Mark Hansinger, Vice President, US Sales, OKI Data Americas
Recognizing the importance of dealer feedback and coinciding with the inroads it has been making into the BTA channel, OKI Data Americas recently created its Dealer Council. The Council met for the first time in December of 2015 at OKI Data headquarters in Mount Laurel, NJ.
The formation of a Dealer Council is actually an extension of OKI Data’s ongoing commitment to long-term channel growth and success. The Council, which meets quarterly, will serve as an advisory board to drive strategy and provide recommendations for the development and expansion of products, solutions and programs to benefit and strengthen the channel.
The OKI Data Dealer Council has 12 members, each serving a two-year term (with an option to serve an additional year). As principals within their organizations, each representative has an average of 10-15 years of industry experience. Council members represent different regions of the country and dealerships with revenues ranging from less than $5 million to more than $50 million.
This is a wise move on OKI Data’s part as the BTA channel is critical to the company’s overall growth strategy. Last month we spoke with Mark Hansinger, vice president, US Sales, OKI Data Americas, about why the time was right to form a Dealer Council along with OKI Data’s expectations for the Council going forward.
“We’ve been experiencing double-digit growth the last couple of years and as we put our plan together for 2016, which starts April 1, we are looking for outside guidance, feedback and perspective, and the Council is a great way to do it,” explains Hansinger.
Prior to the formation of the Council, dealer feedback originated from one-on-one interactions as well as surveys.
OKI’s expectations for the Dealer Council are realistic and besides help with direction, Hansinger expects validation for some of the things that OKI is doing already, as well as suggestions as to how to approach things differently with an emphasis on products, pricing, promotions, and programs.
Overall the initial meeting was more of a tactical interaction and an introduction of what OKI and the Council will be looking at going forward. Initial discussions centered around what OKI’s product looks like today, what it will look like going forward and even a couple of years out-more of a product roadmap.
“We spent a lot of time talking about what works best for them and what works best for us,” reports Hansinger. “Generally speaking they said, ‘We need good product, sellable product; good responsive service; and good programs.’ Things that will make it profitable for them and for us to maintain our profitability too.”
OKI dealers can expect to see some changes and additions to OKI programs based on the feedback that was shared at that first meeting. Council members had a lot of questions about the expansion of OKI’s product line with a particular emphasis on its new wide format products, resulting from OKI’s recent acquisition of Seiko I Infotech, a manufacturer of wide format printers.
“They’re excited about it,” says Hansinger. “Production is moving into the BTA market more and more, and that should be a good spot for us. It’s a great revenue stream from a consumables standpoint.”
Overall, Hansinger is optimistic that the Council will have a positive impact on OKI, particularly as it ventures into new markets. He has high hopes too that this endeavor will encourage more dealers to make OKI their second line.
Acknowledging that OKI doesn’t expect to be the top line, Hansinger says, “But we certainly want to be number two. We’ve put a number of things in place to do that (profitability, products, and expansion of the production line, for example). That’s our goal and a straightforward goal to try and attain.”
OKI Data Americas recently convened the inaugural meeting of its BTA Dealer Council. The Dealer Council will serve as the voice of the customer_ providing valuable insight and strategic counsel to OKI Data. Photographed here are Dealer Council members together with executives and channel team representatives from OKI Data Americas.
