Staying ahead in any online industry is difficult, but insurance is an especially competitive market. In order to keep costs down for customers, email is often the sole means of contact.
This is the situation with FIUK.com. The family run company pioneered lower cost standalone payment protection and sells its services exclusively on the internet. Seven years ago, Pam Needham, managing director at FIUK, took the innovative step to manage customer relationships using only email.
As the company grew, IT became increasingly important and the demands on systems increased alongside the need for a fast response to customer inquiries. Needham realised that losing IT systems meant communication with existing customers would come under threat, and the ability to add new customers would be jeopardised, so she looked at the options that were open to her.
Needham initially employed a local consultant to help set up and support the systems on an ad hoc basis. However, she realised this was not a viable long-term solution, because if there was a problem it became expensive and meant systems were offline for long periods as equipment was disconnected and taken across town for repair.
Last year, FIUK faced a crossroads and chose to update its email systems. It also chose to look at its support provision. After examining a range of options, she chose IT Support Manager (ITSM) from BT.
ITSM provides cost-effective remote support to businesses that do not have in-house IT skills. It allows trained technicians to take control of the company’s computers without having to explain procedures to rectify problems. The technicians can also provide advice on upgrades and equipment, when required.
FIUK used the service from day one and all of the issues the company had been experiencing were solved.
“On the first call to the BT Support helpdesk, all the problems we had with emails, our internet connection and broadband were rectified,” explained Needham. “When we upgraded our email system to provide customers with a smoother enquiry service, the BT team bent over backwards to find a solution for why the system would not work effectively with the server.”
Calling a qualified helpdesk for assistance instead of having to take equipment across town saved valuable time. It has also proved to be a money saving exercise, with a standard monthly charge per PC, rather than high ad hoc payments for IT repairs.
“Initially, I didn’t expect very much, because my previous experience of technical helpdesks was that they caused more problems than they solved. IT Support Manager is different because technicians are able to take control of the computer, fixing problems quickly and efficiently. We now have peace of mind that we can get on with business, dealing with customers, rather than wasting time trying to figure out what our IT problems are,” added Needham.
“Having remote support for systems provides the best level of service and I no longer have to worry about losing customers – instead I can focus on the service and growth of the business,” she concluded.
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