In an ultra-competitive market, differentiation is king.
End user enterprises look for it constantly, of course: scrutinising every aspect of procurement through the age-old lenses of functionality and price.
But for Managed Service Providers and Value Added Resellers, there is often more to differentiation than first meets the eye.
Choose a vendor partner well and a reseller can not only help its customers grow; it can bake-in some pretty dependable growth of its own too.
Sure, the solutions have to work.
But if they also come with carrier-grade reliability, brilliant pre-and-post sales support AND high-margin returns, then it can be a match made in heaven.
Throw huge market opportunity into the mix and, well, you get the picture…
“Approximately, only 50 per cent of small-medium sized enterprises in the US have so far adopted cloud-based communications technology – and small, local MSPs and VARs are very well-placed to address that market,” says Mike Nowak, Senior Vice President of Sales at US-based global mid-market managed services provider BCM One, whose white-labeled unified communications platform ‘SkySwitch’ is delivering on that opportunity.
“We know what it takes for MSPs and their customers to be successful. Often, those things are the same: providing products and solutions that work and that are reliable; being able to respond quickly and effectively to customer needs; and having the vision and expertise to guide and support.
“For MSPs who provide their customers with a white-labeled solution, all of those deliverables become super-important because they have to stand behind it.
“It’s why we place dedicated resource around the ways in which we take SkySwitch to market and the ways in which we support our resellers.
“It’s why they are able to capitalise so well.”
White-labeling, of course, is the essence of the channel for those MSPs that own the customer relationship.
Mutuality means that, as one party enjoys success, so do all the others in the sales chain.
But brand a UCaaS solution as your own – as is encouraged in the case of BCM One’s SkySwitch – and the stakes are raised.
MSPs and VARs can wrap as much added service around a customer relationship as they want; but if their core provider relationship isn’t delivering on all fronts, everything is a struggle.
It starts with the solution itself.
In the case of SkySwitch, it’s a full, slick UCaaS experience for SMEs: softphone; mobile app; voice, Microsoft Teams integration etc. – all the functionality needed for an organisation to replicate its head office processes on to any connected device, anywhere, at any time.
And BCM One owns the IP, so it’s super-reliable, customizable and scalable.
Next comes provider support.
SkySwitch scores heavily here too.
BCM One provides reseller partners with comprehensive pre-sale training, instructors, video libraries, a go to market strategy that assures success and profitability, and ongoing leadership support designed to foster thriving and long-term customer relationships.
Finally: margin.
Sky Switch resellers benefit from BCM One’s build-your-own price model; government compliance training and billing platform support.
In return for a modest commitment, it is delivering resellers up to 70 per cent margins.
“We all know that feature differentiation is not that big, so we look to differentiate elsewhere,” says Nowak.
“We make it easy for our reseller partners to work with us and we ensure they make high level returns on their investment.
“Our support is key for the MSP and reseller and their customers.
“We believe passionately in the value of small and medium-sized resellers who know their markets and who are in touch with their local customers. Enterprises like to feel connected to their providers, particularly SMEs who perhaps don’t have IT departments and who look to their provider for that extra close support.
“That kind of local-level accountability counts for so much.”
MSPs and VARs partnering with the right vendor also get access to that vendor’s wider offering – providing them with upsell opportunities.
“The untapped market is huge,” says Nowak.
“Half of SMEs in the US still have on-premises phone and communication systems, and remote working is only going to become more popular as employees continue to work away from the office”
“The market is wide open and should be hugely exciting for MSPs and VARs.
“That has to be exciting for us too.”
To learn more about how partnering with SkySwitch, BCM One’s white-label brand, can transform your business, visit www.skyswitch.com
