It is exactly for these reasons that Gestetner have instigated regular surveys, using a specialist service focussed market research and benchmarking company, ‘Service 800'. The first results reveal Gestetner's Business and Professional Services as highly valued by customers across Europe.
Gestetner should not be viewed as a newcomer in the IT Services market. Their Business and Professional Services portfolio has been developed and finely tuned over many years of close partnership with their customers. Today they offer IT-led technical services, in addition to the more traditional services, normally associated with document solution companies.
Business and Professional Services form one of three integral elements in Gestetner's Total Document Solution approach, which combines Hardware and Software Solutions products with Services, to deliver advanced document solutions for the office environment. Divided into six core services to add value and help customers maximize return on investment (ROI) from technology spending, these Business and Professional Services are tailored to match individual customers, making them accessible to small and medium enterprises (smes) and multi-nationals. This is an important factor, given that IT services are predicted to be a key driver in increasing smes technology spending from $76 billion to $109 billion (approx. € 69 billion to € 99 billion) between 2002 and 2006 (Datamonitor, 2003).
The survey analysed which services are being used and how highly customers value them, as well as identifying areas of potential for new services or increasing awareness of Gestetner's newer services. Around 500 companies from the UK, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Italy were surveyed. Results are highly encouraging, with customers across Europe awarding Gestetner an average rating of 7.61 out of 10 for overall customer satisfaction. Scores were particularly high for NRG Group UK, with an average ranking of 8.09 out of 10, and for NRG Italy where the average was also exceeded. Efficiency, flexibility and the bundling of services within a single price per package are key motivators in Gestetner's sales process for the customer, with both NRG Germany and NRG Group UK scoring nearly 8.2 in all three areas, compared to a 7.6 average. Additionally, both NRG Italy and NRG France exceeded the average on flexibility.
High average ratings were achieved by all NRG Operating Companies across Europe for quality of the installation process (8.01); and quality (8.0) and professionalism of installation personnel (7.75), supplemented by high average scores for on-site technical assistance (8.30). This indicates Gestetner's Maintenance, Support and Management Services and Delivery, Installation and Configuration Services are highly valued by customers in the European market; and as the survey illustrates are considered most important to the customer's business on a daily basis, reinforcing the core principle of maximizing ROI - in this instance, ensuring the document solution is accessible to all of the customer's people, all of the time. Customer interest in Gestetner's service offering is wide ranging, yet regional differences – the prioritisation given to different types of services changes per country – are highlighted. Training and Delivery, Installation and Configuration were the most popular overall. The UK, Belgium and France expressed stronger interest in the more traditional services of Delivery, Installation and Configuration and Maintenance, Support and Management Services compared to The Netherlands and Germany, where customers expressed keen interest in the newer IT-led services of Consultancy and Development as well as Project Management.
Some of these differences may be attributed to the high percentage of IT professionals involved in the buying process in north west Europe, but as this trend infiltrates the rest of Europe businesses are likely to see a shift in the type of services customers consider a priority. With core services in all these areas, Gestetner are well placed to respond to customers' demands, even at a pan-European level.
“The survey shows the strength of our Business and Professional Services portfolio, which is testament to the knowledge, experience and professionalism of our service personnel across Europe. It reflects the core values that underpin delivery of all Gestetner services: experience, reliability, quality and trust, said the Service Director at Gestetner. “We were also able to identify new opportunities to expand the scope of the core services we provide”.
The impact of Business and Professional Services is expected to increase as more customers become aware of the specific capabilities Gestetner offers. The survey reveals considerable scope for more cross selling of services with product and software sales and increased awareness of all the services available. For instance, over 40 per cent of UK and French customers said that they would like to know more about technical services when placing new orders.
Gestetner's innovative Business and Professional Services and clear commitment to customer satisfaction will be a key building block in ensuring that Gestetner continues to forge ahead in the European document solutions market in years to come.
Founded in 1989, Service 800 provides resources and tools to help service organisations measure the quality of their services. Service 800 provides real time customer follow ups and industry benchmarking programs that measure the performance levels of individual technicians, service processes, customer perceptions and help to reduce costs. With offices in London and Minneapolis, Service 800 conducts interviews in 27 languages using native speakers to ensure the highest level of quality data collection.
