I just read an article over at Cannata Report about diversification of products and services for the copier dealership. I can't help but to be a bit surprised at how much HASN'T changed in over two decades.
Don't get me wrong, all of the observations and reflections contained are valid and support the notion that doing more of everything is the best way for copier resellers to avoid the same fate as buggy whips and While You Were Out message pads.(you remember those, right?)
Managed Print Services, scanners, telephones, and ink (Edgeline, anyone?) are staunch, proven, and although on the other side of the bell curve, profitable endeavors of pursuit.
At first, my eyes rolled thinking,
"...are you kidding me? didn't we do all this back in 2008?" It can be difficult pushing the bleeding edge in technology - my vison is so for over the horizon, I can miss simple, familiar and profitable arguments.
And so it is with Scott's piece. All Four of his diversification categories are spot on:
MPS as a Diversification Opportunity: Customers are asking for help managing something the view as slowly vanishing - the printer. They don't care to invest internal, IT resources to the management of supplies, & machines. This is your opportunity to expand beyond the machine and into document managed and perhaps upgrading the phone system.
UCaaS as a Diversification Opportunity: Speaking of phones, UCaaS is gaining traction as a diversification avenue, with a significant portion of dealers identifying it as a leading opportunity.
Document Scanners as a Diversification Opportunity: Sure, output counts are depleting, but converting existing paper documents into digital workflows continues. Scanners today are awesome.
Inkjet Production as a Diversification Opportunity: Yes, I experience delayed stress as I recount my days with Edgeline. Yet, ink is the way. "Business Color" is adequate and huge bags of ink are the all the rage.
More detail in the good piece, here.
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