Beef Up Tech Support Without Going Broke

Q:

A: By offering superior tech service and support.

The opportunities have never been greater. Ask anyone who has purchased a PC from a retailer, and you'll probably hear a tech-support horror story. Maybe they've wasted hours waiting on hold, only to get a technician who can't fix the problem. Or they've struggled with systems that just won't work. Whatever the problem, these frustrated users represent potential customers for the savvy system builder. It all comes down to support, built on trust.

But wait: How do you offer advanced support without breaking the bank? After all, most system builders don't have contract employees in India working for pennies on the dollar. And offering on-site service can be hugely expensive.

There is a way. New online services, available inexpensively on the Internet, can help system builders offer advanced support while still turning a profit. Using these tools, system builders can bring proactive support to customers. At the same time, system builders can create opportunities for selling enhanced support contracts.

In this TechBuilder Recipe, I'll look at two Internet tools that can help system builders beef up their tech support. One, called LogMeIn, lets you remotely control a customer's computer. The other, called Skype, lets you offer telephone tech support without the high cost of toll-free lines.

Let's look first at LogMeIn.com, a basic remote-control service that is offered free by 3am Labs Inc. Using this service, a tech-support person can reach out via the Web to any system running the LogMeIn applet and then take control of the system for basic troubleshooting, fixing problems, and even training users. What's more, the service works through firewalls, proxy servers, and other normal impediments to remote-control products.

LogMeIn can help system builders overcome a major barrier: Offering on-site service is costly. That's especially true when so many technical problems turn out actually be due to the ingnorance of end users. Remote control is simply a low-cost alternative to on-site service.

True, remote-access/remote-control solutions have been on the market for some time. But until now they've added costs to the support equation. Available as either software installed on a system or via a service, they're driven by a monthly fee that quickly chews into profits. Also, in my experience, both remote software and services inevitably run into trouble. The problems include incompatibility between networks and platforms, blocked IP ports, and firewalls blocking remote access. Although service-based solutions have overcome many of those problems, their monthly fees quickly add up, especially when multiplied by the number of systems sold.

Five Steps To Installing LogMeIn

• Access LogMeIn.com to create an account, as shown below.
• Step through the account-creation process, as shown below. Note: You can always do this with your customer's e-mail address. Just be sure to let them know you're setting them up with free remote access.
• Voila! Your account is created. Next, add a computer to be remote controlled, as shown below.
• Run the "add computer" wizard, shown below. Do this from the computer to be remotely controlled, perhaps as part of the pre-configuration or burn-in process.
• Continue with the install wizard. First off, you will need to give the shortcut a description, that will help you figure out what's what when accessing multiple machines, with that in mind you should give the computer to be remotely controlled a meaningful name and password. For example, user name RSmith-555-1212, and password RSmith*Support.

Taking Control With LogMeIn

Now that you have LogMeIn installed, remote management of other systems is just a couple of mouse clicks away. First, visit LogMeIn site, from any computer. There, login with the assigned e-mail address you used in Step 2 above and the password you assigned in Step 5. You will then be presented with a list of systems you can take control of.

As shown below, the LogMeIn interface offers an easy method for locating and controlling computers that you have registered with the logMeIn service.

By right-clicking or pointing at the computer's icon, you can choose to immediately remote control it, upgrade to a more advanced service, or add a shortcut to you desktop, making it quicker to reach the remote system in the future.

Choosing remote control brings up the login screen, shown below. To proceed, you'll need the password assigned to the system during setup.

Once authenticated, remote techs are presented with the handsome screen shown below. It offers a few options, including sharing files and remote control. (While remote control is available on the free version, other features usually require a paid contract.)

Selecting remote control brings you to a remote control session, shown below. This is where the "magic" happens. Now you can fully control a remote system as if you were in front of it. And the customer can watch what you do, learning the right way to do things.

Advanced Features For Adding Value—And Profits

That's all there is to using LogMeIn for remote control. But wait, as the TV infomercials say, there's more!

