Business perpetuity is a beautiful thing. People, by nature, seem to gravitate toward developing long-term relationships with those entities they do business with, but it can be a fragile bond. One tragic misstep can undo years of fostering goodwill between a vendor and end-user.
But as we know, contracts have beginning and endpoints, and for office dealers who provide managed print services, it is that performance between the signing and expiration that will go a long way toward ensuring a renewal or expanded relationship with the end-user. As part of this month’s State of the Industry focus on MPS, we asked our dealer panel how its account management style provides the necessary customer satisfaction to maintain its client base.
Doing Better Business of Altoona, Pennsylvania, makes it a point to seek out negative feedback during its quarterly business reviews. Since clients tend not to stress negative points until they become major issues, catching the problems when they are minor annoyances will help de-escalate a potential minefield.
“It is important that every member of our team inside an organization is constantly aware and looking for this feedback,” said Joe Dellaposta, owner and COO of Doing Better Business. “By responding to this feedback, making the necessary changes to improve ourselves and then communicating these changes back to the customer, is how we continue to build loyalty.”
One of the fundamental rules of growth is to not shrink, notes Dan Larkin, director of managed print services for St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Marco. This follows the widely accepted notion that it is easier to keep a client than it is to earn a new one. That’s where a dedicated account management team—focused on client satisfaction and renewals—comes into play.
“We’re actively seeking feedback and reviews from our clients in an effort to consistently improve the experience,” Larkin said. “Our ability to adapt and evolve to changing business conditions helps us retain our clients.”
Karen Mullin, director of sales-MPS for KDI Office Technology of Aston, Pennsylvania, believes the most important factor is maintaining uptime by providing service response times that exceed client expectations while furnishing automated consumable delivery and meter retrieval.
“We also provide our clients with a partnership where we continually work with them to decrease costs throughout the contract term,” Mullin added.
Proven Success
Big Apple dealer Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office has a demonstrated track record of MPS client retention. President and CEO Larry Weiss notes that more than 45% of the firm’s managed print client base is comprised of clients that have renewed their MPS agreement at least once beyond the initial three-year term. In fact, at least a dozen customers have utilized the dealer’s MPS services for more than 10 years.
“We are more than a vendor for our clients; we pride ourselves on the partnership we create with our clients,” Weiss said. “We provide periodic updates on their printer fleets, offer suggestions for reducing cyber risks and advise them how they can reduce the number of print assets. While this last suggestion may seem counter-intuitive, the fact is that we bundle multiple services together, so while the click volume may decrease, we see an increase in revenue from alternatives like PaperCut and technology solutions.”
At Stargel Office Solutions of Houston, the dealer has dedicated consultants whose sole job is to sell and maintain MPS contracts. By prioritizing MPS, Stargel is able to provide an unmatched level of attention and service, according to T.J. DeBello, vice president of sales.
“Customer retention can be credited to the multiple steps that we take pre-sale and, equally important, our follow-up and execution post-sale,” he said. “Client business reviews provide us with an opportunity to reach out to the client multiple times a year, and gives us numerous opportunities to guarantee that the customer is satisfied.”
Fraser Advanced Information Systems of West Reading, Pennsylvania, relies on managed print specialists to work in tandem with account executives to ensure their program is yielding the desired results, according to Melissa Confalone, vice president of sales. Quarterly business reviews help monitor progress and identify changes necessary to more clearly define the end-user’s needs.
Extra Mile
Confalone also believes the ability to provide valuable add-on services, such as printer security, is a key to demonstrating program value. “Most MPS providers can go into a company and consolidate some small printers with a large MFP and save them a few bucks,” she said. “Being able to truly evaluate their print needs, create a custom plan that meets those needs and provide added value through education is what keeps them clients.”
Performance and issues need to be hashed out during quarterly business reviews, which is critical to ensuring that end-users aren’t canvassing other regional providers to take the reins of their MPS needs once the contract is up. Pulse Technology CEO Chip Miceli loves to keep close tabs on the mindset of customers, as evidenced by the company’s name.
“We are always communicating with customers, even during the pandemic via Zoom,” he said. “We talk with our clients about what’s going on in the MPS space, offer strategies about what is new, and assess what changes we’d recommend that they make. We always strive to be proactive in our approach.”
