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THE SMB CUSTOMERSMBs AND DIGITALTRANSFORMATION

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT FOR SMBs:ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS FOR TODAYAND TOMORROW

FIVE WAYS IMAGING ADVANCESARE HELPING SMBs COMPETE

FINISHSTRONGIN 2018

BPO Media 840 S. Rancho Dr.

Suite 4-558 Las Vegas, NV 89106

Address Service Requested

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Dear Dealers,

You owe it to yourselfto at least take a look.

Sincerely,The FORZA Team

www.mwaintel.com

4 www.theimagingchannel.com

July 2018 volume 9, no. 4

18pg.

12

pg.

pg.

25

08 Speakeasy: Born to Run Q&A With Stephen Young, Square 9 by PATRICIA AMES, THE IMAGING CHANNEL

12 Five Ways Imaging Advances Are Helping SMBs Compete by TRACEY KOZIOL, XEROX

18 Finish Strong in 2018 by BRAD RODERICK, INKCYCLE

25 Document Management for SMBs: Asking the Right Questions for Today and Tomorrow by DAN WALDINGER, BROTHER INTERNATIONAL

29 SMBs and Digital Transformation by TOM O’NEILL FOR THE IMAGING CHANNEL

35 Channel Chat: The SMB Customer

IN THIS ISSUE

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For more information about the Precision Label Series 475i, contact your local Muratec area sales manager or call 469-429-3320.

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www.muratec.com • 469.429.3300 ©2018 Muratec America, Inc. All rights reserved.

Volume 9, Issue 4theimagingchannel.com

from THE EDITOR

6 www.theimagingchannel.com

Proposed logo revision, 07/2010, EH

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-AT-LARGE Patricia Ames

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Amy Weiss

SENIOR ANALYST John McIntyre

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Kevin Craine

EDITOR Alexandra Karosas

EDITOR Lisa Weber

ART DIRECTOR Susan Kidwell

WEBMASTER Chris Paschen

REACHING THE STAFFStaff may be reached via e-mail, tele-phone or mail. A list of contact informa-tion is also available online at http://www.theimagingchannel.com.

E-MAIL: To e-mail any member of the staff, please use the following form: FirstName@theimagingchannel.com

EDITORIAL OFFICE (weekdays, 8:00am – 5:00pm ET)Telephone: 407-900-1885

CORPORATE OFFICE (weekdays, 8:30am – 5:30pm PT)Telephone: 702-720-4889Fax: 440-625-5556

The Imaging Channel is published six times a year by BPO Media. Send inquiries, back issue requests and address changes to info@bpomedia.com or mail to: 840 S. Rancho Dr., Suite 4-558, Las Vegas, NV 89106

©Copyright 2018 by BPO Media. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Reproductions in whole or part prohibit-ed except by written permission.

The information in this magazine has not undergone any formal testing by BPO Media and is distributed without any war-ranty expressed or implied. Implementation or use of any information contained herein is the reader’s sole responsibility. While the information has been reviewed for accuracy, there is no guarantee that the same or similar results may be achieved in all environments. Technical inaccuracies may result from printing errors and/or new developments in the industry.

Media Kits and Reprints: Direct your requests to sales@theimagingchannel.com

TO PARAPHRASE one of the great movies of all time*, the SMB is what we might call a target-rich environment. With many, if not all, of the needs of the enterprise without the budget, infrastructure or staff

to back up those needs, the SMB needs technology partners — trusted advisors that can provide support, resources and solutions to help it compete with the larger companies in the space.

One place in particular we’re seeing a need for partners is security. When interviewing experts for a feature on security in last month’s issue, I noticed the SMB came up specifically a couple of times. Atlantic’s Bill McLaughlin noted that ransomware attacks are increasingly focusing on the SMB, which is often

perceived as being less sophisticated and having less money to spend on risk mitigation and recovery. “If I’m an SMB and I’m asked to pay $500 or $1,000, I’m going to pay it. It’s a sweet spot,” he said. Security expert Greg Sparrow concurred, saying specifically that the SMB needed to outsource —that the need for dedicated security resources was unmistakable and undeniable, and not something the SMB typically has.

So it comes back to you, the dealer providing managed services or value-added solutions, to be that resource for the SMB. It’s a win-win all around, not just when it comes to security, but regarding all kinds of technology solutions the SMB needs but doesn’t have. Can you be that partner? Go seek that target.

Amy Weiss, Editor-in-Chief

TRACEY KOZIOL is senior vice president Workplace Solutions for Xerox, responsible for prod-ucts and solutions strategy, planning and execution for the A4 and A3 market segments, contrib-uting $8B in sales. Tracey joined Xerox in November 2014 as the vice president of the Workplace Solutions, cover-ing the A4 segment and responsible for overall strategy of the Workplace Solutions.

THOMAS O’NEILL is a 35+ year marketing and product strategy professional in the enterprise imaging and print industry. Beginning with positions in sales and training management, for the past 24 years he’s held director and manager positions at Canon, Océ, Lexmark and Minolta. He has extensive experience in hardware and software product marketing, strategic product planning and sourcing, solution

sales, marketing content creation and strategies, branding strategy and vertical marketing strategies.

BRAD RODERICKis executive vice president of InkCycle Inc. He is an industry veteran with more than 25 years of sales and marketing experience. He is an active member of the imaging industry as an author, trainer and speaker.

DAN WALDINGER is the senior director for B2B Marketing at Brother International Corporation. Waldinger’s primary role is to develop strategy, direct and lead the Brother B2B marketing efforts, establish and expand the SMB & enterprise solution selling efforts and offerings and launch document-related software and cloud services via Brother Online.

contributors

BPO Media strives to be an environmentally friendly company. Please help us by sending address corrections

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*Top Gun. Did I have to tell you that?

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BY PATRICIA AMES, THE IMAGING CHANNEL

SPEAKEASY:Born to Run Q&A With Stephen Young, Square 9

WE THOUGHT IT was time to catch up with the folks at Square 9 and talk a

little ECM, capture and vertical commitment. Of course, when the time came

to sit down with Stephen Young, the president and CEO of the New Haven,

Conn.-based firm, the conversation took a lot of other turns as well — from the

history and future of the industry to Bruce Springsteen and blues guitar. Join

me in the SpeakEasy. uu

July 2018 9

BY PATRICIA AMES, THE IMAGING CHANNEL

SPEAKEASY:Born to Run Q&A With Stephen Young, Square 9

Where is Square 9 seeing traction right now in the channel?Our company and our products have both grown tremendously. We started off as an entry level ECM product that could be easily bundled into the copier — that was the legacy of our company 10 years ago. But over time, we built on that product — we added work-flow, we added web forms, we’ve recently added capture. Now we have a full span of ECM solutions, and we can cover organizations from the SMB all the way up to large enterprises.

