Tips to Boost Your Consumer’s Network Confidence

Submitted by Mike Valladao, NetScout Product Marketing Manager

October saw a record low in the  Consumer Confidence Index™.  According to Director Lynn Franco, “The impact of the financial crisis over the last several weeks has clearly taken a toll on consumers' confidence”.

However, there are always segments of the population that see the glass in a positive light.  Networking is one such segment.  Antidotal evidence shows that consumers’ network confidence is at an all-time high.  Networks are more robust than ever and consumers place great faith in them.  While, just a few years ago people often blamed the network, today the corporate network is seen as an area of stability.

So we are happy to report that networks and networking expertise will continue to be valued resources, even in questionable markets.  No matter the industry, networks are there to drive the business.  They are vital components that not only deliver critical services, but also have a direct affect on the overall credibility of the company.  Networks have come a long way.   They have evolved from simply being supporting players to actually running the business.   As long as the networks are up and working, business is being delivered.

Like the economy, we need to make sure policies and indicators are in place to keep things running smoothly within our networks.   Obviously, NetScout Systems is in the business to provide you with tools to assist in this effort, but there is more to the story. 

Network confidence varies from company to company.  As a network professional, you are in a position to help manage performance of the services to end users which in turn helps create confidence in the network.  If your customers (or consumers) have high confidence, it will make your lives easier and reflect positively both on your department as well as your direct staff.  

So, when you take a moment to look at it through your customer’s eyes consider:  Do they have confidence in the network?  Are they pleased with the services delivered?  Keep in mind that like the economy, there is an emotional aspect to confidence.  Is there anything you could do to boost or promote their confidence?

The following list of tips can help:

• First, internally market what is going well.  If uptime is good, publish the results to your key users.  Post ad-hoc reports to an internal web site and make sure it is linked from other strategic sites within your company.
• Act like a service organization.  Since that is essentially what IT is, adopting Best Practices lets your customers know you are there to assist them and the business.  Not only does your phone support need to be friendly and supportive, but your entire staff needs to understand the end user is your customer and you are there to help them do their job.  If they have any reason to avoid dealing with IT, then the company loses.  Promote positive customer interaction from the top down.
• Gain a proactive advantage.  Leverage Key Performance Indicators, so you know about issues before they turn into problems for your users.  Provide anomaly reports to support your claims.  If you tell your customers you know about the problem and you are working on it, instead of saying; “When did this issue start” you enforce confidence in the IT department. If you show you are going above and beyond to help them do their jobs, it goes a long way toward building relationships.
• Finally, when issues do arise, systematically address the problem and share how you corrected it.  Top-down approaches to troubleshooting work, so share your methods with your customers.  Sometimes it is also beneficial to name drop and say a Sniffer trace file was able to definitively answer a question or prove a point.  Let them know you have products that continually capture packets and flows 24 hours a day.  When your organization understands you have exposure to areas of the business they do not, it only increases your value.  A little information goes a long way toward creating confidence.

So how would you characterize the network confidence within your organization? What are you doing to boost your consumer’s network confidence?

We at NetScout would love to hear from you.   If you have ideas on this or other topics, please feel free to share them. 
If you are interested in how NetScout products may be able to assist you, check out our website at: http://www.netscout.com/products/default.asp?cpid=blog