Print.IT Reseller - issue 55

26 01732 759725 OPINION Managed print services are continuing to grow in popularity among SMBs, with Brother alone seeing its MPS business increasing by an annual rate of 90 per cent in the UK. It’s a result of more businesses recognising how printer leasing solutions with outsourced maintenance, can help them to boost productivity, increase efficiency and reduce costs. By implementing MPS, businesses can transform print infrastructures to realise benefits including increased transparency in terms of print usage, which in turn helps to reduce costs by as much as 30 per cent. Of course, there are many other benefits that MPS can bring to an SMB, so it’s no surprise that we’re seeing a shift from vendors and the channel towards supplying print systems via contractual value-added services, rather than transactional business models. As the market continues to move in the direction of services, it represents both a huge opportunity and a challenge for channel resellers to get to grips with. It’s a transition that will require carefully considered change across key business functions to successfully attract, service and retain customers. Shifting to services requires a refreshed approach to marketing. Brand messaging and tactics need to be revised to effectively communicate the value that a reseller can deliver through services. It’s a different approach to the box shifting of products and needs to encompass the entire marketing mix, from direct marketing through to personal selling. Changing the conversation Fundamentally, the shift to services requires marketing communications to change from a product focus to solutions messaging. Then, a variety of platforms may need to be employed to deliver meaningful content to current or potential customers. In Brother UK’s own transition towards services, for example, we’ve worked in collaboration with titles including The Telegraph and The Guardian , to deliver insightful, trusted content about MPS that’s useful to both IT managers and a broader business audience. While platforms don’t have to take the form of national news outlets, channel firms need a pedestal, like their own website, social media feeds, or a customer’s trade media, to provide insight on areas of interest, be it vertical expertise or broader market knowledge. In doing this, they should take the focus off ‘product pushing’ and salesy language to become a trusted source of information, sharing knowledge and advice about the challenges or opportunities facing their end-customers. Increasing visibility across digital platforms is also important for channel partners to be seen and heard as service providers. For example, we’ve adapted the content on Brother’s website to As the market continues its transition from transactional business models towards providing print-as-a-service, Mike Anderson, Head of Marketing at Brother UK, examines how marketing communications need to change to attract and retain MPS customers Marketing communications need to change to attract and retain MPS customers outline how our solutions can solve common pain points in businesses, like productivity or cost burdens. One of the key channels by which we distribute meaningful content is an online hub called Spark. The Spark hub is a platform for us to share business solutions focused content, that isn’t necessarily focused on Brother. We currently have content aimed towards SMBs, healthcare, education and retail, so when seeking out information, IT managers are able to find relevant and useful content whatever their sector. We also write about hot, on-trend topics which are highly talked about, such as collaboration, productivity and efficiency, all key things that businesses want to know how to improve because of the benefits they can bring. By going through a digital transformation and changing the conversation between the company and its customers, channel partners will be able to directly speak to desired verticals and grow their profile as a trusted, key source of information in the sector. Shifting tactics A revised content strategy needs to be linked up with search engine optimisation (SEO). SEO is equally as important as channel firms switch to services, but the terms that we’d want to rank for are of course different. Dealerships need to develop website content that helps them to be visible for search terms like ‘benefits of managed print services’ rather than just ‘office printers’, for example. While the market remains in a transition period, SMBs will be doing a lot of research about print-as- a-service, and this is a great opportunity for the channel to be seen as having the answers, which is the first step in being viewed as a trusted services provider. Once an informative, relevant, timely content strategy has been developed, a social strategy also needs to come into consideration to disseminate content. The Spark hub is a platform for us to share business solutions focused content, that isn’t necessarily focused on Brother Mike Anderson Continued...