Purchasing MARKET REPORT
“The self-serve model is going to continue to grow. Where the market sweet spot was sub 5 users, I can see this
growing to sub 20 users over the coming years.” Paul Taylor, Sales & Marketing Director - Voiceflex
solution the business needs.
With many organisations
selling the same products
and services, we believe that
truly understanding what the
customer needs and developing
a relationship with them is what
adds value to our customers.
e good news for the
customer is that they bene t
from a trusted partnership
with a supplier that can lead
them through their technology
journey, but equally, the good
news for our vendor partners is
that they bene t from exactly
the same thing. ey are
con dent that we deliver an
outstanding service with the
technical skills and knowledge
to design and deliver solutions
to customers that require little
or no involvement from them.
Vendors want to have more
partners like us: our technical
expertise means our pass back
is low. Working with a partner
like us costs vendors less.
So, for a technology partner,
working with a reseller such as
Charterhouse is almost like a
self-serve model - it’s more or
less comparable in costs.”
Paul Taylor added, “ e selfserve
model is going to continue
to grow. Where the market
sweet spot was sub 5 users, I can
see this growing to sub 20 users
over the coming years.”
Cloud-based partnerships are
everything
One thing the pandemic has
taught us all is that exibility
is everything. Having large
on-premise equipment that
can quickly prove to be too big
or too small for your market
simply doesn’t work any more.
Of course there will likely
always be a market for onpremise
systems, mostly due to
geographical location and/ or
regulatory requirements, but
the exibility cloud can provide
makes it the simple choice for
most businesses.
How has this accelerated
trend impacted the way
partners are now choosing their
relationships?
Betts said “Partners are rst
and foremost looking to see
if their partnerships are cloud
based. From a Charterhouse
perspective, our next focus is
on fully owning the customer
relationship, being the
primary point of contact for
the technology and for the
customer, and providing best of
breed solutions to them.
We aren’t looking to sell
products that are just licenced
to a cloud provider - we see our
future as owning that customer
relationship on many fronts,
with di erent technologies that
may be cloud based.
By owning the customer
relationship and having a clientcentric
approach, we’re seen as
someone with a trusted pair of
hands. Without our customers,
and indeed our partners, there
is no business. We nurture and
treasure both relationships to
deliver the very best solutions
- and that’s where we truly add
value.”
The future of purchasing
As our consumer spending
habits have shifted dramatically
could we see the sae sort of shift
in the business world?
Betts commented, “We see an
increased drive for the channel
to be recognised as experts
in their eld with technical,
quali ed people leading the
way to help retain the customer
relationship. Without that,
there is a danger of being
seen simply as a commodity
provider, far from indispensable,
and there could be a much
higher level of churn as a result.
We need to be consultative,
own our customer relationship
and have a multi-technology
approach. is sits neatly
within the trend for customers
wanting to have fewer suppliers.
Being able to be a supplier
of choice that covers all a
customer’s Comms needs -
from networking to WiFi, the
Microsoft layer to the desktops,
the UC platform to their mobile
phones - is most certainly the
way forward.”
Paul Taylor pictured here accepting his
Services to the Channel Award in 2019
Taylor added, “COVID has
focused the mind, it’s given
the channel a breathing space
to evaluate where they are and
where they need to be. e
channel will always be exposed
to challenges and opportunities,
COVID is no di erent; it has
accelerated change in many
areas. One thing is for sure
we still have the need and
desire to communicate, the
communication methods have
changed and the channel has
adapted and provided platforms
to assist their customers in
making the change.”
ED SAYS…
In this next phase of evolution the Channel will be exposed to all kinds of new
trends which could impact their bottom line. As the self-serve market grows it
really pays to focus on where you can add value. There is something to be said
for the agent model, if you are happy to give up ownership of the customer and
you have a strong sales engine. Those that are looking for longer term customers
where they can continue to guide them on a digital transformation journey should
think carefully about how they want to engage contractually with customers.
The Channel exists because no one can serve small businesses in the same
way, I don’t see that changing in the near future. COVID may accelerate the way
customers want to purchase (i.e. online) but it wont change their need for advice
and support by someone that knows their business.
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