As the pandemic effects spurs digital adoption among businesses of all sizes, IT resellers need to be agile, according to Sage.
Vice-President: Services for Africa and Middle East at Sage, P.J. Bishop said recently, “Each reseller needs to relook its revenue models and skills to keep pace with the transition to the cloud. Resellers will also need to find new ways to add value and differentiate themselves to recapture traditional revenues streams lost in the shift from software licence deals towards recurring, subscription-based revenues.”
Bishop notes that IT resellers traditionally relied on face-to-face interactions to drive sales and the customer experience. Now, the customer journey in the B2B world is more digital than ever.
Digital-led B2B customer experiences
“As such, most resellers are moving more of their customer support and engagement onto the web. Honing digital experiences should be a key focus in the months to come. Resellers need to become genuinely customer-centric, and they cannot do this unless they know and understand their customers,” says Bishop.
“It’s also about using data to understand what customers need and providing them with personalised, consistent experiences on their journeys across multiple touchpoints and channels. Resellers should be visible through all digital channels, including search and social rather than only on legacy billboards, newspapers or at events.”
Channels matters more than ever
Resellers have a significant role to play in scaling up medium-sized businesses. Companies are becoming serious about using technologies such as automation and analytics to grow, according to Bishop. Channel partners need to bring business consulting and technical skills to the table. Their customers want advice about digital transformation and enhancing business processes – and they need the skills to do so.
Resellers need to keep assessing whether their value proposition is still valid for the customers they serve, “They need to roll with the punches and take an agile approach to the go-to-market strategy. New ways of work and work-from-home policies are going to create different behaviours. Channel partners who listen to their customers and adopt a customer-centric approach, coupled with their agility to change the way they go to market, will thrive,” Bishop added.
