What To Look For When Choosing A Small Business IT Support Company

In theory, all of the software, platforms, and interfaces you use to run your business would work exactly how you need them to any time you need them. But unfortunately, we do not live in this idealized world, and sometimes even the best technologies can run into issues. So when something goes wrong (and it will, as Murphy’s Law states), your small business needs to have the right measures in place to overcome the problem.

Now, you may be able to handle some of the more common IT practices, such as issuing privacy statements and managing your basic IT infrastructure essentials. But, regarding the more complicated aspects of your IT support strategy, you may need to look for external solutions. This is where small business IT services come into the picture.

This article will explore why these services are crucial for your business as well as what to look for in an SMB IT support company to ensure you are getting the right solutions for your business’s needs.

Why Are Small Business IT Services Crucial for Your SMB?

As a small business, you likely do not have a lot of capital to invest in services like IT support and impressive software solutions. In fact, while, on average, it takes $30,000 to start a business, around 33% of small businesses get started with less than $5,000. If you are starting out without much, you may be hesitant to spend money on something like external IT support services.

But, without these services, you may end up unable to tackle some of the technical challenges that arise in your business. This can result in unwanted downtime for your business, affecting your daily tasks and interrupting your customers’ experiences. If you have a professional IT support team, you can quickly and efficiently solve any problems and continue serving your customers. This is one of the major benefits of managed IT support for your business. Still, there are many others, including increased security, reduced IT services costs, and flexible IT service options.

What to Look for in Small Business IT Support Companies

Now that you understand the importance of small business IT support, you may wonder how to find the support your business needs.

Here we’ll explore some of the top influencing factors when selecting an IT support company for your small business.

Company Size

When you are looking for IT support services, you want to ensure that the provider you select is large enough to provide a variety of services but not so big that you get lost in a crowd of clients. As a small business, you need to keep your options open as you grow, and while working with a single IT support person or a one-stop-shop may be enough to get you started, as your business grows, you will want more diverse tech support to help you provide the best services to your customers.

Reputation and Experience

If you want good services, look for an IT support company with glowing reviews. While you can’t be 100% sure what it is like to work with a company before, well, working with them, you can get a reasonably good idea of their services, communication style, and customer satisfaction rate by looking at reviews and case studies. You may also be able to ask a company for references that you can contact to ask about their services.

Additionally, looking for qualifications and experience relevant to your business is crucial. One of the benefits of working with an experienced IT support provider is that they can help ensure that your business is complying with IT compliance standards.

The Services It Provides

Every small business has its own specific needs when it comes to IT services. For example, suppose you are a medical service provider. In that case, you may require your IT services to have HIPPA-certified security and be able to provide 24/7 support in the case of an emergency.

Another thing you want to keep in mind is whether or not the provider offers repairs and advising services. In other words, does the provider simply offer services for fixing issues as they arise, or does it also offer guidance on the best equipment for your needs and how to resolve minor tech issues on your own? The latter may be more expensive, but you’ll have a better time navigating new and more advanced technology as you begin implementing it in the long run.

Quick Response Times

The last thing you want from your support system is poor communication or lack of responsiveness. Not only can this cause additional frustration for your business, but it can also impact your overall customer experience and lead to unhappy clients as well. This is a huge issue in the services industry as customer service is quickly becoming one of the most important aspects of any business strategy.

No matter how incredible your product or service is, if you are unable to keep up with questions and concerns from customers (who are experiencing issues with your product or service), you will not be able to outshine your competitors in your customers’ eyes.

So, before signing a contract with any IT support company, establish clear expectations about the following topics.

• Response times for general support (ideally less than 24 hours)
• Response times for emergency support (ideally less than 12 hours)
• Policies about post-delivery support and maintenance

Re-Consulting Options

As a small business, it is typically most effective to opt for a “reactive” strategy of IT support, as it can help reduce IT costs. However, as a small business grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to continue improving the customer experience with just this strategy. Because of this, your business may want to change IT strategies to be “proactive” instead of reactive. While both IT support strategies can help your business fix issues as they arise, the primary difference between proactive and reactive IT support is as follows. Reactive support focuses on fixing things when they break, while proactive support focuses on anticipating problems and solving issues at the root.

Because you may want to change IT strategies as your business grows, selecting an IT support company that allows you to make this change is important. In other words, before entering a contract with an IT support provider, ensure that they allow re-consulting as your business changes.

24/7 Availability

No matter what type of business you have, a support team that is available 24/7 is the best option. This is because a tech problem could arise at any time. Now, suppose your support team is not available to fix it. In that case, you may be unable to properly serve a customer, complete crucial business tasks, or even access your company’s information during your workday.

Having someone who can monitor your network at all times can help you avoid these inconveniences and allow you to be more productive during your business’s operating hours. This is also crucial for businesses that operate or provide customer assistance at all hours.

Find the Best Small Business IT Support Today!

As you can see, managed IT support services can be incredibly beneficial to your business, but because there is a great variety of options, finding the right one may seem challenging. However, if you select your IT support company using the criteria above, you can find the perfect fit for your business.

So, whether you are already using an IT support service for your SMB and you are looking to upgrade, or you are looking to try out managed IT support services for the first time, contact us at Integrated Computer Services, New Jersey’s Leading Managed IT Service Provider, to learn more about what managed IT services can do for your business and how you can get started!