What we’ve seen is that as our products have gotten more powerful, they also become in-creasingly complex. As you swim upstream, people want much broader functionality, which is what we’ve worked to deliver in recent years. We’re trying to reel the complexity back in right now — our current big focus is on repeatable solutions and getting deeper market penetration. At this point, people who want to in-vest in ECM for their businesses are looking to increase produc-tivity. We are not seeing a lot of wage increases in the current market; real wages are only rising about 2 percent annually. So, how do you increase real wages? You do it through increased productivity, which is what we’ve been tasked to deliver.

In the past we built a lot of custom systems for clients, but many businesses have the same core operation. So, this year we’ve provided dealers with the ability to easily create common business applications, and then export and repeat them. Our dealers are increasingly relying on us to do the professional ser-vices as use cases get more and more complex. We’re trying to

find ways to put that part of the business back in their hands.

Right now, there’s a lot of rip and replace that’s going on out there. We go into places and they’ve already got a solution, but maybe it’s not doing the job that they want it to do – so we’re replacing it. Our biggest ven-dors right now are conversion bureaus. We have three of them, and we keep them as busy as they can be.

There’s a lot of next-generation BPM materializing, where the client started with a document management system but doesn’t have the workflow capabilities or the capture capabilities, and so they’re converting to another platform like ours. This is the reason why we’re doing so many conversions month in and month out. We’re taking a horizontal market application, like an ac-counts payable solution, and packaging it up so dealers can walk into a customer location and show them a beginning to end piece with very little cus-tomization – and deliver it much more effectively – all while ad-dressing their clients’ needs at a much lower cost.

How are you training dealers to be able to do that?Well, there are a couple of things. First, we’re taking away the com-plexity of the installation by putting it in the cloud. Secondly, we’ve built a library into our product, so there’s a repository of business applications that can now be easily accessed. We have 20 years of experience building out these ap-plications so each one is built out using industry best practices.

As an example, in the of-fice equipment industry, two high demand areas are K-12 education and small government

— municipal government and county government. So, we’ve created a library of expertise in these areas that dealers can now access, which allows them to walk into these environments and show the client exactly what they will get. This is a concept that we borrowed from Salesforce.com. We bought just a few licenses of Salesforce.com when we were a very small company – we had a three-user system. But when we purchased the licenses and began to set it up, there was already a company shaped in the system. It didn’t fit our business exactly, but it got us started immediately. And then, after we used the system for a while, we figured out what we needed and what we didn’t, and could take out pieces and add other cus-tom items in. Before too long, we were building workflows that would automatically send out notifications to customers and adding different touches — we grew with the product over time.

Once you build something out like that, you can’t imagine doing without it, and we’d like to see people doing that more with their document management system. If we can give you something that works out of the box, it may not be exactly what you want, but you can customize your needs and grow with the product.

Do you feel that the vertical approach that a lot of the OEMs are now advocating is one of the ways to get deeper and wider into the client base?I do. Initially, we came in horizon-tally, so it was AP, AR, contracts management and human resourc-es. We’ve always centered around these key areas as a company that is “vertically non-committed” and horizontally focused on repeatable

10 www.theimagingchannel.com

The average dealer probably has 70 different products in their portfolio. There’s just no way the solutions salesperson who

works for the dealership can be an expert on them all.

business applications. But I think there’s a lot more out there right now, and so much more emerging.

I think that we’re all looking for the next big thing. You know how in the legal industry the lawyers found the class action lawsuit against tobacco? That was the holy grail. Well, I think in our industry it was AP. Everybody latched on to AP because it was the way to improve metrics. There’s value there — you can show real ROI. You make an investment, it’s going to give you

a return. And people were very satisfied with it. The lawyers are still looking for the next big class action lawsuit, whether it’s me-sothelioma or whatever the case might be. My biggest fear was in many ways that a lot of the tra-ditional applications like AP and AR were running their course. We have to find that next generation, and I think that we have started to see that already, but it’s more vertically specific.

We’ve now made it easy for the dealer to deliver the solutions and give that extra level of service — put the “value add” back in value added reseller, and be able to support those customers as well. We’re trying to figure out multiple ways to put that value back in and help the dealer to sell more. The hardest part of a solutions sale is being able to interpret the needs of the clients and the deliverables. Dealers need a good statement of work. Training someone to write

a statement of work and to really understand what those needs are is difficult. So, for each one of these vertical applications, we’ve written a statement of work, out-lining specifically what the client is going to receive.

You definitely need experience to be able to write a solid statement of work for something as critical as ECM — it’s a risk management tool.It is a risk management tool, there’s no doubt about it. We’ve learned, our noses have been

bloodied over the years, and we can spare our dealers that experi-ence. We like the fact that we can play upstream, that we can deliver the solutions and compete effec-tively, but at the same time I don’t want to sacrifice usability. I don’t want to be viewed as a product that is too cumbersome for dealers to work with, or too expensive for them to handle. I want our chan-nel partners to start a conversation with our products and finish the conversation with our products. They can offer the simple solution to their clients. But if that is not what the client needs, we have the specialists who can jump in and assist.

The average dealer probably has 70 different products in their portfolio. There’s just no way the solutions salesperson who works for the dealership can be an expert on them all. Technology is changing all the time and it’s hard to keep up

with. If this conversation starts with us and then they engage us, we can help them to win more opportunities.

But they have to bring you in.We want to help and we encour-age that they engage us. Every company that I’ve ever worked for before failed to have a strong pre-sales team. There was that RSM who you would call, and he was kind of your go-to point for everything. What we’ve tried to do is allow the RSM to manage the relationship, he’s out in the field,

he’s working with the dealers, he’s doing trainings and strategies and launches with different dealers, and our subject matter experts are always here in the office. They are always by the phone, so when you call and you need that quote or you need that demonstration they are there to take your call and be able to help you quickly. It’s a dis-tinct difference that we’ve created here to try to support the dealers at a higher level.

You mentioned that you now have capture. What has that changed for you? There are a couple things. If you look at what we created originally, our first product was a capture piece. When we were Infinet Business Systems, before Square 9 ever existed, we wrote some software called Image Accelerator, which took images coming off the copier and it could enhance them and provide some light OCR and

July 2018 11

other functionality that a scanner has. That was our first product, and then we built a content manage-ment piece onto it.

