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A conversation with Robert Church.
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This month, we're pleased to present a conversation with Robert Church, President of Aria Solutions, Inc., a Calgary, Alberta-based IT company that provides Customer Interaction Management services for contact centers.
What's your background, and how did you get started?
My background is electrical engineering. In the beginning, I worked with a number of small companies doing software development. After moving to Calgary, I worked for a small interactive voice response (IVR) company doing technical work. Soon after that, I met Noel Roberts while working on a project together. We decided there was an opportunity to get into the Customer Interaction Management space, routing phone calls, emails and things like that, and we formed Aria Solutions in 1996.
What makes your company unique?
We are Customer Interaction Management specialists with a singular focus on one product suite, and that's Genesys Telecommunications. What makes us different is that we are the largest stand alone system integrator for the entire Genesys product suite in North America. We offer business consulting, system integration and support services as well as our own products that complement the Genesys suite. There are other partner companies of Genesys, of course, but they tend to be either divisions of larger companies or smaller staff augmentation companies that can work on Genesys.
What do you see as the future of your niche?
We see a big opportunity to grow with Genesys. I'd say they are the top provider of CIM software. Many companies are beginning to realize how important it is to provide their customers with easier, more personalized customer service. Today, if a customer has one bad experience with a company they can easily sign up with another company. Companies are realizing it's more cost effective to keep a customer than to get a new one. They are also viewing CIM as a core part of their business growth and are viewing contact centers as a valuable strategic asset.
What do you see as the benefits of specialization?
When we started out we tended to be more of a generalist working with a number of CIM providers, including Genesys. Early on we discovered that it was harder to grow when you're trying to do everything because you simply can't be an expert in all the product and service lines you carry.
Interestingly, there is an advantage competing with generalists. Most companies cast a wide net when shopping for IT services companies and narrow their selection down to a few. In our market, Genesys providers are almost always on the short list. What this means for us as Genesys specialists is that customers quickly realize that we have the experience and credibility to be the trusted advisor they can count on. They realize that we're the kind of company that knows what we're doing, versus a competitor that does a little bit of everything. It gives us a competitive edge in a ferociously competitive industry.
Internally, you also have the benefit and advantage of alignment. Your sales and marketing teams are focused on one thing; your support teams are focused on one thing. It just makes operations more efficient and more productive. With this focus, you now have solutions that you can sell into specific vertical markets, so that efficiencies, quality control and repeatable methodologies just naturally fall out.
It's also an advantage to be a specialist in the eyes of your software vendor. Companies like Genesys tend to look favorably upon companies that only do their product suite in a particular space. There is a mutual level of trust and confidence that is engendered in such a relationship. One of the benefits of this confidence is knowing that any business or projects they bring your way will be managed properly.
What are the downsides?
Well, the obvious one is if you pick the wrong market or the wrong specialization and you put all your eggs in this one basket. However, if you do your homework, understand the market conditions, and align yourself with the right service line, you should do well. That is, provided of course that you manage your business properly.
What makes Aria Solutions successful?
We take a very business-focused approach to our projects. We work hard to understand the company's business objectives and the problems they're trying to solve versus just putting in a technical solution. We work hard to be a partner and trusted advisor with our clients, rather than just a vendor of technology. We are very upfront with our clients, advising them on the pros and cons and benefits and risks of any solution and in some cases even recommending that a client not implement a particular solution if it is not right for them. It's this integrity that is at the heart of our success.
What drives this integrity is our focus on Genesys. Everyone on our team is intimately knowledgeable and passionate about our product and service offering. Customers sense this commitment, which in turn boosts our credibility and confidence with them.
What's your outlook for the rest of 2008?
The outlook for 2008 is pretty positive for us. It might actually be one of our better years. However, I am keeping my eye on the economy and notably the value of the U.S. dollar.
You may contact at Rob via email or visit the Aria Solutions Website. |
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"Early on we discovered that it was harder to grow when you're trying to do everything because you simply can't be an expert in all the product and service lines you carry." |
| —Robert Church |
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