Channel service standards must evolve to face future challenges warns Brother

Brother is encouraging resellers to up their game when it comes to customer service and support following new insight on SME needs.

The continuing decline in the printer market illustrated by the latest Context figures highlights the challenges currently faced by resellers. As a result, the office tech specialist is seeking out new solutions to future-proof its channel partners.

As part of a wider research project, the company approached a panel of tech journalists to get their opinion on how resellers can increase their impact with SMEs.

The most common answer, cited by 21% of the journalists questioned was that resellers needed to provide more support and advice to their SME customers, who have little time and expertise and often end up making poor IT purchasing decisions as a result.

Nicola Brittain of Computing magazine explained that “the market for technology products, like printers and peripherals, is very complex and this creates challenges for small companies.”
Tech freelancer, Gareth Huw-Davies agreed, adding “sometimes small businesses suffer due to
poor support and service from providers.”

The issue of support came up frequently with the journalists interviewed for the research and trust was also mentioned as a problem, with freelancer Brian McKenna pointing out that “there are many suppliers in the market but the challenge companies are facing is the difficulty finding a reliable and trustworthy one.”

Phil Jones, sales and marketing director, Brother UK commented: “There’s no question that it’s tough out there at the moment. The printer industry is still waiting for the bounce-back that other IT sectors are currently experiencing so it’s crucial that resellers use any intelligence available to turn things around.

“We make a point of working closely with our resellers to provide them with the tools they need to increase their business success. This valuable insight, coupled with statistics such as the 14% and 42% growth in the mono and colour laser AIO markets respectively, is showing the channel where the opportunities are. There is growth in multifunction and by offering the right advice to their customers and explaining the benefits of these machines versus standalone printers, resellers can increase their margins by selling up and capitalize on a growing market.

“If the support and trust isn’t there, however, the whole thing falls apart. By providing SME customers with a reliable source of information and advice, resellers and vendors alike can build longer lasting, more trusting relationships with their customers and reap the benefits in terms of sales.”