Over time, capture became more and more essential. We’re feeding data to other business applications all the time, and that data has got to be good. It’s got to be accurate, and we’ve got to be able to rely on it. It isn’t about the image as much now as it is about the data, and that’s what it comes down to. If you look at where people are cost-justifying a lot of their ECM projects, it’s in extract-ing information off paper and feeding it automatically to the ERP system, the financial system, the CRM.

We were seeing the capture side of our business grow and grow … but we were relying on third party for our advanced capture. So, we thought, why don’t we build on that platform? We took a couple of years to really understand what we wanted to do and then built what we needed. It’s seen huge growth. It solves a lot of problems — the rubber really hits the road with capture.

So, the advanced capture piece is opening new doors for you?Absolutely. We wouldn’t be playing in a lot of the projects that we’re working right now, to be honest with you. Now we can have the en-tire conversation with a customer, and we don’t have to talk about third-party products — our teams are well-educated on everything that we can do from start to finish. We’ve hired specialists for capture that can come in and sit down and talk with clients about solving spe-cific problems. Last year, we added a web forms piece. That’s another piece of the puzzle. Not every business process starts with paper. It does start, though, with people entering data. What we’re trying to do is make sure that regardless of

the way the information’s coming in, that we can manage it effec-tively and distribute the information accordingly.

What are you most excited about right now from a technology standpoint? I’m probably most intrigued by AI. I think everybody is. Look at the cloud, for example. Ten years ago, the cloud was the buzzword. And so, for 10 years we talked about the cloud. We’re only now seeing the adoption rates in our industry that are rivaling everything else, and it’s because we had some challenges to overcome. Technological challenges and business challenges. Aside from the previous privacy and secu-rity concerns, there are now, with GDPR, enormous challenges and responsibilities that are coming to the person who’s hosting that infor-mation. Big businesses are trying to shift that responsibility over to the service providers. They are look-ing for indemnification. It’s creating enormous risk and even higher insurance demands on us, the sand under our feet is shifting daily.

What excites me about AI is the opportunity to simplify. Right now, what we do is we deliver a solution, and in many cases we’re creating tools that are allowing people to train the software more easily. Many times when you buy advanced capture, it becomes untuned over time. When you first get the system, it’s working great, but then over the course of the next year, you take on 15 or 20 new customers, and now it’s no longer working with the same level of efficiency. You have to bring your vendor back in, and they’ve got to retune the system for you. AI is going to eliminate that. AI is going to not only make it easier for dealers to deliver, it’s going to learn and it’s going to automatically be

able to extract the needed informa-tion and do the self tuning at the same time.

If your team were to describe you in three words or phrases, what do you think they’d say about you?I think if you talked to my team, they’d say I’m positive. I’m always enthusiastic and I’m passionate. I like to come in and start every day excited about what we do. I’m passionate about the industry. My wife laughs at me because I’ll say, “That’s a sexy piece of software,” and she’ll say, “Now that’s just weird.”

If you were stranded on an island and you could only take one album, which one would it be?That’s a tough question. It depends on what point in my life. At one point it was “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen, because that was the soundtrack of my youth. That was played in my car constantly for a long time. I think I’ve probably been through five or six copies of the album, a couple of cassette tapes, and a CD or two.

I play a lot of blues guitar and I listen to BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters. I have a passion for Delta Blues, but it ranges — I’m very eclectic. I’ll go from the older stuff, from back in the 40s and 50s — even the 70s — to present day. I love Albert King, BB King of course, and Freddie King is one of my favorites — all of them, the three kings.

on the webSquare 9

http://www.square-9.com/

12 www.theimagingchannel.com

July 2018 13

Five Ways Imaging Advances Are Helping SMBs CompeteBY TRACEY KOZIOL, XEROX

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES have enabled small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to over-come many advantages of scale that once were exclusive to large enterprises. The web expands market reach. Mobile devices speed communications from the field. Automation boosts qual-ity and productivity while cutting costs.

Imaging technology advance-ments contribute to this trend.

Here are five ways imaging technologies help SMBs compete more effectively.

1. Smarter printingRationalizing print needs often isn’t a top priority for cash-strapped, lean-staffed SMBs. That can be a problem. Most companies underestimate their printing costs by about 40 per-cent. The average business actu-ally spends about 3 percent of

annual revenue on printing, mak-ing it the third largest expense behind rent and payroll.

Many large enterprises have gained control of their print-ing activities by engaging with manufacturers for managed print services (MPS). Initial installa-tions typically generate about 30 percent in cost savings, while relieving staff from print-related activities, boosting productivity and freeing them to focus on the

Technology advancements help put SMBs on equal footing with larger, deeper-pocketed enterprises

14 www.theimagingchannel.com

business. For many firms though, it’s the sharpened visibility into the print operation and resulting improving management control that is MPS’s real prize.

SMBs have largely missed out, because they haven’t been a cost-effective target for most MPS providers. But that’s chang-ing. More and more dealers are offering MPS to their largely SMB client bases — sometimes in conjunction with a manufacturer — leveling the playing field for SMBs.

The process begins with an assessment of the print installa-tion — an effort that is valuable on its own, whether part of an MPS contract or not. The assess-ment looks at print volumes on various devices, device ages, the efficiency of device locations and other factors. These data feed a plan for managing the current fleet and for bringing in newer technologies that are less expen-sive to maintain.

Once enacted, the SMB gains efficiency by managing a single contract, while the MPS provider manages everything print-related, from clearing paper jams, to ordering supplies, changing toner and servicing equipment. Costs are controlled by rightsizing equipment, for instance, installing centralized production printers with their lower cost-per-page, to handle larger jobs. And visibility is gained with dashboards that present data on who is printing where and when — intelligence

that can lead to more printing insights down the road.

2. Digitally transforming the workplaceLet’s face it — since the advent of the web, most businesses have been going through a digital transformation. Some just plan for it more than others.

SMBs have been somewhat disadvantaged in this transfor-mation. A central tool for digitiz-ing work processes, the enter-prise content management (ECM)

system, has traditionally required professionals to install, program and maintain it, an expense too great for many SMBs. These systems are valuable not only be-cause they store content in many digital formats for easy retrieval, but because they can automate many document-related process-es, such as gaining approvals.

