The Datamax Thinking Blog

Resolution should be the target metric for service providers because it reveals a technician’s know-how and the resources available to him or her to get you back up and running as quickly as possible.

Let’s face it, your copier, printer, or Multifunction Printer WILL need service.

Even at the efficiency at which today’s MFPs operate, the need for drum, feed tire, or fuser replacement is essentially inevitable. Anyone who’s purchased appliances, TV/Phone/ Internet Services, or a vehicle knows that the quality of service tied to that product can make (or break) your experience long-term.

The imaging industry is not immune to the flurry of all-too-often heard clichés from technicians, from administrative staff, and remote support teams.

They’ve become an unfortunate, painful ear sore in today’s customer service experience: The tired, frustrating service cliché.

• “Sorry, but it’s our policy.”
• “Let me transfer you to another department.”
• “Our technician’s having issues on another call. We’ll need to reschedule for another day.”

This blog space is intended to "promote collaborative discussion, and spark new ideas to provide your organization with more power to prevail." 

Perhaps the single biggest burning question for businesses in 2020? "What happens next?"

Do their values reflect a commitment to maximizing your return on technology investment? Is their communication – and their approach – crystal clear?

Pardon the inevitable pun. But does your technology partner have a 2020 vision, at least for your business? Does their vision match your's?

In other words, can they:

• Speak to the true challenges of your industry and your specific organization?
• Identify opportunities for creating more efficient business processes, and make relevant technology recommendations that are relevant to YOU?  
• Maintain accountability with proven results?

Here's to continued thought leadership, collaboration and relevant content we can provide to help you maximize your return on technology investment.

The header on our Datamax Thinking Blog Page spells out our commitment to our readers: “Educating, collaborating, and sparking ideas for maximizing the technology that matters.”

In 2019, we added another dimension with “You Ask, We Answer.” We understand that today, readers often need swift, concise answers to specific technology questions they’re facing, which is the focus of this new blog initiative.

Thought-leading communication is shared. Key decisions are made. Innovations change the game entirely. But to borrow a tired, old advertising cliché, the customer must still come first.

We can learn a lot from our own history, as well as those around us. It’s true in politics, in pop culture, and certainly in business.

The dedicated team of scribes here feel that through collaboration, we can strategically identify technology challenges and properly disseminate our carefully crafted ideas on overcoming them. 

Perhaps without coincidence, our top read blog for 2018 was on the topic of “effective collaboration.”

Collaboration:  It’s a key word in defining how the Datamax Thinking Blog operates. We remain committed in our pursuit of  “educating, collaborating, and sparking ideas for maximizing the technology that matters” - be it office equipment, document workflow, network security and many business technology initiatives in between.

The dedicated team of scribes here feel that through collaboration, we can strategically identify technology challenges and properly disseminate our carefully crafted ideas on overcoming them. 

Account reviews only occur when I scream for a persistent problem to be resolved." - Bennett F., IT Director

Account Review, Quarterly Business Review (QBR), Business Review Meeting, Executive Business Review, or the periodic “Let’s Do Lunch” Corporate Schmooze; the practice of ongoing customer relationship management takes on many names, many meanings, and many forms — provided it happens at all. 

When you are a major account managing an entire fleet of copiers and printers, it must happen. And it must happen regularly to proactively review current service performance, and maintain hyperfocus on the landscape of our joint venture ahead. 

As the landscape changes, so do business needs. It’s a technology partner’s obligation to maintain an open dialogue, to listen intently, and provide complete transparency on documented expectations and business-building strategies. 

In my time as a Solutions Sales Specialist, I played a lot of  “20 Questions.”

My steady stream of inquiries to clients had a strategic intent. The client's answers provided key nuggets of information for:

• digging into client current (and future) needs 
• discovering operational challenges 
• planting new seeds of opportunity 
• ensuring expectations were being met at all times

If there was a gap between my client's perception and reality, it was my job to stand in it.

The central objective of utilizing Document Management is to make your overall business processes more efficient, and specifically to accelerate and properly secure the way you move documents across your office.

Do a simple Google search for "Document Management," and you’ll see the cliché images with limited search time. The piles of paper stacked on the boss’ desk.  Documents swirling across an office. Even business people swimming in paper documents.

It’s true. Many offices are overwhelmed by paper documents. Also, when compared to a Document Management solution,  it is inefficient and costly. Estimates are that 11% of your paper files will be either lost or misplaced. Organizations often find that by digitizing their workflow, their documents begin working for them, rather than the opposite.

But digital conversion is only one component – and hardly the overarching intention – behind utilizing Document Management.