Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

Many of us are working from home. A percentage of our target audience has been put on furlough and traditional marketing activities, such as events, have been postponed or moved online.

Is now a good time to think about video?

With our sales teams busy conducting webinars, could video help to influence a wider audience and support growth?

Marketing Videos

Video content can be put together quickly and cheaply using third parties, which can be edited and kept up to date. It can help to convey complex messaging in a simple and visual way. It is popular on websites and social streams as part of an integrated campaign.

Training Videos

Videos can be created to train furloughed staff on new products. One downside is that they can go out of date very quickly, especially as products and portals are updated so regularly. Recording webinars can be a very effective way of keeping content current and can be distributed to a wider audience.

Recordings

Recordings of online panel debates or podcasts your company took part in, can enhance your credibility and get a key message out to a wider audience.

Personal Videos

Be very careful when going ‘live’ on social platforms. Without proper practice and strong key messages that are relevant to your audience, you run the risk of disengaging them.

In conclusion, if video can enhance your product content with case studies, testimonials and independent reviews, it can be a useful part of your online strategy. In the current climate having video content you can email to customers after an online meeting, can help to influence decision makers.

The current climate has been a catalyst for change in the public sector and demand for 4G data, for home learners, delivery services and the NHS, is increasing.

4G solves a few key problems. It does not require an installation. In many cases, it is plug-and-play. The device comes out of the box and when switched on, automatically connects to the network and allows the user access to the internet. 4G can roam. Multi-network, un-steered variants are available which can connect to the strongest 4G signal in any location. It can easily be posted as a physical SIM card or installed into a device and posted to where it is required.

Home Learners

MSPs supporting local councils and private schools, colleges and universities are being asked for 4G devices to support home learning. Online learning materials are being distributed and online classes organised, often involving multiple students at once.

Delivery Services

Delivery services are in demand delivering essentials to those self-isolating.  The Government is using local councils to deliver essentials boxes to those shielding. Supermarkets are increasing their deliveries to keep up with demand. All deliveries are being tracked via PDAs containing 4G SIM cards.

NHS

There is high demand from the NHS for 4G devices for healthcare workers visiting patients and ambulance crews updating patient records.

When we started Jola we worked from home for a few years before we grew big enough to have an office. I had a three-month old baby with me at home. Now our entire team is working from home, many with young children, and managing to hit KPIs and drive growth in a very strange time. We have put together a guide to working from home, based on our own experience and hope it will help others.

Self-care

First and foremost, look after yourself. Having a good routine, getting enough sleep, eating well and taking regular breaks are very important to maintain momentum and productivity throughout the day. You may not be in the office, but may still be taking video calls, so be aware of what you look like and your background. Try to start and finish at your usual times to prevent work sneaking into your down-time.

Focus

Having a ‘to do’ list has never been more important. Planning your day to ensure a good balance between inbound and outbound activity is important, especially for sales and marketing. Some of us can transfer our daily routine from the office to home, especially if we have our office phone systems set up the same way and still have access to all our systems in the cloud. For others like external sales, their routines have changed completely. They are busy booking video calls and webinars instead of site visits and have more time to spend developing existing partners and researching new ones.

Balance

Many of us are working from home with young children and are embarrassed when they pop into video calls asking for a snack. We all have to balance our work with our homelife, many of us are teaching a range of new subjects and coming up with ‘fun’ learning activities that we are hopeful will amuse our children, whilst we are on important calls. Putting that person at ease by showing empathy and sharing our own stories, can really help to overcome this and help build relationships.

Many partners have asked about how to develop an effective social media marketing strategy. Others have asked if they should change their strategy for the current climate. I have put together this blog to help answer both these questions.

Building target audience

Firstly, an effective social media campaign delivers the right key messages to the right audience at the right time and it is much harder than it sounds. Firstly, you need to develop the right audience. The mistake many partners make is thinking that because they have a vast amount of connections, they have a great audience to target. How many of these connections are truly target audience? It takes a lot of time and diligence to craft out a regular time each week to find and connect with target audience. Over time messages become more targeted, response rates improve and slowly the audience builds.

With many decision makers working from home, you may find that now is a good time to try and connect with more of your target audience, especially if you have a unique solution to a known problem. A good example is SMEs and homeworkers struggling with slow internet connectivity. With BT Openreach unable to gain access to install and repair many services, projects have stalled, and revenues have been affected. Providing 4G routers and unlimited 4G data SIM cards is a good solution to ensure customers get access to the internet in the short-term and can be used as a back-up in the future if primary circuits fail.

