The year gone by has posed a wave of unprecedented challenges for our business. We were forced to quickly adapt, while changing how and where we worked. Face-to-face meetings were replaced by Zoom and Skype calls, and the lack of human contact—still such a fundamental part of our business—meant we had to find new ways of delivering outstanding customer service.
The entire landscape of our industry suddenly appears very different compared to this time last year. Customer behaviors and needs have changed. To be successful in 2021, we must do an even better job of understanding their pains and delivering the solutions they need to add value to their business.
There is no one sure-fire strategy for dealer success in the year ahead. Instead, it will be those that are able to meet the hardware, software and security needs of hybrid workplaces, while delivering a proactive and personalized service to customers, that will make major gains.
New challenges
This will be the year of hybrid working. While some of us will have returned to the office, at least in some shape or form, a significant number of employees across all industries will continue to work from home.
They’ll need the right tools to be able to work efficiently and securely, and this is conditioning our business strategies. The initial chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided and organizations now have no excuses; a new approach to working requires new solutions.
Dealers will have a crucial role to play in this respect; their expertise and experience will be invaluable in helping clients evaluate and understand their weaknesses, while providing them with the solutions they need to drive their business forward.
Naturally, the pains and needs of each organization are different, and the shift toward hybrid working will see a greater importance placed on personalized solutions. Dealers, too, will need to evolve.
The traditional hardware-centric approach is no longer sufficient to stand out from the crowd. Beyond “speeds and feeds,” we must continue to develop ways to create “outside-the-box” value.
Galvanization Through Diversification
In recent years, we’ve seen A3 printers dominate the market, but with the rise of remote working, dealers must be prepared for the shift towards personal A4 printers.
Remote working is no longer a novelty, and workers have turned their attention to quality. They demand compact, reliable and durable printing devices that guarantee professional output and stand the test of time.
Having recently been named Best A4 MFP Manufacturer at The Cannata Report’s Frank Awards, we at Kyocera are extremely well positioned to convert living rooms or home offices into professional remote workspaces across the country.
To complement new device trends, successful dealers will position themselves as complete solutions providers. Key to this will be strengthening areas such as document management, enterprise content management (ECM) and IT solutions.
The pandemic has challenged and changed the very nature of work; we’ve never seen this level of mobility or flexibility across all industries with regards to where, when and how people work. This era demands a new mindset.
With teams spread across locations, organizations need software solutions that allow them to share documents and information quickly and securely. Cloud-based services will be one of the key pillars upon which hybrid working will be constructed and developed.
However, with the freedom and endless possibilities that come with mobility, we must also acknowledge that this period of change has created tremendous challenges for our customers in terms of security, efficiency, costs and employee productivity.
Managed Print Services
With the increase in remote and hybrid working, the number of devices accessing shared databases from multiple locations continues to skyrocket. Organizations now have on-site and home-based printers, and many are struggling to maintain control over print volumes, costs and security.
This level of uncertainty creates a tremendous opportunity for dealers to become trusted digital transformation partners. The demand for print investment optimization and greater control over dispersed fleets will almost certainly see managed print services (MPS) providers enjoy a strong 2021.
Moreover, for the foreseeable future, companies will continue to look for ways to limit site visits from external parties unless absolutely necessary. This adds greater value to the MPS given its ability to offer remote servicing and updates, while its proactive approach means potential issues are addressed before they even happen. Uptime will be boosted drastically, while the need for service technician site visits is minimized.
During these uncertain times, predictability is invaluable, and more and more companies will edge toward fixed plans with an added degree of flexibility (with the ability to dial up or down). This is a mere reflection of how we are evolving as consumers; we want packages tailored to our specific needs. When it comes to printing, no CFO wants to leave money on the table.
Greater mobility will demand greater digitization. Hybrid workspaces will naturally be paperless, but the need to print will still exist, and companies will look to print smarter. Achieving this becomes a whole lot easier with accurate, transparent data or, in a nutshell, with MPS.
It is widely anticipated that hybrid working will experience immense growth in the coming year. This will see organizations demand scalable solutions that grow alongside their business and enable them to add solutions and capabilities along the way. Dealers must have the tools to facilitate this.
MPS providers who get it right will be proactive; they’ll have the expertise and tools to identify and address issues before they arise and will provide the right solutions for real busines pains. Their role in the digital transformation cannot be overstated.
Protecting the Future
Data is rightly considered one of the most important assets at any company’s disposal. Therefore, protecting this information in the hybrid working age—an era of greater mobility and cybersecurity threats—is a major challenge for today’s businesses.
Results from industry reports have shown that many organizations still place a significantly greater level of importance on IT security than they do on print and document security. But they do so at their own peril.
When it comes to security, a one-size-fits-all approach no longer applies. Each organization is unique, and dealers must tailor their security solutions accordingly, taking into account things such as current capabilities, pain areas, security gaps and future strategies.
This period of immense disruption has accelerated trends that were already beginning to shape the future of our industry. We’ve been forced to overcome many challenges, but we’ve done so by working together.
Looking to the year ahead, I’m bullish about the new opportunities that will arise. But they will demand us to become more agile, work smarter and create even greater value for our customers.
The hybrid working area will require dealers to take a more holistic approach to document solutions. Those who find the sweet spot between great people, exceptional technology, and sound customer understanding will reap the rewards.