With ECM out of reach, many SMBs rely on inefficient paper-based systems. According to a 2016 AIIM survey, poor content management practices result in taking too long to find content (for 62 percent of respondents), duplicated efforts (52 percent) and insufficient re-use (46 per-cent). Adopting a digital work process not only improves staff productivity, it lowers costs by reducing printing, the costs of supplies like paper and ink and space requirements for storing physical records.

Fortunately, there are some technologies that are bringing

ECM technologies more in line with SMB budgets.

First is the latest generation of ECM systems that are riding the consumerization wave. Complex systems that traditionally re-quired professional expertise are beginning to emulate the user-friendly apps on mobile devices and laptops. So newer ECM sys-tems enable easy use and pro-gramming by non-IT staff, while packing power comparable to large-scale enterprise systems.

Then there is the cloud. Storing

content on a third-party cloud system eliminates the complexity of integrating and maintaining an on-site electronic storage facility and helps control costs, as users pay only for the service level they need. And one-touch scanning controls allow paper documents to be easily digitized and filed to popular web applications, such as Dropbox, Quickbooks and Salesforce.

With these advancements, SMBs can truly manage their dig-ital transformation and become more efficient organizations.

3. Working smarter “Working smarter” means find-ing ways to reduce tedium and boost productivity by automating routine tasks. It’s one thing to install state-of-the-art MFPs and ECM systems. It’s quite another to reap the full benefits of their automation capabilities.

Dealers can help by learn-ing about their customers’ work

A central tool for digitizing work processes, the ECM system, has traditionally required professionals to install, program and maintain

it, an expense too great for many SMBs.

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processes and offering ways to automate them. In the past, such work was the realm of system integrators with considerable IT expertise. But that’s changing. Many basic workflow activities can now be automated easily in a user-friendly ECM system or with off-the-shelf MFP apps, which work much like smartphone apps.

Apps can address a wide range of workplace activities from the general, such as scanning directly to specific document repositories

and translating scanned docu-ments into other languages, to the specialized, such as securely sharing medical patient infor-mation. And that’s part of their beauty — they can automate your customers’ unique workflows.

4. Enabling the remote workforceThe need to support a remote workforce is building from every corner and constituency. More employees work remotely than ever before. Sales and service reps continue to seek greater productivity on the road. And who doesn’t seek access to corporate resources with their personal mo-bile devices at some point?

What’s more, remote access can benefit employees and SMBs alike. Studies show that telecom-muting boosts worker productivity and satisfaction, limits absences and saves money for the busi-ness — an estimated $2,000 per remote employee, according to one study by a Stanford professor.

Interestingly, printing and scan-ning continue to have roles in mobile business processes. In “Mobile Devices and the Impact on Print,” InfoTrends reported 95 percent of consumers and 67 per-cent of business users want the capability to print from their mo-bile devices. Indeed, phones and tablets enabled with the Mopria Alliance’s mobile printing standard print more than 1 million pages daily, including classroom home-work, email, medical records,

coupons, event tickets, boarding passes, reservations, recipes and other documents.

Dealers and SMBs who em-brace these mobile technologies will tend to have access to a bet-ter employee pool, and to have a more satisfied and productive workforce than mobile laggards.

5. Minimizing cybersecurity threatsAnything that is connected to the internet can be a target for cybercriminals, and with increas-ing demand for access from mobile devices and the Internet of Things, the number of connected devices is growing exponentially.

SMBs are clearly in the line of fire. Forty-three percent of cyber-attacks target small businesses, according to smallbiz.com, and 20 percent have been cybercrime victims, according to Microsoft.

The average cost of a data breach is $3.6 million, according to a Ponemon Institute study. Add in loss of trust when customer

data is compromised, loss of competitive edge when trade secrets and pricing strategies become known, and you begin to see why 60 percent of small companies go out of business within six months of a cyber-at-tack, according to GEM Strategy Management.

Printers and MFPs are among the vulnerable, always-on network end-points that cybercriminals target. Securing the print infrastructure is a complex challenge. Read more

about “The Security Threats That Lurk in Your Office — And What to Do About Them” in the June 2018 issue of The Imaging Channel.

Remember, cybercriminals work full time at getting a half step ahead of security alerts. In response, SMBs and dealers need to take advantage of ser-vices from partners who work full time at staying a step ahead of cyberperps.

A more competitive SMBSMBs use information technology — and imaging technology — to gain a competitive edge. Helping them do that gives dealers a similar competitive edge, contributing to a virtuous circle that transforms them from vendor to valued partner. And that’s a good place to be.

contributorTracey Koziol Xeroxhttps://www.xerox.com/

Dealers and SMBs who embrace these mobile technologies will tend to have access to a better employee pool, and to have a more

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TIME: YOUR MOST precious resource. Before you invest a few minutes reading this article, con-sider whether it may be relevant to your needs. Guard your time, my friends. Winners and non-winners have the same number of hours in each week. It isn’t the

number of available hours that makes the difference, it’s how the hours are used. The information in this article is meant to help people who are: 1. Engaged in B2B sales/revenue generation2. Planning on growth

3. Providing solutions within the imaging channelIf any or all the above resonate with you, read on. If not, move on. (a) (Spoiler alert: these green letters throughout the article are leading you somewhere. Read on). One more: Are you willing to take action?

Finish Strong in 2018BY BRAD RODERICK, INKCYCLE

July 2018 19

Glad you are still with me. Let’s get to it! By now the year is half over so you have a decent indication of where the numbers will be when Dec. 31 rolls around — numbers that fall into one of three performance categories. (b)

1. Goals met2. Goals exceeded3. Goals missedMidyear, the picture is somewhat

clear and becoming clearer each week. It is unlikely that there will be a dramatic shift in the universe or a gigantic market change outside of

your control that will significantly change the year-end outcome. Regardless of the time left, how-ever, there are things in the control of every revenue producer that do have a tremendous impact on the annual outcome. These fall into three categories. (c)

20 www.theimagingchannel.com

1. Attracting new customers2. Retaining existing customers3. Growing existing customersNot exactly secret science, is

it? The more you bring in, com-bined with the more you keep and the deeper you work with your existing base, the greater the year-end outcome. As the length of sales cycles varies widely, this article focuses only on the shortest-term impact op-portunity: the existing customer base — first ensuring a solid foundation and then building on that foundation.

