Channel Manager's Playbook 2016

14 / 24

A different element of alignment would be to bring on
partners that not only sell to your target market but also
will view the service provider as the expert in that service
delivery. Smoothstone (West IP) did an excellent job of this
early on by identifying the market they were targeting, why
they were a good choice, and putting on a great dog-and-
pony show for the partner and prospect. That is proving
your expertise, and that is a huge step in branding.
Think about this: the average large master agency has
agreements with no less than 20 vendors offering hosted
PBX. What kind of alignment is that?
Certainly there could be segmentation of the market:
over-the-top (OTT) VoIP for very small business, small
business, 75 employees to 250, and more than 250 em-
ployees. That isn’t how it is ever presented (marketed)
because all service providers want to sell to anyone for
any revenue.
Even when a partner asks the provider about the sweet
spot, the answer is often ridiculous. For example, Cbe-
yond’s official target market was 50 to 500. That is a very
large spread. How exactly were they hitting 400 employee
sites with T1s?
Unified communications vendors aren’t much better
with the target of up to 250. At least saying more than
75 (such as Smoothstone/West IP) or more than 150
makes sense.
The Small Business Administration defines small busi-
nesses as no more than 500 employees. The VSB (very
small business) of 1 to 5 employees differs greatly from a
company with even 50 employees. Needs, wants, budget,
buyer are all different.
A company profile for fewer than 75 employees usu-
ally consists of a business owner and one or two IT people.
Companies with more than 100 employees will look dif-
ferently. This is why I laugh at the “target market” of most
service providers. You might as well say, “Everyone,” which
today in marketing results in “No one.”
Recently, my hosting company called about my “brand
visibility.” The caller asked if I wanted people to find my
business. I said “No.” She said, “Don’t you want more
sales?” My reply, “Yes, but I won’t get them by worrying
about being on the 30 sites you promise to list me on.”
I had to explain that I know who my target market is. I
know where they hang out. I have a plan to be in front of
Chapter 6:
B for Branding
We get your
company
exposure at:
INCOMPAS
Enterprise Connect
Interop
Cloud Partners
Telecom Exchange
CompTIA
Prepaid Press
WISPA
CVx @ ITEXPO
Telx MarketplaceLIVE
and more …
Find out how:
• Provision SMS/800, your voice carrier, and
TeXT enable toll-free 800, 888, 877, 866,
855, and 844 numbers quickly and easily
• 8MS saves you money and is used by
over 100 carriers and RespOrgs to manage
more than 50% of all toll-free numbers
in the industry
Toll-Free Provisioning,
TeXTing, & LCR Software
•
+1.732.302.0222
Contact Frank Lauria +1.732.713.3562
“Toll Free Provisioning Made Easy”
8MS TeXT
14 THE CHANNEL MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK