Strategies for Supporting SMBs

Supporting the SMB market presents some unique challenges. How do you effectively support a non-technical customer using a very technical product? How do you provide great service to customers who aren’t willing to pay as much as larger customers but can be even more demanding in their expectations of you? Can you leverage VARs to help provide support?

About the Speaker

Jim Moore is Vice President of Customer Support with Sage Software. In this role he is responsible for all customer support operations for the Simply Accounting, Accpac, and SageCRM product lines. Jim joined Sage Software in 1996 and has held several different roles with the company as it has grown including VP of Customer Sport for Sage’s Mid Market Accounting Solutions Division (ACS), and Sr. VP of Information Services.

Mr. Moore has led the customer support services organization resulting in the company receiving numerous industry awards and recognition for excellence in customer service. This includes being awarded the prestigious STAR (Software Technical Assistance Recognition) award from the Software Support Professionals Association (SSPA) for five years in a row, placing Sage in the SSPA Hall of Fame. Sage was also one of the first companies in the industry to be certified under the Service Capability Program. He also led the design and implementation of new customer and partner support programs which resulted in dramatic growth in services revenue. He was also responsible for customer education department where he grew revenues significantly by expanding the nationwide training center network, implementing new training delivery vehicles including CBT and Web Based training, and implementing new partner certification programs. In his roles in Information Services he managed corporate business applications, help desk operations, network infrastructure, and telecommunications. He directed Information Services through several acquisitions and divestitures and ensured smooth integration of new businesses and maximized productivity of overall organization.

From 1993 to 1996, Mr. Moore held senior management positions with Symantec® (formerly Delrina Corporation) where he was senior director of information services and facilities, and director of operations. His responsibilities included customer support where he led the turnaround of Delrina’s customer technical support department. Delrina was awarded a STAR award in 1994. Mr. Moore led the information services and corporate facilities teams through a period of explosive growth at Delrina.

From 1987 to 1993, Mr. Moore worked for Lotus Development Canada where he was national customer support and service manager. He received his Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Computer Science from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta.