Managed print services (MPS) is a rapidly growing market especially in small business and a simple way to solidify long-term sustainable customers. Let’s look at how an MPS recurring revenue stream can boost sales while saving money and time for your customers.
MPS facts to consider
We’ve been talking about going paperless for decades. But reality says print is still relevant especially with small business owners. In fact, IDC estimates the small business MPS compound annual growth rate is a robust 8%.1
MPS has so much traction because it provides an easier and more efficient way for small businesses to deal with print needs and yet, 72% of small businesses are not under an MPS contract2.
That’s where you come in. With the right approach, MPS can become a rich source of recurring revenue while adding quantifiable value to customers by reducing their expenses. It’s a win-win.
Getting started with MPS offerings
1. Align offerings with your capabilities and goals
The last thing you want to do is over-commit or over-sell. Take time to map your plan and consider the end-users first. The needs of small business customers vary from simple toner replenishment to full-scale managed print services. So, before deciding which MPS to add to your offerings, make sure your infrastructure and resources support your goals. Next, assess the typical size and needs of your customers in order to know how MPS will serve them.
2. Be the trusted advisor
Prospects expect you to solve print related needs and issues while saving them money. And, when you deliver on that expectation they will continue to partner with you for growth. Because MPS grows with your customers over time it’s an excellent way for you to continue to add value, help your customers, and increase your monthly recurring revenue.
3. Get rolling with MPS offerings – quickly
At Xerox, we work with partners to gain insights needed to create robust MPS offerings that are easy to sell and profitable for partners. In the process, we also make them irresistible to end-users by delivering what they want while simultaneously saving them time and money.
Xerox Partner MPS Programs are a good example and include:
- Tools for assessing print environments
- Detailed monthly and quarterly reports
- Intuitive dashboards with line of sight into print usage
- Convenient training resources for your team
- A deep portfolio of marketing resources
- A strong sales support team to help you get started
- Break/fix support and all inventory and shipping management so you can focus on other core competencies
- Support for third-party printing tools, since most small businesses have resources from a variety of vendors
- Ability to brand customer facing reports and marketing collateral with your logo
4. Save money and create recurring revenue streams
Your customers and prospects can save up to 30% a month by moving to an MPS solution. That’s a significant saving. And, when you show them how to make print management easier while saving that money, they have no reason to look elsewhere for help.
5. Close on doing an assessment first
Thoroughly assessing print environments before making recommendations is key to winning the deal. And, asking for an assessment in order to save time and money for a prospect is an easy sell. It also creates an opportunity for the next meeting, which leads to a prospect who is often surprised, delighted and ready for more. Use Xerox provided tools to plug into their print environment, and easily gather usage stats to clearly highlight potential savings.
6. Important: hold quarterly reviews with your customers
Maintaining a recurring revenue stream means continually showing the value of your services. Set up quarterly reviews with customers to talk about their strategic goals. That way if your customer wants to focus in a particular direction you’re there to be their partner in growth. For example maybe they express a desire to be green and sustainable, you’re there to help reduce the amount of paper or power consumed in their print environment.
Want more information about generating recurring revenue through MPS, or are you ready to get started? We’re here to help.
Join our next print services webinar
I’ll be running our next webinar for US channel partners in November on how you can get started with managed print. I’ll share why your customers care about print services and why they need them from you so that you can secure more recurring revenue from your existing customer base.
Webinar details
Date Friday, November 20, 2015
Time 10:00 – 11:00 AM (PT)
Webinar link https://xerox.webex.com/xerox/j.php?J=744940794
Webinar Teleconference dial-in 1-800-268-4017 or 1-210-795-0497 (US)
Webinar Access code: 631 190 2763
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Sources:
1 Holly Muscolino, Worldwide and U.S. Managed Print and Document Services and Basic Print Services 2014–2018 Forecast Update: Segmentation by Region, IDC, December 2014.
2MPS Decision Maker Tracking Study, Photizo Group.
