Find the right piece of the puzzle

Stephen Bell, marketing manager, printing solutions and services division, Lexmark Australia and New Zealand
“Perhaps the most critical element is having the time to ask more questions to fully understand what the customer’s issues are and what they really need. Businesses typically spend more on output devices than they realise. Output is not only an area for significant savings, but also one where customers can obtain great improvements in staff productivity and address key issues they are currently facing such as document management and legislative compliancy.

Having this additional information allows a reseller to create a more customised offer that is more likely to add value for the customer and differentiate the reseller from the competitors.

“Understand what you do well and who your target market is. If you have gaps in your knowledge or offer or are looking to build capability, look to leverage the knowledge and experience of your vendors. Aligning yourself with a well-known vendor can also build your own reseller brand.

Focus on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), not just hardware or running costs. Focusing on TCO is what truly saves organisations money over time. TCO is ongoing and customers need to know that they are actually realising the savings that were outlined in the initial sales process. This is where managed print services are valuable. Offers such as TotalCare not only offer attractive TCO savings, but they also help customers measure and actually realise these savings over time, through an ongoing review of what is happening courtesy of reporting and fleet management tools.”

Eve Chen, marketing communications manager, Konica Minolta
“It is critical to create a differentiating identity and position it effectively in the marketplace. This differentiation point should be based on reseller’s unique strengths, whether it’s personalised service, expert knowledge, supply efficiency or one-stop shop for IT solutions. Based on this unique position then resellers can identify the right audience and fulfil the needs in that marketplace.

“We also provide sales training and extensive sales tools, point of sale materials, lead generation programs and a demo program. In addition there is partnership support such as personalised marketing/sales consulting based on individual business SWOT to achieve the maximum revenue/profit outcomes.”

David Finn, managing director, Kyocera
“Kyocera resellers have access to a dedicated secure website which contains marketing and sales support resources that is updated on a regular basis. We also provide personalised corporate advertising material for their local use and an incentive program that rewards resellers performance with fantastic prizes, cash rewards and Qantas Frequent Flyer points.”

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