What should be the channel's role in the digital age? The industry's big question can't be divorced from the need for total communications supported by an impeccable customer experience, according to Rob Mukherjee, Head of Vodafone Partner Services.
The question is not whether resellers will be able to react to current and future market forces, the real question is the extent to which they can catalyse these trends as prime movers. "Our job is not to predict the future, but to enable it," said Mukherjee. "The market is going towards total communications, not just fixed or mobile. We and our partners need to facilitate the future for our customers with technology that helps them access new market opportunities, find better ways of working and differentiate. This will ultimately help them to be successful in the long-term."
A more general question follows from this and applies to all resellers whose strategic thinking moves in inverse proportion to market developments. "Partners need to transform their businesses to meet the requirements of today's customers," added Mukherjee. "Customers who buy into these principles - as opposed to those who buy on price or are just looking for a product - will ensure that our partners have sustainable businesses."
The demand for resellers to adapt and grow does not mean they have the capacity or ambition to do so. They may reassure themselves that there is no urgent imperative to change, but it does not seem that way to Mukherjee who also suggested that traditional sales incentives, as well as 'old world' outlooks, are tantamount to an economic fallacy. And defining the boundary that separates resellers who are transfixed by a dangled carrot and others who embody a non-incentivised desire to make a difference lies close to his heart.
"Resellers should transform their businesses not because they are incentivised to do so but because they want to and truly believe it is the right thing to do," stated Mukherjee. "The transformation may be difficult and a challenge. Some may not see any good reason to change. But they have to because society and the market demands it. Businesses of today and tomorrow are depending on us to enable their futures. Partners need to change because they want to. We believe the new iteration of our partner programme is absolutely the right way to do it."
Partner programmes are realistic only when they take the form of a collaborative ethos that strengthens the partner's ability to deliver total communications, which says Mukherjee are the founding principles of Vodafone Partner Services which launched in 2010 when it united its partner channel with the Yes Telecom business acquired by Vodafone in 2006.
"We've had a consistent dialogue with partners," said Mukherjee. "We work with them to evolve the partner programme and make changes where necessary. We've supported well over a hundred partners to sell our converged services; and following Vodafone's acquisition of Cable&Wireless Worldwide we've added more than 200 fixed partners into the programme during the last two years."
Vodafone began with two partner accreditations within its three tier partner programme (Platinum, Gold and Silver). In 2012 it introduced a Solutions Specialist designation (for convergence capability and performance), followed by Solutions Pioneer (recognising total comms sales capability and performance) in 2014.
Vodafone's new emphasis on customer experience excellence, both within its own business and in the partner channel, was introduced during its annual partner conference last month (St John's Hotel, Solihull, 9th July) when details on Capability tiering were outlined - planned to be launched next summer. "The new tiers will recognise and reward partners on their success and expertise in selling and delivering total communications solutions and their ability to provide customer experience excellence," explained Mukherjee.
"We want our partners to focus on the things that matter, driving converged technologies and providing a fantastic customer experience. The upcoming changes to the programme will be key to enabling the future for both our partners and our customers."
Mukherjee hopes the influence of Vodafone's partner programme will be strongly felt, strengthening partners' ability to be prime movers both now and in the future. Another influencing factor on Mukherjee's thinking and style of approach are the characteristics and achievements of one of his role models - Robert Noyce, the co-founder of Intel who is often referred to as the father of Silicon Valley. "It's not so much his phenomenal contribution to technology, but more the brand new management style he brought to the business world," explained Mukherjee.
"He encouraged teamwork and openness over hierarchy, risk over stability, jeans over suits and introduced a less structured, more relaxed working environment. He shunned private jets, fancy corporate cars and other executive perks. And I love his rallying cry, 'Don't be encumbered by history. Go off and do something wonderful'."
A young Mukherjee himself disencumbered his career history to enter the comms industry. His first sales role was working in the chemical sector. While scanning the jobs pages to unearth potential career opportunities for his brother, something caught Mukherjee's imagination. "It struck me that there was a plethora of sales opportunities in telecoms and very little in chemicals," he recalls. "I spotted an advert for account managers at Marconi, applied and got the role. Since then, I've worked at Cable&Wireless as Head of Partner Sales, then as Head of Sales at Yes Telecom, and following that as Head of Operations for Vodafone Partner Services, all of which have been invaluable in leading up to my current role as Head of Vodafone Partner Services."
Mukherjee places a high value on prioritising the advantages of a community-based channel policy, an approach that comes naturally to him. "I love a sense of community," he said. "This comes from a combination of my Bengali heritage, Merseyside upbringing and lifelong Everton obsession. That love of community, along with my ingrained belief in customer experience and customer ethics, attracted me to the partner community, to Yes Telecom and now Vodafone Partner Services. Those core values remain with me today."
The community urge is a manifestation of cultural values and shared interests, the glue that binds Vodafone to its partners who are destined to play a greater role in the provider's business strategy. "Partners are increasingly dealing with businesses of all sizes and across all sectors," Mukherjee stated. "Our research shows that 45 per cent of businesses would consider buying from a partner for their total communications needs, so the value of partners to our organisation and to business customers is meaningful."
As well as end user buying behaviours the three other primary factors influencing Vodafone's enterprise business and partner programme - convergence, customer experience and collaboration - cannot be over stated. "Technology is changing and so is our attitude towards it," added Mukherjee. "The focus has shifted from fixed and mobile to unified communications and converged products such as One Net. This focus on total communications is set to continue and increase within our own direct sales channels and in our partner channel.
"Since we launched One Net we've enhanced and expanded the product by adding new functionality and capability, acquired a valuable fixed asset (Cable&Wireless Worldwide), and increased our emphasis on complementary services such as cloud and M2M. The winners in this new phase of the industry, and even in our channel mix of direct versus indirect, are going to be those who embrace change and sell a broad mix of services. That's where our focus is and will continue to be."
But having best-in-class technology is only one part of the story. That's why Vodafone is investing time, energy and money in customer experience. "Our business customers, and their customers in turn, are becoming more demanding and expect a faster response across all communications channels," commented Mukherjee. "We, and our partners, need to ensure we are providing businesses with a quality level of customer experience and with the communications services to help them deliver a better service to their own customers. We won't just be measuring success on sales, but also on customer experience.
"Our relationship with partners is totally collaborative and they are at the heart of our strategy. We need to work with them as we change our own organisation and drive towards total communications."