All of us want to feel that we matter, that other people care about us. It’s human nature —

we want to be valued. I recall a sales call years ago where the buyer (major account customer at the time) asked the sales rep to pause during the rep’s presen-tation. “Young man, before you start pitching your new prod-ucts, I have a question for you.” The rep nodded, and the buyer continued, “Did you or anyone at (company name) happen to notice that we ain’t bought squat in over four months?” (The gram-mar is theirs, not mine). They had gone from tens of thousands of dollars a month to zero in under 30 days and hadn’t placed an order in four months. Or, to be more accurate, they had indeed spent tens of thousands of dol-lars, but not from that rep’s com-pany. The sales call went down-hill as the rep pulled a file from his briefcase as if in disbelief. I think I saw a tear when he saw

the zeros on the monthly sales report. No personal attention translates into, “You don’t care about me and therefore, not only do I not care about you, I will find someone who does care.” I would love to tell you that the rep came up with a miraculous re-covery on this, but they did not. The brutal truth is that they were served better by someone else who was paying attention, stay-ing connected and never taking anything for granted. By the way, before you start thinking about all the things that could or should have happened before, during and after this call, just know that it was indeed a disaster and both

the rep and I failed in meteoric proportions. In fairness to the rep, he was new to the company and lacked historical knowledge. There was no excuse for me.

Here’s another example: Sam (not his real name) was a buyer for a Fortune 100 company. He had been trained in the, “All I want is what I want, and I want it faster, cheaper and better today than yesterday” school of purchasing. He even had a sign on his desk that said, “Faster, Cheaper, Better,” just in case any visiting salesperson wasn’t getting the point. Did Sam really make decisions solely based on “Faster, Cheaper, Better?” In the case of the call I witnessed, he absolutely did — but not in the way that most salespeople might think. After an entertain-ing discovery period, the sales rep uncovered Sam’s real need

(and his motivation for making a change). Sam was buying cheap and he was getting his mate-rial fast, which to him equated better. However, he was hav-ing problems with inconsistent materials and deliveries, which created delays in production. To make matters worse, it took days for the supplier to provide input and updates, let alone to resolve and correct. The rep presented the case that he would person-ally handle those kinds of issues within 12 hours, no exceptions. He went on to provide his home phone number, mobile num-ber and set up a unique phone number that was only for this

buyer’s use! He won the business because he committed to per-forming faster (response time), cheaper (less down time and reputation cost) and delivering a better solution to real problems (far beyond what anyone else was offering). (d)

Two reps. Two events I wit-nessed that, by the way, took place over a decade apart. Several lessons. What actionable points can we glean from these examples? (e)

1. Pay personal attention to the customer. The customer is a person, not a company.

2. Be attentive to the specific needs of the customer. And again, remember, the customer is a person, not a company.

3. Correct problems quickly. Better yet, correct them without additional cost and prevent them from happening in the future.

All of us want to feel that we matter, that other people care about us. It’s human nature — we want to be valued.

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July 2018 23

4. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.

5. Stay engaged. The buyer and you are on a journey together — a journey that takes the buyer toward their happy place. Stay engaged in the long-term journey. There is plenty of additional op-portunity along the way.

6. Remain accessible after the sale. Not just accessible. Hyper-accessible.

These may sound simple. They are. They may sound easy. They are not. They take a servant mentality, a commitment to the customer and hard work. The good news is that they are within control of the rep, they are un-common and they are the things that most competitors are not doing.

Time to take action. List five

things you can do each week to bring more value to your custom-ers than they are expecting. (f)

And by the way — the green let-ters I mentioned at the beginning lead you on a “secret” sales path embedded in the article. (g). Seth Godin might call it, “The Prize Inside.” The idea is to give the prospect (you, the reader, in this case) something extra — a bonus. Here is the Secret Sales Path:

(a) Defined “target market” by using a “relevant filter.”

(b) Narrowed the target market down to an ideal customer (willing to take action and further nar-rowed by degree of urgency). The greater the urgency, the greater the likelihood of buying and buy-ing now.

(c) Presented possible solution strategies.

(d) Shared relevant stories.(e) Presented an overview

of tools to achieve desired outcomes.

(f) Created a call to action.(g) Offered additional surprise

value. #Bonus.And if all of this amazing value

isn’t enough, one last reminder — guard your time. Time is spent or invested. Make sure you know where your most precious re-source, time, is going. Speaking of time, time to get back to gen-erating! Dec. 31 is closer than it appears.

contributorBrad Roderick InkCyclehttp://www.inkcycle.com/

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inbound marketing

ASK ANYONE WHO manages or works for a small or medium business (SMB), regardless of the industry, and it is likely he or she will agree that we are in a new era. The culmination of rapid changes, the convergence of technologies, security and privacy concerns – these and other elements have developed a new worldview for all

companies, at all sizes. As trusted partners to SMBs, you know bet-ter than most the significant ways that document and imaging needs are changing, as are the technolo-gies available to meet them.

Mobile devices have made “anywhere, anytime” possible, with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Device-as-a-Service (DaaS)

making waves. The Internet of Things (IoT) across home and work is changing employee expecta-tions. With the potential for other disruptive advancements, such as artificial intelligence (AI), some purport the document imaging industry is a “dinosaur.” While fully digitized offices exist, a hybrid balance between digital and paper

Document Management for SMBs: Asking the Right Questions for Today and TomorrowBY DAN WALDINGER, BROTHER INTERNATIONAL

26 www.theimagingchannel.com

is the reality – and it is certain to continue for the office of the future.

Customers’ expectations are growing quicker than ever before – we are past the age of simply upselling with numerous “nice to have” features. Customers seek document and imaging solutions that work smarter, faster, more effi-ciently, more reliably and more se-curely for their companies – every time. The entire workforce should be able to access, share and print documents from whichever device, wherever and whenever needed. And they need to know that infor-mation is kept secure throughout the process. Quality, speed and nimble adaptability are key for every job and workflow, regard-less of the size and the workspace. Transparency is paramount and is now considered standard.

In the end, customers just need it all to work – and have a partner ready to help them adapt to the changing demands of the mar-ket so that they aren’t caught off guard.

The changing needs of SMBs For SMBs especially, it is impor-tant to offer customization for their particular needs, paired with the ability to manage documents across formats – not just print them. That blend of high qual-ity paper output, together with a range of paperless solutions, can help you counsel your customers on how a hybrid system – both digital and paper processes – can consistently improve workflows.

When meeting with a new or existing SMB customer, there are several topics and questions worth covering. If they don’t get asked, bring them up. Some of these might include:• How can we help support the BYOD trend?

