Survey: Customer service rules

Customer service is the most important factor in choosing a supplier of IT products and services, according to a new survey of federal government information technology purchasers.

Federal buyers "are looking at support as a differentiator, not just cost," said Lisa Dezzutti, president of Market Connections Inc., a Fairfax, Va., firm that conducted the survey.

The firm interviewed 565 high-level federal IT decision-makers in the Department of Defense and civilian agencies during the last three months of 2002.

Federal buyers identified three areas where suppliers could make improvements: understanding agency business process, increasing overall responsiveness and delivering proactive customer support. The company's third Annual Federal IT Marketing Survey was released May 19 and is available at http://www.marketconnectinc.com.