This article was originally published in the Summer 2019 issue of The Record. Subscribe for FREE here to get the next issue delivered directly to your inbox.
When I started Transparity with Colin Macandrew as a Microsoft cloud pure play partner, the most important consideration for our new company was that we didn’t want to be like everyone else. We wanted to be different. Throw a stone and you’ll hit any number of identical IT companies – all claiming to be the best at what they do – so how could we differentiate ourselves from them? What do our potential customers want to see? To us, it was obvious.
Transparity quite literally stands for ‘transformation’, ‘partnership’ and ‘clarity’, and that’s an ethos that is deeply ingrained in everything we do. That’s essentially what makes us different from so many others: no matter what, we hold our customers and their needs in the highest regard. And that means doing right by them as a trusted partner. Integrity is paramount; we’ll never push a partner or prospect towards new or legacy technology simply because that means a bigger profit for us. This commitment to transparency and to service excellence underpins our company culture and ensures that we constantly strive to ensure that our customers are happy.
For me, this is a pledge that every single company should have, because what’s the point of spending money on marketing and sales efforts, only to drive them away by not taking care of them? Tempting though it is to go for the quick win and to focus completely on the bottom line, in my opinion this is a short-sighted approach.
That’s not to say that making a profit isn’t important; with a recent report from Gartner stating that 80% of a company’s future revenue will come from 20% of its existing customers, it’s clear that it makes good commercial sense. But a company that really takes the time to care for and understand their customers and their needs is a rarity these days, and when you do you separate yourself from the pack. Add to this the fact that our strong partnership with Microsoft means we’re at the forefront of public cloud technology – enabling us to drive significant digital transformation and cost efficiencies – with Transparity you not only get unparalleled technical expertise (I’m certain we employ some of the best in the business), but also a trusted partner who’s committed to doing the right thing.
So, what do our customers need from us? Put simply: integrity; respect; and for us to deliver. I couldn’t be happier to say that our near-perfect customer retention is testament to the fact we do just that.
David Jobbins is co-founder and CEO at Transparity
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