Today in the Indian market many an IT device is arriving promising better performance, and resellers are selling these products. However, when the customer comes back requiring a solution to certain problems that they face while handling the device, many resellers fail to address the same.
As a common psychology for any troubleshooting, end-users prefer going to the shop from where they buy the product. If the reseller fails to provide sufficient help or guidance to them, then it is treated not only as a discredit to the reseller, but also it leaves a red mark on the vendor’s name.
Yet another issue that is very irritating to the end-user and embarrassing for the reseller is lack of knowledge of the versatile use of a device. Resellers are supposed to be able to show the ways for using the same product for different purposes (multiple applications). It is often not the case. Consequently, frustrated end-users go on adding products after products in their kitties from different resellers, which make them further frustrated as they fail to attain the optimal use of the products or value for the money spent. The end-user finally ends up cursing the resellers, though rarely it may be the possibility that the resellers just want to push new products to the customers.
For example, let us take the CompactFlash (CF) memory cards. There are several questions that the end-users often have with the product. Everybody knows that the most common application for the CF memory card is the digital still camera. However, this is a good medium for data storage, backup and transfer too. How many of the resellers can sell the idea to the end-user that it is a good medium to transfer data from one platform to another? Yes, a user can easily download MP3 files from PC with Windows operating system and can upload those to a Mac computer with the help of a CF card.
The main reason is often lack of in-depth application knowledge of all the products that they (resellers) sell (and also that are available in the market today with other resellers). Herein the vendors have a big role to play they need to brainstorm the resellers repeatedly about the application potential of the new products. It is true that the vendors have been organizing training programs for the resellers (or engineers), but considering the vast exposure needed, those are very infrequent and inadequate.
Both the reseller community and the vendors have to realize one thing – that, although IT is not a new subject to the Indians, when it comes to the level of hands-on applications even people having good theoretical knowledge fail. It is not a question of whether we have crossed the nascent stage of IT deployment in the country. How long are we using electricity? Are all the people, using electricity since birth, aware of the electrical circuits? So, today resellers have to be prepared to address all sorts of queries related not only to the products, but also associated with their applications. Thus, they should remember the old phrase “knowledge is power”.