Retail Analysis
Diversification boosts customer stickiness and to meet this growing demand for mobile connectivity, BT Wholesale recently launched Complete Mobile – the first time EE Mobile SIMs have been available to enterprise resellers via a direct channel model with BT Wholesale. Encouragingly, 88% of businesses are satisfied with their
providers. Around one third expressed they are ‘extremely satisfied’. There is a gap between SME (32%) and Enterprise respondents (40%), as well inter-sector differences; manufacturing being most likely to report extreme satisfaction and hospitality the least likely. Channel partners must strive for extreme satisfaction to maximise the selling opportunity and minimise the risk of competitors stepping in.
Customer priorities: value and purchasing When selecting a channel partner, value for money is the top priority. Purchasing experience is the second priority, emphasising the importance of speed and simplicity during the buying and scaling up of solutions processes. This is a good chance for partners to bring their servicing and reliability to the fore and stand out in a crowded market by offering exceptional value and a seamless purchasing experience to customers and prospects. Among retailers and larger company respondents, sector
expertise is also highly valued. Using BT Wholesale’s specialists and solutions specific to every industry, partners can cater to more customers and widen their offering. Industry accreditations is another pull for large businesses.
All-IP urgency In response to the analogue PSTN switch-off by December 2025, businesses are making progress. Three in ten respondents have prioritised a shift to digital, all-IP solutions (with larger businesses leading the way). But there’s still work to do in the channel as 29% of businesses polled still don’t understand the benefits to their business. Partners must further support and encourage SMEs in particular to drive all-IP migrations and focus on the digital horizon. Overall, larger businesses lead in
all-IP progression, highlighting the need for partners to further support and encourage SMEs’ drive to all-IP migration and focus on the digital horizon. Partners can capitalise on this white space by supporting customers through the migration process, from initial education to address any concerns and audits so they can understand the potential scale of migration, through to managing the migration and future digital transformation. There are many opportunities for partners to support customers’ all-IP journeys. Gavin Jones, channel partners director at BT Wholesale, said: “It’s
www.pcr-online.biz June 2023 | 7
great to see that businesses are generally happy with their technology providers – channel partners work hard to build value-adding customer relationships. But the findings highlight how important it is to keep an open dialogue with customers to fully understand how to best service their needs. It’s all about providing a consultative sales approach backed by ease of doing business. “What’s more, with the PSTN switch-off fast
approaching, it is clear channel partners must work to spark UK businesses’ digital imagination and help them understand how the move to IP can future-proof and unlock new opportunities. It’s the end of the line for PSTN, so If you’re not doing it, a competitor is already trying to.”
Engaging loyal and new customers Marketing remains crucial for partners to grow customer bases and acquire new customers – the number one channel priority in 2022. For businesses, owned channels (such as social media or website) and earned media (such as media coverage and reviews) are the most important to them when looking for a provider. The website is particularly crucial – 60% of businesses agree – followed by online reviews (56%) and case studies (53%). BT Wholesale developed research last year which
revealed channel partners were finding it difficult to raise brand awareness and needed to increase marketing activity. Gavin Jones, added: “This new report further explores the opportunities in front of partners so they can fine tune their businesses to retain and attract new customers. Vital components are honing key messages, as well as having access to the right technology and support, all of which help to showcase partners’ unique capability to add value for existing and new customers. “We’re committed to helping Partner Plus partners align
their strategy with the opportunities in the current market. Through access to our innovative solutions portfolio, our dedicated propositions and marketing experts, and our out- of-the-box ready collateral, all our partners need to focus on is their customer relationships and the opportunities in front of them. It’s our job to help supercharge growth.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
