December 2010 Issue PDF - ENX Magazine

MPS FOCUS We Saw It In ENX Magazine DECEMBER 2010www.alscopiers.comLate Model Machines & Repos.Inventory Online!For real time inventory updates and featured equipmentfollow us on twitter@twitter.com/alscopiers We Also Buy Surplus Copiers Call for Customer referrals Export Customers Welcome Professionally Packed Containers Find Everything You Need In Our45,000 sq. ft. Warehouse!The Most Experienced & Reliable Wholesaler In the NationCOPIERS PRINTERS FAXESCaliforniaToll Free: 866-727-3750Phone: 949-727-3750Fax: 949-727-38509701 Research Dr. Ste.100Irvine, California 92618continued from 28IS AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME MAKING YOU AVERAGE?importance, respectively. However, even guarantees of providingsame-day or four-hour response only appeared in a third ofcustomer contracts. Furthermore, the study clearly shows thatdifferentiation is key in first-time customer's award. However,with repeat engagements for MPS on the rise, delivery of ontimeand effective service is critical evidence used by your customerin contract renewal.One argument might be that offering guarantees of service levelsmight create a punitive system where the dealer would sufferbecause response times cannot be met consistently.However, I might challenge those who believe the standardbenchmark of average service response time will continue to beacceptable to customers.In an MPS solution, the customer is buying the outcome youprovide, and measurements of uptime and utilization are muchmore effective in telling a customer if they are getting what theypaid for.In a sales engagement, your customer is asking one key question,"Can I trust you to deliver a solution to my particular problem,consistently?" In that instance, your service history andsupport of most accounts stands as your greatest testimonial torenewal. Ask what value your company could bring by establishinga crisp, easy-to-understand scorecard, including yourcommitment to service select devices and drive toward sustainedavailability. Surely, you will be held to this standard, andthe failure to meet such a standard may well be your main concern.However, have you thought about being your customer'saccountability partner and trusted advisor by using this balancedscorecard to elevate your elite team above the typicalantics everyone else plays out each and every contract renewalcycle? Will they pay you more for this 'personal trainer' style ofservice? Perhaps, but more importantly you should be askingyourself who is already offering this to your customer in otherareas of their lives and whether you are minding the gap thiscreates. uAs a senior consultant with the Photizo Group, Ken Stewartcomes from and works directly with channel providers in themanaged services space, developing educational tools andresources to promote lasting business transformation(http://mpswin.com). Ken also owns and operates an industrynicheblog, ChangeForge (http://changeforge.com), focusingupon the collision between the constantly changing worlds ofbusiness and technology in an information-centric world.30enx magazine