This year’s gold standard Comms Vision Convention (6th-8th November, Gleneagles Hotel) doubles down on the technology drivers transforming the channel’s portfolios alongside how go-to-market (GTM) and revenue models are evolving – and what this all means for the channel’s strategic planning. Here, Damian Saunders, Managing Director, Sky Business Hospitality, Mid-Market & Wholesale (Comms Vision Platinum sponsor), shares insights into today’s competitive technology marketplace and why getting closer to customers and understanding their future intentions is vital to securing new business and long-term growth.
The days of standalone connectivity businesses, voice and mobile firms are numbered, according to Saunders. Largely because the industry is moving from transactional technology upgrades to organisations requiring tangible value-creating outcomes, which closes the gap between the customer’s technology and business strategy. “Everything has converged, so MSPs must be prepared to broaden their offering and provide holistic solutions if they want to remain competitive,” stated Saunders. “It’s imperative for MSPs to adopt a more consultative role, working closely with their customers to understand their business challenges and opportunities. This can involve offering strategic advice and customised solutions rather than one-size-fits-all products.”
Marketing strategies therefore need to leverage digital channels to engage customers through personalised and targeted campaigns. “This is crucial for positioning the brand as a thought leader by providing valuable insights into industry trends and solutions,” added Saunders. “Sales strategies are shifting towards a more consultative approach and should emphasise recurring revenue models, such as subscriptions and service bundles, to create stable income streams while aligning pricing with customer value through performance-based pricing models. Solution-selling is the future.”
Backing the right horses
To drive value, MSPs must possess the knowledge and access to the products needed to build solutions, noted Saunders. “This means finding future-facing suppliers that ‘get it’ and can stand with them through an evolving market,” he added. “Building confidence is key therefore MSPs should look to work with service providers they can trust. MSPs need to lean on product innovation, customer service and longevity. Building and maintaining strong partnerships is essential to enhancing market reach and meeting diverse customer needs effectively.”
How you are innovating could be a great starting point when considering a GTM approach
As a result, there then becomes a responsibility to feedback any insights upstream at partner and provider level so they can be taken into the consideration of future business objectives, strategies and even roadmaps – and help sales, commercial and marketing leaders to overcome challenges. “It goes without saying that customers want value for money,” added Saunders. “This increasingly doesn’t necessarily mean the cheapest. As we are facing more and more into a digitally converged world, scalability, flexibility, security and trust are becoming more and more important. Customers need solutions that can flex and react in an easier fashion.”
To stay ahead of the go-to-market curve and to ensure a competitive advantage, the priority areas MSPs should be reviewing today include challenging themselves to be clear on what they’re doing to drive competitive advantage, and make sure they’re as close as possible to the latest market developments to inform their view of tomorrow, believes Saunders. “It’s critical to invest in the right external relationships – upstream and downstream,” he added. “With awareness of the market context and the right inputs from those in a better vantage point, the right path is often obvious.”
Winners defined by customer proximity
Saunders noted that the MSPs that will win in the future will be those that are closest to their customers and have the clearest understanding of their evolving needs. “As the world gets more complex, the partners who can distil complex into simple, making it as easy as possible for their customers to win and grow, will be the ones that prevail the best,” he added. “In order to achieve this, often there will be tough choices as driving simplicity is hard. Often saying ‘no’ is the hard, but right thing to do.”
Saunders observes ‘plenty’ of MSPs having change thrust upon them, putting them on a defensive footing. “For those who face into the changes our industry is experiencing there is an opportunity to present as experts and specialists,” he said. “There’s still an early-adopter advantage in doing so. Those with their head in the sand risk being left behind.”
For MSPs to create differentiation in their GTM approaches it’s necessary to stay in tune with what makes them competitive, believes Saunders. “Innovation is what drives success,” he said. “How you are innovating could be a great starting point when considering your GTM approach. Shifting market dynamics present an opportunity fir MSPs to revisit what makes them competitive. And if we as an industry are doing that as a collective, then we can be excited by the impact on our customers and the markets we serve in the years ahead.”
About Comms Vision
Comms Vision is the leading annual leadership forum for CEO, MD and CTO delegates making up the major league of the UK MSP community. To find out more visit www.commsvision.com