Lighthouse Consulting was founded in 1999 to address gaps in the small to medium technology market that owner/operator Brett identified. As a lead Microsoft Certified Trainer for a network training and consulting company, Brett witnessed firsthand how small to medium businesses often fell into a repetitive cycle with their IT service providers—both as a customer and as a trainer for future IT professionals. He identified three major areas for improvement:

• Commitment to Customers
  One of the biggest challenges for small to medium-sized businesses is the short-term relationships with IT service providers. In 1999, the average partnership lasted only 12-18 months. Many smaller IT firms took on small clients merely as a survival strategy until larger clients came along, resulting in a lack of commitment to existing customers.
• Poor Customer Service
  Another critical issue was the tendency for technology professionals to focus more on technology than on the people they serve. While this doesn’t mean they couldn’t provide quality service, it often led to interactions that left customers feeling confused, intimidated, or frustrated—barriers that resulted in perceptions of poor customer service.
• One-Size-Fits-All Solutions
  Finally, many technology companies were rooted in enterprise IT, offering solutions designed for large organizations at high price points. Small to medium businesses were often forced to compromise on their IT needs or overspend on unnecessary services.

Fast forward 25 years, and little has changed in how customers are treated. Many IT firms have become so sales-driven that their bottom line often dictates IT decisions, overshadowing the long-term needs of customers and their businesses.

For Lighthouse, we continue to stick to our 5 Simple Rules for customer success which has helped us grow our business nearly on referrals alone.  Why?  Because our clients see what we do for their business, and they can’t keep the good news to themselves. And that’s just the response we set out to achieve when we started this company back in 1999.