Your Market
Your Market by Dave Michels
Most likely your market is shrinking. I can say this without any specific knowledge of your market because that’s just what’s happening in general. Organizations are spending less. They employ fewer, consume less, and generally prefer to keep their wallet clamped shut.
It’s not you, it’s them. It’s impacting many types of businesses. Consider the economic ripples of something as simple as telecommuting (what hath we brought?): less gas, less tires, less mechanics, less dry cleaning, less power lunches, less expensive clothes and shoes, less office space, less car accidents (and repair), less office doughnuts, less office furniture, less parking lot wear and tear, etc. Yes, telecommuting is harming the economy, but it’s relatively minor compared to other factors.
As a society we are becoming more efficient. Newspapers now simply post their stories with far fewer jobs. Consider that impact: jobs associated with paper (lumberjacks, factories, and distribution), the printing press (operators, mechanical engineers), and distribution (vending machines, paper boys) are disappearing. Need a game? Hit the AppStore - skip the drive to the store that maintains shelves via numerous resources including raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, and shop staff.
It is what it is – no point in cursing or celebrating. The fact is markets are getting more efficient and those that play a critical role in the channel, are generally seeing their opportunities (and margins) shrink.
One of the strategies to consider is market expansion. How do VARs expand markets? The most common options are: geographically, additional products, and market or product specialization.
Geographic expansion has never been easier. As they say, the world is flat. SIP and VoIP mean branch offices no longer need their own equipment and circuits. Many vendors have dropped geographic restrictions on their channel partners. Hosted services know few boundaries, so the opportunity is there to sell into far larger territories compared to traditional telecom services. The keys to distance selling include effective marketing, highly efficient processes including remote diagnostics and tools, and self-service customer portals.
Another option is to sell less of more products, ideally complementary products. This is akin to the Cadillac dealer that adds Kias to the lot. They don’t directly compete with the Caddy’s, and make better use of the lot and infrastructure. UC dealers are adding hosted services, virtualization expertise, wireless solutions, printers, videoconferencing, physical security solutions, and other areas to their line cards. The business isn’t “do you want fries with that?” any more, but rather, “perhaps a shake, salad, fruit bowl, or pie with that.”
Verticals can be tough. The standard verticals are government, education, and healthcare – if you are in one of those run with it. If not, look through your base for less obvious verticals – vets, car dealers, theaters, mall retail, office suites, etc. Most businesses have competitors and many competitors share suppliers. Or, instead of a market vertical consider a technology vertical - Google Apps and UC, iPhone/Apple and UC (even Blackberry and UC), or SAP and UC. Look at what your customers are buying. Stacking solutions together can be greater than the sum of its parts by surrounding it with expertise, support, and technical improvements.
The point is that expanding the market requires strategic thinking, and it’s the strategic thinking that’s easy to forget in tougher times.
Dave Michels blogs at TalkingPointz.com