Several years ago, CS3 changed our business model to offer only fixed fee engagements (CS3 Price Protection™) and satisfaction with money-back guarantee (CS3 Confidence Contracts™).
A money-back guarantee, also known as a satisfaction guarantee, is essentially a simple promise that, if a buyer is not satisfied with a product or service, a refund will be made. With small purchases of simple products or services, money back is a fine thing. Satisfaction guarantee rather than money-back is what buyers of large system purchases really want.
A guarantee is put in place to minimize risk to the buyer. The real danger lies with the ability to get the system up and running. Of course, this is what CS3 and client both want – a fully operational software solution. We have the same desired goal. The client wants the problem solved. CS3 wants a happy client. Both end goals are achieved with the software is running effectively.
Purchases of products or services with great complexity or long implementation times should always offer a Satisfaction Guarantee. The purchase was entered to solve a specific group of problems. “So what,” one might ask if only the money is to be returned. The clients’ problem still exists. In fact, the problem is probably magnified now due to lost time and energy.
CS3, in its twenty-five-plus years of business, has always delivered projects with complete satisfaction as the end goal. We just didn’t promote that our core business model was based on this principle. Anytime an implementation fell short of a client’s expectation, our team would rally to provide what was needed to achieve approval from the client. The “extra” work might include additional training, customization to a report or two, tailoring a screen and occasionally much more. We did what it took to make sure the client was satisfied and now have a great referral base among our clients as a result.
Our contracts now make this long standing CS3 core principle and formal promise. If our client is not satisfied, we don’t jump to a refund, rather we work as a team to solve the issue at hand. In complex implementations, there may be several small issues to be resolved. We will take the time necessary to make sure that all items are addressed.
With years of experience in software implementation and business process re-engineering, we are confident in our ability to make systems work. Our reputation is at stake; therefore, you can feel more confident to make your acquisition.
Besides trust you also have the opportunity of ‘testing’ the product and services. After a certain period, you will be able to reject the product purchased on the grounds of dissatisfaction with the overall quality of the product.
In the end, if we still fall short, your money will be refunded. That is a promise.