COVID is not an opportunity

Rule number 1. COVID is not an opportunity and should not be perceived as one. It is ok to continue to sell and market your products. Being seen to profit from a global pandemic is irresponsible and will negatively affect your brand.

Many social media posts paused as news of the pandemic spreading to the UK and the lock-down measures were communicated. Posts, like adverts have now been reviewed and messaging has been changed.

How can you help?

 In the channel many of us have been supplying 4G devices to the public sector and charities to help healthcare professionals work remotely. Others have helped homeworkers access files securely and use phone systems from home.

Social posts have been full of empathy and aimed at customers they can help. Others have highlighted how individuals can help such as making scrubs or raising money for the NHS.

According to GeekWire, Microsoft Teams now has around 44 million daily users, up from 32 million before the COVID outbreak. It has been useful for many remote workers, who use it for online meetings, webinars, project collaboration and instant messaging.

There are a few new features coming soon such as a 9-person display, real-time noise suppression and ‘raise a hand’ options, for users not feeling comfortable jumping in at the end of the last speaker.

Direct Routing

For people working from home using Teams, this can also become their phone system. Instead of using Calling Plan to make calls outside of Teams, Microsoft will allow customers to connect Teams Phone System to an alternative network provider, using Direct Routing. It is quite complicated to set up, so is worth looking for automated provisioning, unless you have Microsoft qualified staff internally to help.

Jola Direct Routing for Teams is built on a Microsoft approved platform, offers numbers in 167 countries and every area code in the UK. Jola’s unlimited wholesale UK call package is a lot cheaper than Microsoft’s Calling Plan and comes with competitive international call bundles and unlimited in-country local call packages.

Jola partners enjoy healthy recurring margins on call bundles and out-of-bundle call charges, whilst still offering compelling prices to their customers. Ordering and management are all self-serve, through our well-established SIP Manager portal.

SIP Manager

Our SIP Manager portal allows resellers to place orders directly for Teams entities, configure Direct Routing and order UK and international SIP Trunks. Partners can set up call forwarding rules and manage customer address details, usage caps and fraud prevention rules. They can view real-time SIP logs, call logs and call answer statistics such as answer ratio, busy ratio and failure ratio.

Some traditional voice resellers are struggling to sell broadband, Ethernet and phone systems in the current climate. Many have opted to put their new business sales teams on furlough, as new projects have stalled. Sales Directors are wondering what they can sell in the short term to generate high-margin, recurring revenues.

Mobile Broadband

One product for consideration is mobile broadband. It is currently in demand with homeworkers struggling with slow internet speeds and reliability issues. Public sector workers are asking for secure, internet connectivity to protect data, when working from home and there is high demand from the NHS for 4G devices for healthcare workers visiting patients. With so many SMEs now working from home, demand for 4G CCTV is also on the increase, to protect business premises.

Why sell mobile data?

Existing customers are easier to sell to and may already have a demand for 4G. If you choose the right supplier, 4G data is easy to quote, order, bill and support. Jola, for example, offers unlimited data for 4G routers for homeworkers on Vodafone and O2 networks at a very competitive rate. We have a range of 4G routers available, that will arrive pre-configured and can be monitored and controlled within our white label portal, Mobile Manager.

If you sell telephone lines, broadband and Ethernet, you may find that BT Openreach are no longer able to enter premises to fix faults. Many resellers are ordering mobile broadband for customers where their connection is critical.

eSIMs

eSIMs are the cheapest option for customers that require multi-network SIMs. SIMs that will connect to the strongest signal, wherever they are in the UK and internationally. eSIMs are great for tracking devices for logistics companies, who need devices to remain connected to the strongest 4G networks in transit.

Demand for multi-network 4G data is currently high, with health workers needing to access digital records remotely, and logistics companies needing to track deliveries internationally.

Continuous connectivity is required on the move, so a single network is not ideal. Data monitoring is also required, so customers can monitor their usage, to avoid data overage charges.

Multi-network

eSIMs offer the best possible service in any location. The eSIM will always enable devices to connect to the best, available mobile network. Jola’s eSIMs roam seamlessly over 450 networks in 190 countries, including EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three in the UK.

No need to travel to site to conduct surveys

Using multi-network eSIMs, end customers don’t need site surveys, as they no longer need to know the best network for each location.

Competitive

Jola's eSIMs are competitively priced to allow the channel to compete directly with the Mobile Network operators. Fixed IP eSIMs and L2TP eSIMs are also available.

Mobile Manager

Mobile Manager is our online management portal for ordering and managing estates of eSIMs. This white label portal communicates in real-time with 4G networks and can be used by both resellers and their end users. Mobile Manager handles eSIM activations, ceases, suspensions, reports, alerts and bolt-ons.