• Is a consumption-based PaaS/DaaS (print/device-as-a-service) model best for your needs? • Do I need everything resident on-site, or can I usually have sufficient coverage with some-thing cloud-based/available on-demand?• What is required to have true end-to-end security? • Can office equipment enhance, not impede, the open and collab-orative workspaces my employ-ees want? • Is it possible to integrate ev-erything – across legacy software systems, apps and devices?

Dealers can expect to encounter requests like these more frequently – and should expect other tough questions to arise as well. When the questions do get asked, take them as opportunities through which your expertise can shine, even to the most in-the-know and longstanding SMB customer. Understand the products, how they can be scaled and what other elements can be woven together to create a truly impactful solution that is tailored specifically to the customer and the company, not just the broader vertical or industry. This holds true whether it is for a small, annual check-in or a full-scale, ground-up project.

Understandably, that can even mean going beyond the “box” – the physical product. Managed print services (MPS) are evolving quickly and have become per-fectly positioned so that you can continue to excel with your SMB customers in new ways, advanc-ing both your business and theirs. Less worry and physical hardware concerns for them can mean greater control and bolstered profits for you. And MPS can go beyond printing – consider other office-related services and exper-tise that you may already have and

can be baked into a service agree-ment. Moving the focus away from the “box” to a managed content services approach will make for a more a much more robust strategic discussion with your customer.

Smaller hardware, bigger bang for your buck With office sizes changing and even being nomadic in na-ture, both the single unit and cross-system design aspects of printing and imaging setups will need to align without diminishing returns. It is possible to have a growing blend of on-site solu-tions that are versatile enough to handle the common, daily workgroup jobs, together with a custom setup on-site for one-off, limited productions, or even a separate MPS arrangement. A compact printer-pod approach, with an efficient footprint will not only help maximize place-ment, but can also increase use, and offer a more appealing and friendly look to match an of-fice’s design. On-the-go offices can benefit from mobile printing, electronic stationary and other technological shortcuts – think about the back office, ware-houses, or a customer’s team in the field.

While A3-capable devices have long made sense for providing robust coverage for large format printing needs, a shift away from A3 to A4 is occurring. SMB cus-tomers have realized that A4-sized technologies are sufficient for their workgroup needs and can support how their businesses operate to-day. These smaller footprint mod-els provide the consistent reliabili-ty, efficiency, power and security of many large, full-scale systems but with low total cost of ownership (TCO). These A4 devices provide the opportunity for customization

July 2018 27

into multiunit setups key for workgroups or fitting in particular space constraints. When assess-ing the A4 options in the market, look for devices with real-world durability, ease of use, high-cycle production, cloud/mobile access and a host of at-the-ready op-tions and upgrades that add value for you and your customers. You should also consider how to layer in preferred third-party applications and custom elements, whether they are from the customer’s IT management team, or your own agreed-upon setup. Ultimately, the

goal is to better fit office spaces, bolstering and complementing SMB’s existing printing hardware and solutions to meet the needs of increasingly on-the-go employees. A4 in the SMB market represents a transition that is real and here now and will continue to open new doors.

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s SMB needs And what may be in store for offic-es of tomorrow, particularly for the SMB set? The truth is the future is already underway with today’s cus-tomers. Printing and imaging are integral pieces in that puzzle now and can continue to evolve with the right combination of hardware technology and software abilities.

To the cloudExpect secure document access and management via the cloud across users’ multiple locations and devices. Being able to rapidly (and securely) disseminate docu-ments – from the first scan to the

final print – will be even more criti-cal. For example, implementation of web-connected accessibility can make for fewer steps and pro-cesses, with enhanced efficiency. Near Field Communications (NFC) and card readers will see more active use in work environments (and beyond, with payments, etc.). Fingerprint and facial recognition in phones and tablets have potential to be used throughout an office, and augment existing password/encryption protocols. All this will stack atop ongoing encryption protocols, Active Directories and

more. The end goal will remain — to be sure documents and their data are routed to whom and to where they’re intended, every time.

Increased demand for software/app integration Also, be prepared for what may be a growing number of requests to have app integrations and tie-ins that will provide access and ad-justment controls over machines, such as MFPs and scanners. When assessing options for your custom-ers, be sure to consider partners with open and intuitive solutions interfaces that enable securely opening the devices’ features from a web application and setting functions directly from an existing document management workflow. Integrations will be expected in SMB offices, thanks in part to increased customer connectiv-ity, device variety and even more remote IT staff and support.

Software and apps will be the true core of any device, allowing for easier growth and long-term

viability by SMBs. A secure com-munications and control link for re-mote and direct machine-to-device access can build better workflow management and end-user experi-ences. Device accessibility through storage sites and apps – think Dropbox, Google Drive and others – will be ubiquitous. Software’s key advantage, especially for printing and imaging, is keeping hardware fresh, active and ready for what is next, all with minimal productivity downtime. Hardware remains the foundation for many solutions, but it needs to be consistently woven

together with secure, ready-for-upgrades software to maximize results.

Success = remaining flexible in a fluid industry This is not all to say that every SMB office and user you en-counter will adopt all the new technologies and fresh services you can offer. A new era never immediately eliminates the needs and processes that have been traditionally used and upheld. “One size fits all” will continue to rarely do so. As such, it is best to look ahead at the future through the lens of today – it can bet-ter prepare you, and your SMB customers, for creating a balance that will last.

contributorDan Waldinger Brotherhttps://www.brother-usa.com/

Software and apps will be the true core of any device, allowing for easier growth and long-term viability by SMBs.

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inbound marketing

A NEW AGE of managing business information and busi-ness processes began in 1981 with the introduction of the IBM PC (personal computer). As the first desktop computer system designed for an individual (and with the subsequent software

that became available) it revo-lutionized how information was created and processed in busi-ness. Computing power was no longer limited to large enterprises but could be acquired and used by small and medium-sized busi-nesses (SMBs) to improve their

productivity and competitive-ness. One could say that digital transformation of SMBs began 37 years ago.

Networking, new software, the internet, cloud platforms, mobile applications and other technologies have enabled new

SMBs and Digital TransformationBY TOM O’NEILL FOR THE IMAGING CHANNEL

30 www.theimagingchannel.com

digital transformational opportu-nities each year. SMBs and their solution providers are benefiting more than ever since that journey began almost four decades ago.

State of digital transformation and the SMBAccording to a Wells Fargo and Gallup study, over the last two years almost 50 percent of small businesses have invested in upgrading their business systems software. This means SMBs are realizing the need to make sure their businesses are in shape to compete effectively in the in-creasingly digital driven market-place. To do so, SMBs are willing to invest about 15 percent of their annual budgets on technology.

