An Interview with Andrew Wallace
In this episode, Richard talks to Andrew Wallace, Managing Director and Chief Product Officer (CPO) of SmileBack, customer survey and feedback tool.
Andrew tells us how the SmileBack’s offerings for IT businesses have evolved since Andrew came on board.
We also hear how SmileBack’s simple rating system increases customer engagement, and how Managed Service Providers (MSPs) can use the data it produces to make positive changes in their business.
Who is Andrew Wallace?
Andrew Wallace is Managing Director and Chief Product Officer of SmileBack, an MSP Customer Service feedback and satisfaction platform for Managed Service Providers and rated the number one integration on the ConnectWise Marketplace.
Beginning his career in Canada, Andrew ran the first meal kit delivery company in the country. That company were bought out by HelloFresh just as they became the number one business in the country, and Andrew found himself in Berlin to transition the team.
While in Berlin, Andrew met the previous MD of SmileBack and did some consulting for them, before being offered the positions of Managing Director and Chief Product Officer.
As well as running the Berlin office, Andrew is responsible for the Ukraine office and setting up a new Canada office.
What is SmileBack and how do they help with MSP Customer Service?
SmileBack is a CSAT (customer satisfaction score) platform. It uses a simple but effective system to ask customers to rate their experience with an MSP’s Customer Service – clicking a red, yellow or green smiley face to indicate how satisfied they were. There is an option to provide additional comments, but customers don’t have to.
Andrew explains that SmileBack initially focused on the quality, the integrity and the polish of that survey, but since Andrew joined the company, SmileBack has built more features and functionality and delivered more value to their MSP customers.
Incredibly, SmileBack surveys have a 42% open rate – the industry standard is just 1%.
How SmileBack Allows MSPs to Respond to Feedback
In terms of customer feedback, Andrew explains there is a three-step process.
Firstly, the surveys themselves collect feedback from customers.
Next, analysing and reporting on feedback give insights from real-time data.
Finally, MSPs need to leverage the feedback and take action on what they’ve been told.
It’s important that MSPs go back to the customer and ask where they went wrong and how they can improve MSP Customer Service for next time. Don’t be afraid to engage with people who’ve given a negative review, says Andrew.
As customers start to understand feedback, Andrew explains that they realise the actions they need to take for positive and negative feedback, they can build that right into the platform by using the customisation options.
How SmileBack Users Monitor MSP Customer Service Feedback During Lockdown
SmileBack also offers an app, which allows users access to a dashboard for both the Net Promoter Score (NPS) and the CSAT surveys with real-time information which can be segmented and filtered to suit individual requirements.
The dashboard also means that managers can keep their finger on the pulse and understand what the trend lines are in the business.
The SmileBack dashboard can help MSPs understand where they need to focus their energy on issues, and where they can celebrate MSP Customer Service success!
Both the desktop and app versions of SmileBack integrate with a range of tools, including Slack (via Zapier) and SmileBack are also building integration with Microsoft Teams, to give real-time feedback for all users.
(You may also find my article on ‘Using Social Networking to Listen to Customer Feedback‘ interesting).
What does NPS stand for in relationship to MSP Customer Service?
NPS is Net Promoter Score. NPS is a very trendy acronym in the business world right now!
What NPS measures is your relationship with a customer, business, product or service.
NPS is very powerful when it’s taken with CSAT to measure MSP Customer Service, says Andrew.
CSAT measures the individual transaction: ‘how did this go?’ — whereas NPS is a measurement of the relationship. It is a measure of the question, ‘how likely are you to recommend x’, with a customer giving a score on a scale of zero to 10.
The importance of an NPS score is a sign or an approximation of loyalty. Loyalty is a sign of business health.
NPS is quite smart in the sense that what are called detractors, at the lower end of the score, are businesses or relationships at risk that need attention.
‘Passives’ are those who leave neutral feedback score ‘fine’, and ‘promoter’ customers are growth opportunities who will recommend your business and need to be nurtured.
The MSP Customer Service relationship between CSAT and NPS
CSAT and NPS give a 360º understanding of your MSP Customer Service. It helps you understand the individual transactions, and you understand the relationship. On their own, they’re great tools as well, but they have blind spots. Together, they’re powerful.
Mentioned in this Podcast
- ConnectWise
- Autotask
- Zendesk
- Slack
- Zapier
- Brightgauge
- Freshdesk
- Captain’s Chair
- Remote Connect virtual conference
- Miro – Online Whiteboard Collaboration
- Book: The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance
Connect with Andrew
- SmileBack
- Email the SmileBack team: he**@sm*******.com
- Connect with Andrew Wallace on LinkedIn
- Email Andrew Wallace
Connect with Me
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Richard Tubb is one of the best-known experts within the global IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) community. He launched and sold his own MSP business before creating a leading MSP media and consultancy practice. Richard helps IT business owner’s take back control by freeing up their time and building a business that can run without them. He’s the author of the book “The IT Business Owner’s Survival Guide” and writer of the award-winning blog www.tubblog.co.uk
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