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For most businesses, client satisfaction and retention is the driving force behind our actions. Whether it’s a quick service call or a large multi-stage project, we do everything we can to make sure we go beyond our clients. And as our industry evolves, so do the needs and expectations of our clients. As service providers, this begs several questions.
Do we continue to scale and bring in additional accounts to meet these needs? Do we support additional technology or services to keep our clients engaged and happy?
There is little doubt that most, if not all, IT service providers in commercial and recovery environments have or will face these challenges. As technology continues to grow, experts at Rahi are finding themselves supporting AV and IT more than ever. Our clients want to work with a company that can support their entire infrastructure.
Grading and expansion challenges have been at the forefront of the AV integration industry from the beginning. We are constantly being asked to think outside the box and find a solution for the most complex issues.
Historically, we have found that these challenges persist, regardless of company size. In fact, it is the small companies to midsize that present the most innovative and robust solutions to overcome these challenges.
As we transition from this global pandemic, we see the AV industry evolve again.
Hybrid Work Trend Continues to Impact Customers’ Needs
The hybrid work environment is changing the way companies approach their space planning and technology needs. Businesses now need occupancy account solutions and services. This may interest you : MSP Acquired: Logically Buys Managed IT Services Provider Halski Systems. Collaboration spaces need to be reassessed and redesigned taking into account social and occupancy distance limits.
The demand for unique solutions during transitional periods, in this way, can define your company’s success. If you can deliver a product at a time of unexpected, rapid demand, you can significantly increase your client retention rates. If you can’t adapt to your client’s business challenges and provide them with a manageable solution, your clients will find someone who can solve their problem.
Managed services is one of these solutions that can be used to adapt to these ever-changing environments. However, it is a service that many IT and AV solution provider companies do not offer.
Today, adding managed services to your offerings has become easier and more cost effective than ever. By leveraging partner networks, businesses have a wider pool of resources and technology to provide clients with a truly tailored solution without redefining their own business model.
Most businesses are under the impression that offering managed services is only for larger IT solutions companies. They do not know whether they have the capacity and human capital to support such a robust program. This is where most companies fail to reach their goal.
Managed services are the most effective way to drive client satisfaction and achieve long-term retention goals. When you only engage with your clients on a project by project basis, you lose the opportunity to grow.
You have to wait until the next project to continue business with that client. However, if you have already entered into a client support contract, you and your team become the default first point of contact when facing new business challenges, troubleshooting problems, or generate new ideas.
This relationship organically gives businesses a “stepping stone” to the competition when new projects are started and provide a stable source of revenue.
Many years ago, smaller companies were reluctant to introduce managed services into their offerings. For most, the upfront cost in technology and headcount, paired with little to no contracts in place, made it a risky decision. They came across many scary questions.
How do we handle system monitoring? How do we deal with locating a break / repair out of our market? How do we hire the right rooting worker halfway across the country?
Today, adding managed services to your offerings has become easier and more cost effective than ever. By leveraging partner networks, businesses have a wider pool of resources and technology to provide clients with a truly tailored solution without redefining their own business model. As businesses gain more connections, they can begin to outsource some of those services and grow their practice organically without jeopardizing that heavy initial investment.
Moving to expand and grow your business can be daunting. However, by mitigating your risk and leveraging the resources and tools available to your business, you can grow your managed services offerings and become more valuable to your customer base.
Brandon Sorensen is the EVP of Sales, US West, Rahi Systems, a global provider and integrator of full service IT solutions and services systems based in California and members of USAV.
A version of this article that was originally appealed to on our sister publication Commercial Integrator’s website.