Much of the digital trans-formation initiatives SMBs are undertaking mirror that of larger enterprises. They are investing in expanding their e-commerce presence, making their websites more mobile friendly, creating mobile apps or automating their marketing efforts through market-ing automation tools. The objec-tives are to make their business more competitive by:

• Making it easier for customers to find, order and pay online for their products or services

• Increasing their customer base

• Reducing customer acquisi-tion costs

SMBs are also investing in automating internal business processes. According to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index report, SMBs are facing challenges in finding staff and so are turning to technology to im-prove the productivity of current employees. Digitizing business records and records management has been done by 37 percent of SMBs.

Traditional print and manual process applications are being affected as process automation and the use of scan-to-capture workflow solutions, digital sig-natures and e-forms are put in place. Even in SMBs, automating paper-intensive manual processes such as accounts receivable (AR), accounts payable (AP) or HR onboarding allows employees to get more done in the same or less time, reduces errors, ensures regulation compliance, improves revenue generation and cash flow, and reduces costs of operations.

Of course, the cloud is also generating much of the digi-tal transformation for SMBs. According to IDC, the SMB mobile workforce represented 57 percent of all mobile workers in the U.S. in 2014 and is expected to be 60 percent of all U.S. mobile workers by 2020 (“U.S. SMB Buyer Behavior Survey: How Cloud IT Has Re-Shaped Spending Priorities”). The internet, cloud and mobile applications are keys to letting mobile workers communicate. Over 90 percent of SMBs use one or more cloud ap-plications, with two-thirds of them using collaboration applications in the cloud. SMB Group reports that cloud-based marketing automation, CRM and workforce/payroll applications are used by over 50 percent of SMBs, with 33 percent of SMBs using some form of cloud-based accounting/ERP solution.

SMB market opportunity and vertical marketsForrester and Gartner are predict-ing that IT spending will continue to increase as digital transforma-tion efforts continue. Forrester expects a spending increase on technology of 5.1 percent in 2018 and an increase of 4.7 percent in

2019 in business and government. It’s difficult to know the exact

amount spent on technology with-in SMBs. Yet, if one looks at the number of SMBs in the U.S. and concentrates on vertical markets, a picture of the SMB digital trans-formation opportunity available to solution providers emerges.

The 2015 U.S. Census reported that under 1 percent of busi-nesses have over 500 employ-ees and could be considered as large businesses or enterprises. Just over 99 percent of all firms are businesses with less than 500 employees. However, three-quarters of those businesses have less than 10 employees and can be categorized as very small businesses or sole propri-etorships. For practical planning purposes, the businesses with 10 to 500 employees can be consid-ered small and medium-size busi-nesses — SMB. When defined in that way, the large opportunity in SMB becomes very clear.

The number of SMB companies outnumber large enterprise firms 63:1 and make up 57 percent of those combined business loca-tions in the U.S. Concentrating on large enterprises can be attractive — even seductive. However, not taking time to put good market-ing efforts in place to attract SMBs may find solution providers missing up to 57 percent of the business opportunity available in their market.

July 2018 31

Let’s break the SMB opportu-nity down further into the familiar vertical markets of healthcare, legal, finance, education and manufacturing. These represent over 285,000 firms that not only have the normal business pro-cesses of AR, AP and HR but also have processes specific to the vertical market that can ben-efit from digital transformation and automation.

Healthcare presents the larg-est opportunity in regards to the number of vertical SMB firms. As can be expected, these are primarily doctor’s offices, walk-in clinics, dentists, chiropractors, etc. However, there are ap-proximately 21,000 nursing and residential homes and services that can also be approached. Most hospitals employ more than 500 workers but there are a few that can be considered SMB size. All of these are faced with patient privacy and information security concerns due to HIPAA regulations and EHR initiatives. With the baby-boom generation moving into its senior years and the longer life expectancies of following generations, the health-care segment will be a continuing source of business opportunity for digital transformation.

The manufacturing vertical has used lean principles to reduce waste and improve productiv-ity on the plant floor for quite some time. These principles are now being moved into the of-fice. Manufacturing firms have a variety of documents and infor-mation that must be managed. Product plans and drawings, production schedules, regula-tory documents and warranty processes are just a few. Lean processes are being imple-mented to manage the docu-ments, information and business

processes to make these firms more competitive, provide better customer experiences and to be more profitable.

Finance/insurance and legal vertical markets are embracing business process digital transfor-mation to better handle the vast amount of data they manage. Automating business processes and workflows helps remove errors, speed transactions, and improve customer and client sat-isfaction as well as help meet the stringent regulations these firms must follow.

Forty-two percent of elemen-tary and secondary schools, colleges and universities employ 10 to 500 employees and fall into the SMB category. Digital transformation in education

means using technology inside and outside the classroom to improve student outcomes. Educational institutions also use digital means to better manage student information systems, student records and better meet learning account-ability standards. Improving and automating the processes around managing student infor-mation, meeting privacy regula-tions, and evaluating students helps schools free up instruc-tor and administration time to concentrate on the students themselves. Operating under ever-tighter budget constraints means cost reduction is also an objective that educational institutions can better achieve through digital transformation.

Healthcare123.6

Manufacturing98.3

Finance & insurance30.3

Legal18.1

Education: Primary through universities15.7

Ambulatorycare services

100.9

Nursing and residentialcare facilities

21.1

Hospitals1.6

Number of firms in thousands

Healthcare firms in thousands

32 www.theimagingchannel.com

These SMB vertical markets represent 46.5 million employees in the U.S. with each location averag-ing from 17 to 60 employees. Using digital transformation solutions in the office to automate processes can have a significant positive im-pact on the productivity, competi-tiveness and security of the firm.

Marketing to the digitally transforming SMBsIn approaching and marketing to the digitally transforming SMB, there are some important things to keep in mind.

A survey from the SMB Group notes that the technology deci-sion-maker in SMBs is the busi-ness owner or president about 75 to 78 percent of the time. The IT department makes the decision about 25 percent of the time and is most involved in the solution evaluation stage.

According to a 2017 Lavidge study, tech buyers of companies $1M - $10M in size reported that the top four technology claims they prefer to hear are:

1. Reliability2. Ease of use3. Cost4. Easy integrationInterestingly, high ROI was 12th on

the list. This seems to indicate that

while return on investment is always important at the decision stage to justify the expense, there are many other claims that are more attractive and more effective in generating in-terest for an SMB tech buyer to meet and speak with a solution provider.

