Xerox has gone one step further with the concept of selling razors cheaply to obtain the blade sales. The printer industry has followed that concept with low cost printers and high margin consumables. Xerox now offers free maintenance to printer customers which purchase all their consumables from Xerox.
The service is called eConcierge and is available through partners. Not only does the program capture very profitable after-market business, it establishes closer relationships between printer users and VARs which allows visibility into opportunities for other sales such as managed print services.
Several VARs told CRN (“Xerox: Channeling New Energy,” Scott Campbell, May 2011) why the program provides a competitive edge. According to Terry Williams of Advanced Technical Support in Morrisville, NC, “You can see what their behaviors are, how old are their machines, for a potential future managed print contract. It’s stickiness. It gives you a compelling reason to get in front of a client. That’s what we’re looking for; to stay in front of the client. If you do that and be very proactive and consistent, you can have tremendous success.”
Buddy Carpenito of Technology Solutions of America in Winter Garden, FL agreed, “They’re {customers} just buying it. For most customers it’s a super convenience. Xerox gave us a franchise. They set up in a business for virtually no cost. I’m very excited.”
Obviously, there is a cost to Xerox, but the company calculated that the margin from the additional consumables sales out-weighted the cost to provide the service. Are there opportunities in your business to provide a product or service “free” to customers in return for more higher-margin sales. Might be worth a look before your competitors figure it out.
Recent Comments