Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

We don't all have the luxury of large marketing budgets with dedicated or outsourced specialists on the payroll, however there are 5 marketing activities we can all do, to help generate more business. They don't take much time, are low-cost and can be very effective at generating new business.

1. Manage your data

Keeping your customer database up to date is essential. Having up to date contact information has obvious benefits, however adding key information such as products bought, renewal dates and details of conversations and visits, highlights future potential revenue such as upgrade, re-sign and cross-sell opportunities.

Anyone in the recurring revenue business that tells you they are 100% channel-only is mistaken. Friends, family, legacy start-up customers, end-users of resellers that have gone bust – even the most exclusive of channel suppliers has them. This doesn’t mean they’re not to be trusted. There are companies, like Jola, that were set-up specifically to serve the channel and there are others that started with direct customers and decided later on to sweat their assets and build volume through wholesale. Most companies that understand and are ‘invested’ in the channel are unlikely to deliberately or carelessly allow their channel credentials and reputation to be questioned.

Start-ups

It is often quoted that 50% of new businesses will fail within five years. To quote Steve Jobs, “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” So while there are a few must-have ingredients such as customer demand, products that work as they should and good customer service, there are also a few general strategies to ease you through those difficult early months and years. 

Jola Partners rarely spend money on traditional marketing, prefering to communicate with customers and prospects directly online. We have identified three of their best habits used to win with customers online - both prospective and existing.

1. The truth will out

You have to be honest about what you are doing. If you are selling don't pretend you are having a conversation, as people will always smell a rat. Great marketing is built on truth and the truth will always out. Customers will make up their own minds. You have to listen to the online conversation and often endure it. It is nice when customers give you a glowing reference but sometimes you need to see and hear the negative and address it.

Local IT Support

Many local IT support companies supply cabling and PC support to local SMEs. Typically with several hundred customers, they operate within a couple of hours drive of the office but will go farther afield if required and for the right size job. A lot of their income comes from one-off projects however they have a reasonable base of customers that pay monthly to support their office IT.  Monthly recurring revenues help to grow the business and cover costs between projects.

This question was recently asked on a panel at Convergence Summit South. Most of the panellists (four of which had Broadsoft platforms) talked about features and pricing. The resulting questions from an audience of mostly resellers made it clear that the panellists had only further confused them. If resellers and dealers are having problems differentiating between offerings then maybe its no wonder that a recent market report shows 60% of SMEs are too.

Research last year from SIR indicated that the majority of SMEs sought advice from a trusted supplier before buying business communications solutions. Further, they will usually research the web and get a quote from a well known carrier (often BT) before they end up buying from an existing supplier. It is very rare for a reseller to be competing against other resellers in the 10-100 employee market and when it happens the incumbent usually wins (unless they have messed up the relationship).

SME growth

According to the latest Small Business Research Report 2015 from Exemplas 40% of SMEs reported an increase in sales turnover on the previous year of trading and 73% plan to grow their business in the next two to three years. As suppliers to this market how can we support their growth?

Remote working

A customer emailed in with a suggestion for our leased line quoting tool last week. I looked into it and thought it would really benefit the base so sent it to our MD. He was on holiday with his family in France, yet quickly approved it on his mobile phone. I then got onto our web developer who was on holiday with his girlfriend in Norway who picked up the email on his tablet and responded with his action plan and timescales. With work email on so many of our devices we take away with us can we ever really switch off?

Why Jola for connectivity and voice?

• We have over 15 years' experience running a channel ISP
• We have access to all the major network operators
• Our prices are really competitive
• We have an easy quoting tool for access to all options and prices in minutes
• We focus on trouble free installations
• We care about fixing issues and customer satisfaction as much as you do
• We are good at finding and winning solutions with you

Jola is exhibiting on stand 23 at Convergence Summit North at Harrogate International Centre on 17th and 18th March. Come and see us to see how we can help you improve your customers' business communications and save them over 50%.