Tuesday, January 12, 2010

A Customer-Centric Buying Experience

Nearly three years ago now, my wife and I bought our first home. It's a rewarding experience, and one that is tightly woven into the "American Dream." I was (and am) very proud to be a home-owner. But, for being such a staple of American society, it is really a treacherous process where good advice is hard to find. For example: we're now getting ready to have our first child... there's classes, brochures, DVD's and hordes of mothers who offer their advice. With home buying... there seemed to be an unspoken expectation that we figure it our for ourselves.

One of the major pitfalls we fortunately avoided was in selecting a mortgage. I have banked with the same bank for my entire adult life. They gave me my first checking account, my first car loan, my small business credit when I wanted to strike out on my own... why wouldn't I get my mortgage there, too? I filled out an application, they told me my rate, and that was that. Right? Wrong!

You see, the bank I was with was very good at lending to large property owners with established credit (I'm a farm-kid... it was my dad's bank he used to finance the farm). But that wasn't me. So, where did I turn? If you're an experienced home-owner, you're already shaking your head at me. I called a mortgage broker, of course. He took my information, knew which lenders would suit my situation best, and then shopped them all for the best rate.

In short, I chose the lender that met my needs instead of paying a premium because I didn't meet one lender's needs. It's what we call a customer-centric buying experience.

Accel-Networks is the only multi-carrier wireless broadband provider in the U.S. Why does that matter? In short, Accel is the broker of wireless broadband. But, it's even more customer-centric than that. Whereas a mortgage is an all-or-nothing deal, a wireless network has multiple sites all interconnected. With Accel Networks, each location is matched to the best wireless carrier on a discreet basis, and yet Accel assimilates one network with one SLA managed by one vendor: Accel.

If you're considering wireless broadband for any or all of your applications, don't limit your options. Go with the only provider with a multi-carrier reach.

Labels: Broadband, Customer-Centric, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Multi-Carrier, Wireless