–By Limesh Parekh
Any IT Product or Solution requires a certain amount of additional services and consultancy to make 100 percent use of the same. The reason is simple, the Client or user is not supposed to know most of the features and also may not know the “best practices”. Consider a client buying normal desktop PCs without knowing how many services are required for it to perform at 100 percent.
Let’s try to list them out:
1. Installation of OS
2. Installation and configuration of Anti-Virus
3. Implementing Company security policies into it (domain etc)
4. Printer & Other device configuration
5. Migration of existing data from old PC to this new PC
6. Configuring other software and tools on the same
7. Training on use of particular feature or use of software
Many a times customer as well as the service provider do not understand this. The service provider thinks that the customer will not pay for the services, so tries to bundle its the product. Now the real problem starts, his competitor not knowing that the services are bundled, gives another quote without those services for a lower price and worse the customer falls for it. Remember, it’s not that customer is always aware of the pitfall.
Moreover, when a purchase officer (procurement dept) comes into picture, they try their maximum to justify their salaries and ultimately it’s the customers who lose.
I think this is one of the major problems in IT Industry. As per HIGH-FIVE strategy, I will give five reasons why every service provider should maintain and give “Service Catalogue” to his customer with his quotation or proposal.
1. Capacity Demonstration
a. When a service catalog is provided, it is a perfect way for the service provider to demonstrate the capacity of his team.
b. eg: Client might have never imagined that branch to branch connectivity is possible by doing port forward, until he saw “Port forwarding Charges” in the service catalog.
2. Easier to let customer know that these things are EXTRA.
a. A perfect way to list out things that are not FREE.
b. It’s found that when things are free, people tend to ask for more, so if we make it chargeable then demands become reasonable automatically.
c. This way there would never be any kind of stress about after sales services.
3. Anyway it needs to be done.
a. If you don’t give Service catalog, even then you have to do that extra work
b. But for ZERO cost and then it creates bad relations and decreases the profitability of the seller.
c. So, better quote the customer for what can be done at what price, rather than doing it for free.
4. Helps in bargaining.
a. Let’s face the fact, people like to bargain and as margins in hardware business are wafer thin, we require some buffer to protect us.
b. Service catalog becomes “THE PERFECT BUFFER”
5. Differentiates us from others
a. In today’s world, we have to be different than others, Services offered differentiates us from others.
Reasons or excuses by Partner for not giving Service catalogs and their solutions:
1. Its okay in your city, but here customers are special?
a. There is not a single location in India, from where i have not heard this dialogue.
b. Everywhere people are same, everybody likes to bargain, and no one likes to pay.
2. Customer will not pay.
a. Why? – If you think he cannot afford, just think which car / mobile he uses.
b. You might not be able to convince them? Not a problem, at least try.
c. You might fail in first few tries, but I bet, in 4/6 weeks, your earnings will improve.
3. Competition will take the order.
a. I suggest, let both of them have that experience.
b. Few customers may go, I strongly suggest let them go, they did not deserve you.
4. Relations will get hurt.
a. If we consider our customers to be our friends, don’t we want our friends to be happy.
b. How can they be happy if we don’t provide them good service.
c. how can we provide good services, without money?
5. It’s not practice in our Industry
a. When most of (us) System Integrator came to business, we were innovators, now what happened?
b. Why are we now afraid to lay down new system?
Let’s try this, we have nothing to break, but the mind-set.
Limesh Parekh, the author of this article is the acting CEO at Enjay IT Solutions . The opinions expressed herein are his own and do not constitute that of ChannelTimes or Trivone in any way.