceed clients’ needs and expectations and looking ahead - take into consideration industry trends and count on client feedback when planning enhancements.

On the product side, develop with the client and end user front of mind. Repeat the mantra of “Simple to learn, simple to use” and customers will appreciate it. Help customers to help you by asking them for their insights and feedback on their experience and vendor performance regularly and act upon the results. Not only does this recognise their feedback as valuable, it creates psychological investment on their part.

Customers on the other hand should be demanding that they get the support they pay for. Check the contracts before you sign them. Be proactive when things go wrong and work with your supplier to get it right. A business relationship worth any amount works both ways. Your success (or failure) is mutual.

It’s critical that the industry recognises this issues and acts upon it. It’s one of the biggest flaws in the New Media market and could be its downfall.

About the author

Ken Parnham is UK & Ireland Country Manager at ADTECH, an international supplier of digital marketing solutions and is AOL Advertising's ad serving platform. The company's flagship product is an integrated ad server solution that enables web publishers, ad networks, agencies and advertisers to manage, serve and evaluate virtually any kind of online advertising campaign including display, video and mobile formats. ADTECH’s solution differentiates itself from the competition through its scalable, enterprise-class infrastructure and user-friendly tools, providing users with increased efficiency, reliability and ROI for their online advertising business. ADTECH customers include major players like BSkyB, Hi-media, Gannett and Fox Networks. ADTECH AG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AOL LLC.

http://www.adtech.com