It can be all too easy for Service Providers to assume that they are already close enough to their Partners and that there are no unpleasant surprises lurking in the world outside the office door. No such complacency from 9’s Partner Channel Director, Adam Cathcart, who has visited close to fifty Partners in recent months, so he could hear first-hand what is going well and what more 9 could do to leave their Partners free to perform.
What was achieved during the visit programme?
My programme of Partner visits confirmed that there is no substitute for actually meeting the people leading those businesses and especially the people who work inside them. It really helped me to understand the type of business that we are partnering with and relate to the type of challenges that they are facing.
The majority of our Partners operate traditional telecommunication businesses and I learned that many of them are looking for support with their transition to selling hosted services. This goes beyond the simple question of can I actually sell hosted, to include questions around the impact on revenue streams of manging the transition from Capex to Opex based sales, plus changes to sales incentives and rewards in that environment.
What Feedback did I receive?
I was struck by the openness and engagement that I encountered and the honesty was both refreshing and helpful. There is more information on the concerns that I heard most about and specific feedback that I received about 9 below:
What concerns are resellers expressing?
Our Partners seem to be thriving, rather than just surviving, which was very encouraging. Product fatigue in some areas has led to a race to the bottom on pricing, as resellers attempt to grab market share, so they look to service providers, like 9, to provide insight and differentiation. Having witnessed this in the IT market, it is important that 9 steps forward and helps to guide our Partners on how to respond to these challenges.
Partners who had recognised the importance of adding Mobile to their portfolio talked about the difficulties they had encountered and the need for more hand holding than was readily available. There seemed to be a pattern where Partners felt education around the sales process for Mobile was not easily obtained from their service provider.
Fortunately, 9 has been able to respond to this and provide straightforward and simple Mobile propositions, accessed via our existing portal, all supported by sales tools and information that are easy to apply in typical customer scenarios.
What feedback did you receive about Nine?
The feedback from Partners was reassuringly positive and I don’t believe that Partners were just being polite or kind. Partners told me that they remain keen to work with 9 and enjoy the experience that we provide.
I was struck by the number of Partners who referenced how 9 can take away the pain of dealing with large operators and allow them to be more efficient. This seemed especially true in the case of our WLR portfolio and how we can simplify the interaction with Openreach and often resolve any issues more speedily than dealing with them directly.
Partners who have been working closely with us over the last 2.5 years, as we have perfected our new hosted communication and collaboration platform, eve, have appreciated being part of the development process. Partners like to help and we have benefited tremendously from real world feedback along the way. The lack of a scattergun approach to product development and only releasing products that are properly formulated was much appreciated.
Some constant themes emerged from Cathcart’s travels, one of which was the regular issues which Partners encounter with their billing systems. Highlighting the benefits of working with 9, Cathcart explained how time and effort have been invested to minimise the bedevilment of unexpected or inaccurate billing items, “we pride ourselves on the accuracy of our billing data and have removed many of the root causes of charge queries. Furthermore, our managed billing service, combined with named direct debit collection, can free Partners to focus on growing their business, rather than managing a billing and reconciliation department.”
Partner feedback is a cherished element of our continuous improvement programme, which helps to ensure both our compliance with the ISO 9001 framework and contributes to the monitoring or more simply, “how are we doing” analysis that is part of our normal daily life at 9. I was able to explain to Partners how we use all this information to improve the support processes that we have in place and then re-check that the difference is being made and recognised.
What else did you learn?
Cathcart explained why he felt the time on the road and rails was so important, “I was keen to understand more about how business was faring for as many of our partners as I could sensibly meet in a short time. How are they operating their business and what can we do more of to help them achieve their goals?”
Reflecting on how the meetings presented a fabulous opportunity to chat with familiar colleagues and meet some new faces, Cathcart was genuinely pleased to take on board a wide variety of feedback. Expanding on the benefits of the many motorway miles and train tracks, he noted, “it has been good to gain a clearer understanding of how the products and services that 9 offers align with the Partners’ requirements and square up against what the competition has to offer. For example, addressing some Partners’ concerns about selling mobile led to the development of a revised mobile proposition with O2 and Vodafone, which is already making a real difference to our Partners’ ability to secure new business.”
What’s next?
Displaying an appetite for more of the personal touch, Cathcart concluded by stating, “I am keen to continue with the regular visits to our Partners, as well as revisiting those I have met recently to see how we are progressing and grab more ideas for improving what we do.”
