June 5, 2025
Written by Tamylin Farquhar
Let’s be honest, every business talks about putting customers first. But here’s the thing: talking about it and actually living it are two completely different worlds. At ETS, we’ve learned this lesson through real experiences, genuine partnerships, and yes, even a few mistakes along the way.
It’s Not About Us, It’s About Them
When we started ETS, like many tech companies, we were excited about our solutions, our capabilities, our “best of breed” technologies. And don’t get me wrong, those things matter. But somewhere along the journey, we realised something crucial: our customers don’t wake up thinking about our technology. They wake up thinking about their challenges, their goals, and whether their partners (that’s us) actually understand what keeps them up at night.
This shift in perspective changed everything for us. Instead of leading conversations with what we do, we started listening to what they need. Instead of showcasing our latest capabilities, we began asking better questions about their business objectives.
Trust Isn’t Built Overnight (But It Can Be Lost in Minutes)
Here’s what we’ve discovered about trust in the ICT world: it’s not earned through impressive presentations or technical specifications. Trust grows when you answer your phone on the third ring during a crisis. It develops when you proactively reach out with solutions before problems become disasters. It strengthens when you admit you don’t know something but commit to finding the answer quickly.
At ETS, we’ve seen how trust transforms business relationships. When customers truly trust you, they don’t just buy solutions, they invite you into their strategic planning sessions. They ask for your opinion on decisions beyond your immediate scope. They become genuine partners in every sense of the word.
The Real Customer Journey (It’s Messier Than the Diagrams)
Customer experience isn’t a neat flowchart with clearly defined stages. Real customer journeys are messy, non-linear, and full of unexpected detours. Someone might discover ETS through a referral, research us online, attend one of our presentations, then not contact us for six months until a critical need arises.
What we’ve learned is that every touchpoint matters, even the ones that seem insignificant. The way our team member greets someone at a networking event. How quickly we respond to an email inquiry. Whether our proposals address actual needs or just showcase our capabilities. The follow-up call after implementation to ask how things are really going.
Each of these moments either builds or erodes the relationship. There’s no neutral ground.
Getting Personal (In a Professional Way)
One of our favourite client relationships started with a simple observation. During our first meeting, we noticed family photos on the customer’s desk and asked about them genuinely, not as a sales tactic, but because we were curious about the person behind the business card.
That led to understanding that this IT director was under enormous pressure to modernise their infrastructure while working with a limited budget and a skeptical executive team. The technical solution was important, but equally important was helping them present the project in a way that would gain executive buy-in.
This taught us that personalisation isn’t about using someone’s first name in emails. It’s about understanding their unique context, constraints, and what success looks like from their perspective.
When Things Go Wrong (And They Will)
Here’s something most companies won’t admit: sometimes we mess up. Equipment arrives late. Configurations don’t work as expected. Communication gets missed. The difference between good companies and great ones isn’t perfection, it’s how they handle imperfection.
We’ve found that customers often remember how we handled problems more than they remember the problems themselves. When we’re transparent about issues, take ownership quickly, and go above and beyond to make things right, relationships often emerge stronger than before the problem occurred.
Building a Team That Actually Cares
Creating genuine customer experiences requires a team that genuinely cares. You can’t fake empathy or script authenticity. At ETS, we’ve learned that hiring for attitude and training for skills works better than the reverse.
Our team members need to be curious about customer challenges, comfortable with tough conversations, and willing to invest in relationships that might not pay off immediately. They need to view customer success as their personal responsibility, not someone else’s department.
This means celebrating when customers achieve their goals, even when it has nothing to do with our technology. It means team members proactively sharing insights that might help customers, even if it doesn’t directly benefit ETS. – Tamylin Farquhar