A system builder can also use the LogMeIn service to upgrade customers to additional capabilities. For example, one of 3AM lab's offerings, a product called LogMeIn ITReach, brings advanced management and monitoring capabilities to the remote-control process. ITReach lets techs actively monitor a system remotely using a dashboard approach, as shown below. This is ideal for monitoring custom-built servers or high-end workstations. ITReach costs $99 per PC per year.

System builders can also set up automated alerts with LogMeIn that inform them of any problems on a system, allowing for proactive monitoring. The neat thing about this is that a system builder can charge a monthly service fee and keep garnering profits, even as they build a long-term relationship with the customer. Phone Support That Won't Break the Bank

Remote control is only part of a full support solution. One of the biggest complaints from end users involves waiting on hold for hours when they urgently need tech support. Here, system builders have an opportunity: They can offer telephone support without the Muzak hell.

But, as you probably know, offering a toll-free number to customers can run into big bucks. At the same time, most customers believe they should not have to pay for a toll call when looking for help. It's a dilemma: You need to communicate, but no one wants to pay!

The solution is to once again turn to the power of the Internet. In this case, I recommend Voice over IP (VoIP) communications. Most VoIP solutions charge a monthly fee for services that let users call to and from regular land-line phones. But for our purposes, we can forgo the need for backward compatibility to traditional phones. Instead, we can go with a free, PC based VoIP solution. All that's needed is a headset and a free account with a VoIP provider.

That is where a service called Skype comes in. Skype was created by the same folks responsible for the Kazaa peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing service; it brings P2P communications to voice users. Simply put, Skype can turn any Internet-connected computer into a telephone. What's more, calling other Skype users anywhere in the world is absolutely free. That can deliver a huge cost savings to system builders and their customers, while adding value to users' freshly purchased PCs.

Getting Started With Skype

Getting started is simply a matter of signing up for the service and downloading the Skype client. But before we step through that, let's explore the features that make Skype such a good fit for tech support:

• Portability: Skype works on any computer connected anywhere on the Internet, making it great for off-hour support.
• Supports live "chat," IM-style messaging for up to 48 concurrent users. Great for answering those "quick" customer questions.
• Supports conference calling for as many five users at a time. Also offers a method to support more than one customer at the same time or to bring another tech into the call.
• Supports File Transfer, a great way to send patches and drivers to a user.
• Multi-Platform: Avabilable for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Pocket PC, allowing you to support all your customers with just one service.
• Offers call logs to track calls. This can be used for billing service calls.

There are several other features, too, but you can discover those as you play with Skype. For now, let's start getting Skype to work:

• Make a quick visit to the Skype site, and get information on downloading the client software, selecting your OS, and starting the download.
• Once you've downloaded the software, launch the application. A setup wizard, shown below, takes you through the steps.
• It's not a bad idea to have Skype load automatically. After all, you may find your self using this VoIP product a lot! During setup, you can set Skype to load automatically each time you start your PC. You should consider doing this.
• Here is where the fun begins! Select a user name, password, and so on to get going. Tip: Select a user name that makes sense. For example: XYZ Computer Support. This will help when you search for users, as explained below in Step 7. The screen shot below shows the creating a new account:
• Once you've set up the account, you have a clear management console to control calling or find users, as shown below.
• Or you have a handy setup wizard (Fig Q) offers set up options that any one can adapt to. That helps to make the first-time user experience a lot easier, as the point and click interface proves to be self-explanatory.
• Finding other users is easy: Just search by name. That is why assigning a clear user name (see Step 4 above) is so important. The screen shot below shows a user search-results page:

As you can see, Skype offers communications power that most any system builder can benefit from. Skype also creates a selling point for system builders. You can bundle Skype with your PCs and offer "Free Unlimited World Wide Phone Calls" along with instant, free tech support. What's more, add-on sales from headsets and other services and products (such as Webcams) can also help to fatten margins.

All a system builder needs is a little innovation and some thinking outside of the box. With these two products, you can offer solutions that the big-box retailers and mail-order giants just can't touch.

CAROL ANN MUFF is operations manager at Magnum Computer Consulting, a provider of custom integration services for professional offices. She has no commercial interest in any of the products and services mentioned in this recipe.