Aug 1, 2012

For many dealers, IT shops and VARs the idea of print management blossomed from an immediate need … A potential customer offered the opportunity to prepare a print management RFP … The process of gathering meters has become too time consuming … The service department is not proactive enough to avoid emergent situations.

These are good reasons to become involved in print management, but all too often, once various collection options have been evaluated, and the software chosen, the immediate need has passed.

Collection software needs to be deployed so that information from customers’ devices can start to flow.  Establishing a deployment process qualifies the dealership to be ready for the above situations.

Determining Target Customers

But, what about targets?  After all the preparation is done, and the right staff is chosen (see Archive for previous topic discussions), how does one decide where to start deploying the collection software?  When talking with our most successful clients, Print Tracker patrons tell us they research their files and talk with their own people first:

Talk with the Administrative staff:

• Talk to the accounts receivable team
  • List customers that have a dozen or more devices
  • List customers that require multiple calls, emails and faxes each month to get meter data
• Talk to the Service / Dispatch Manager(s)
  • Identify the customers who regularly call for service the day of big print jobs
  • Identify customers that ‘always’ seem to be needing service
• Talk with the supplies manager and team
  • Identify customers that ‘always’ seem to out of toner
  • Look for customers that get more supplies than contracts specify
  • Document customers call for toner frequently
  • Record which customers hive high volumes of print output

Talk with the Sales Team:

• Review sales consultant portfolios for MPS prospects
  • Determine which prospects show potential for print management
  • Learn of upcoming sales opportunities
  • Find out the names of potential customers that may or may not be in the pipeline

Customer Files are the Key:

• List the dealership’s top 5-10 ‘best’ customers
  • These could be identified as ‘friends’ of the business … those who have given ‘testimonials’
• Review the contracts (purchase, lease, service, supply and related documents)
  • Search for agreements and/or contracts are expiring soon
  • Look for aging and high output equipment may be in need of replacement
  • Identify customers who are in need of an account or fleet review
  • Compile the list; separating by month they are due
• Review ‘partial fleet’ customers (where the dealership has only a fraction of the total fleet)
  • Assessments across the entire fleet can be used discover output patterns
  • Existing devices may be replaced with new or more efficient MFPs
  • Equipment movement around the location may increase efficiency
• Look for the ‘orphans’
  • Find and assign customers that were serviced by people no longer with the dealership

Print management ‘target list’:

By inquiring, reviewing files and using a methodical approach, distinct customer types can be easily identified:

1. Top 10 ‘best’ customers
   • ‘Friends’ of the business … customers who have given ‘testimonials’
2. Service and Supply customers
   • Contact is made with these customers on a regular basis
3. ‘Challenging’ customers … Someone from the dealership talks with these folks almost daily
   • Print management may be just the way to know their need before they call
4. Consultant portfolios
   • When was the last time something new was shared?
5. ‘Partial fleet’ customers
   • There is a fleet of business available … here’s an opportunity to talk
6. Leasing customers and others with contracts coming due
   • Schedule account reviews at least 2 months prior to ‘expire’ date to allow assessment time
7. Prospective customers
   • Potential customers requesting print management RFPs

Start here, keep it simple

Use the gathered information to create a print management ‘target list’ for MPS Deployment team.  Prioritize the list of deployment candidates based on upcoming contract renewals and set realistic deployment objectives.  Start with smaller realistic goals, maybe just one or two deployments per category per week … and know that some may not have any at first.  Identify time table and benchmark dates, and include feedback loops to ensure progress is being made.

By applying the strategy of securing two ‘best’ customer deployments, and one installation each in the areas of accounting, service and supply each week, even average dealers can achieve 20 deployments in a month.  Assessment set ups can be added in other areas once confidence in the process is established.

… In Summary

A very conservative estimate of MPS involvement might include two people completing 5 installations a week.  Most dealerships consider their largest clients first … but keep in mind, the sales or implementation cycle for them will be longer, and will stall the process.  The best prospects are those with about a dozen devices, those clients well known to dealership staff … the ones that LIKE you!  They are people that are most forgiving and are willing to try new things.

So, don’t freeze at the starting line … Get out there and deploy your MPS collection software.