Businesses are adapting the way they work to meet changing market conditions. Existing services are being packaged and sold in a new way.

We have seen farm shops and pub kitchens offering home delivery services, and supermarkets offering ‘essential’s boxes’ for those self-isolating. Joe Wicks is offering free P.E lessons for kids on YouTube, which has inspired gyms, dance schools, and music clubs to start charging for lessons on-line.

How are your customers adapting to change?

If principals of your customers are still working, it is important to keep in touch with them and support their changing needs. Send emails, arrange calls or webinars with them. Do they have adequate internet connectivity? Can they run their phone system from home? Do they have the collaboration tools they need to operate effectively from home? Can they access their network and store files securely? Do they need additional devices? Do they need support setting up new online products and services? What new services can you package and sell to support them?

4G for Homeworking

We are seeing huge demand for unlimited data, as businesses are running from home, and families are also sharing the home broadband connection, to shop, stream content and game.

Home broadband is typically slower than the connectivity in the office and applications can be interrupted when other family members are downloading files or streaming. Having a separate unlimited 4G connection for business is a good solution. 4G routers are inexpensive and unlimited data packages are widely available. Are your customers looking for a good unlimited 4G data solution to help their team work more effectively from home?

4G for the Public Sector

Hundreds of thousands of public sector employees are now working from home, with a need to keep data secure. Health professionals are in desperate need of 4G for devices to access patient files remotely when visiting vulnerable patients. For added security, all Jola mobile products are available with fixed IP.

For students without broadband, schools want to send 4G devices to access study materials and keep in touch. Do you serve these markets?

4G in Logistics

Logistics has never been busier. Supermarkets have increased their deliveries to keep up with demand. 4G is required for tracking devices to ensure goods arrive safely and on time. Do your customers need 4G solutions to help track goods delivery?

Direct Routing

2 million new Microsoft Teams licences have been activated in the last three weeks. Do these users need Direct Routing to be able to make and receive local calls outside of Teams? Do they need help routing numbers?

Sales teams around the world are asking the same question at the moment. As a supplier to the UK voice and data channel, we wanted to share our thoughts with our partners.

Firstly, it is not sensible to project ‘business as usual’, as the reality is that the environment for salespeople has changed dramatically. We are all working from home, meetings are now virtual and group video chats are now a regular thing. Business owners are worrying about customers not being able to pay their bills, and we are all trying to get our head around the new government initiatives. Salespeople need to be aware of the changed priorities and adapt their approach.

Focus on helping

What do your partners/customers need right now? Understand requirements and where possible implement measures to help. It is important that the channel work together right now, as SMEs and resellers going bust will affect us all.

Adapt your approach

If you can no longer arrange meetings with customers, consider alternatives, video conferencing, training webinars, opportunity webinars. Sharing success stories in our industry is very powerful, as it is driven by entrepreneurs, who are able to change with the market. Use LinkedIn, review your profile, do your online research into what companies do, their financials, sectors they serve and problems you can uniquely solve. Consider your approach, how you draft your connection request, and what you then go on to share.

If new prospects are delaying decisions because of uncertainty, consider focussing sales teams on cross-sell and up-sell to existing customers.

Many resellers are new to mobile and mobile data, where constant innovation has thrown up several areas of opportunity. Is this the time to look at your customer base and identify openings for unlimited data products, mobile broadband and 4G back-up?

Retain contact

If you usually visit a customer once a month at site, consider moving these meetings online. Do the same with your training events and convert them to webinars. Continue your pro-active calling campaigns, checking in with key clients and prospects.

Many partners have asked how they can continue their marketing strategy during a crisis. We have put together some thoughts.

Audience

The first thing to consider is your audience. How have your customers and your prospects been affected by the current crisis? Has their behaviour changed? Do you need to adjust your strategy and messaging? The last thing you want to be is unsympathetic or worse still, opportunistic. Now is a good time to consider your actions and how this may affect your brand today and after the crisis has ended.

Campaign Planning

Review your messages and the timing of their delivery. Is it still appropriate in the current climate? The key to good marketing is getting the right message to the right people at the right time. If your customers are working out how to implement new government guidelines or have been forced to close, now may not be the right time to get their attention. If you haven’t checked your copy, you may cause lasting damage to your brand name.

Reviewing Spend

In a deteriorating economic situation, non-essential spend is often put on hold. In some sectors however, additional investment is required to fund campaigns to promote new online services.

Communication

Now is the time to keep in touch with your customers to let them know how you can support them and the wider community. Companies who can adapt to the new environment and help to meet demand without being opportunistic, are most likely to thrive post crisis.