A RAINGroup study states that whether the SMB tech buyer is just looking for new ideas or is actively involved in searching for a solu-tion, the information they want to receive during that research is:

• Research data and information relevant to their business.

• Insights on how the solutions solve their business problems.

• Best practices based on the provider’s area of expertise.

• Information on market trends or emerging business issues.

• Client case studies and suc-cess stories.

They do not want to hear about the seller’s business. Providers must make sure to provide infor-mation, white papers, research data, and client success stories in a manner that informs the SMB tech buyer rather than sell to them at this point of their journey.

From that same study, good guidance is given for when a meeting is finally arranged:

• Make sure to focus on the val-ue that can be delivered and not

on the product or service itself.• Collaborate with the custom-

er to make them an equal part of the solution — don’t make it a one-sided sales pitch.

• Educate them, help them see new perspectives or ideas that they may not have thought of or were not aware of.

• Use experience with other customers in their industry to give insight that can help them – what their peers are doing, what best practices are happening.

Doing these things will build trust and a closeness that will be valuable when presenting your rec-ommendations to solve their digital transformation problems.

When it gets down to the deci-sion-making process, remember that price is not always king. SMB tech buyers expect fair pricing information but they also expect to get customer reviews, meetings that are face-to-face with ven-dors, and that presentations are sharp and crisply relevant to their objectives. They will speak to and ask for advice from colleagues and friends so solution providers must ensure the integrity of their reputation meets or exceeds the claims made through the sales process.

An SMB Group study shows over 35 percent of SMBs cur-rently have some form of digital transformation strategy and plans underway. Almost 50 percent of them say they are planning to begin their digital transformation initiatives over the next 12-24 months. This means the fire is hot and the solution providers that act now to become trusted advisors and help SMBs maximize the returns on current plans or work with the SMBs just entering their digital transformation will have a clear advantage over those that wait.

Healthcare29

Manufacturing42

Finance and insurance17

Legal22

Education:Primary through

universities60

Average number of employees per location

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July 2018 35

What is one of the most important lessons you’ve learned from working with the SMB?

Hedy Belttary: One way that I have seen SMBs differ from [our] enterprise customers is that they have to think outside the box in order to get ahead in very competitive environments. As a result, they embrace technologies that support their innovative ideas and enable them to make those ideas into reality, faster. The SMB market is a great place for technology companies to focus on for those reasons, as well as the fact they make up a considerable portion of our economy.

Jim D’Emidio: We’re somewhat unique in the sense we’ve worked exclusively with SMBs over the past several decades. We don’t have a direct sales force so

we’ve had to live and die by our dealers, many of whom fall into the SMB category. We need dealers more than they need us, which means we have to be the easiest company to do business with. I’ve always told my team we need to be a flexible organization who isn’t afraid to do the right thing for our dealers. That strategy has worked well and is part of the reason why we’ve been able to survive through these tough times.

James Foxall: Most SMB executives are very busy working IN their business, and seldom find the time to work ON their business. Also, most SMB owners have had to learn as they go, so they often lack the business experience of their larger counterparts. That means they can get constrained by invisible barriers because they don’t know any better. On the other side of the equa-tion, they are often very smart, hardworking people that are willing to push boundaries and forge new trails.

Victoria Hensley: Their operational problems hurt them worse and they recover more slowly than big compa-nies when inefficiencies arise. Because of their size and infrastructure limitations, the results of those unattended issues, or even newly arising issues, can impact them much more severely. We have found that helping them to fix those issues usually means winning a long-term customer.

Ed McLaughlin: The most important lesson is that the basics are more important when dealing with a small company. The need to dig deeply into the problems fac-ing each account will be varied, and the understanding of the problems they face will have an impact on their ability to compete. There is less room for error than in enterprise. SMB customers are closer to their mission than their enterprise counterparts. They usually cannot afford the staff and resources that exist in the enterprise. For that reason, they are more focused on the details of their business and are less likely to be up to date on emerging or developing technologies. When working with them, it is important to learn as much about their business as possible so that you can help them realize process improvement. If you are providing services rather than a product you will likely be helping them

FOR AS MANY differences as there are between the SMB customer and the large enterprise, there are just as many similarities. Ultimately, the SMB can be a lucrative resource; it’s just a matter of knowing how to sell. We asked our panel of experts for some tips.

Victoria Hensley

COO

PSIGEN Software

Ed McLaughlin,

President, Innovolt

Joe Reeves,

President, Smile

Hedy Belttary, SVP,

Sales, Laserfiche

Jim D’Emidio,

President, Muratec

America, Inc.

James Foxall,

President & CEO,

Tigerpaw Software

Channel Chat: The SMB Customer

36 www.theimagingchannel.com

focus on their core business, so you need to understand how your service enables them to improve the support to the customer. In-depth knowledge of your product or service and the value you bring is critical. With the SMB, decisions are higher up in the organization. When dealing with a small business, it is not uncommon that the president may be the one that makes the decision. Don’t be afraid to start high. Joe Reeves: One of the most important lessons we have learned [from a technology perspective] from work-ing with SMBs is that offering backup and recovery ser-vices is not enough. Business continuity, creating a mirror image of your server, is a necessity. If a server fails, it’s a matter of minutes before its replacement can be brought online. Creating a virtual machine is the same as the origi-nal hardware, ready to use within minutes. Typically, you have a combination of on-site and off-site backup and storage. In the event of a national disaster or fire, busi-ness continuity provides a level above and beyond your typical backup and restore process.

What trends are you seeing with SMB customers?

Belttary: SMBs are looking for ways to streamline operations to become more productive and profitable. The internet is allowing SMBs to run their operations in a very different way than they have before by allowing them to compete at a global level. These are very excit-ing times for this group.

D’Emidio: The biggest trend we’re seeing in manufac-turing is companies are insourcing as much as pos-sible. This is especially true in labels and packaging. Today, manufacturers are starting to see the benefits of in-house label production like increased flexibility and reduced cost.

Hensley: Automation of anything possible. This is prob-ably the No. 1 need across many environments, from document processing to the development of products, to marketing in more channels — and the cause of this issue is really resource management. Due to a smaller footprint than their larger competitors, they look at automation for what it is — the great equalizer when competing against giants. They can take their current resources and, through automation tools, achieve their goals more efficiently and more profitably with fewer resources. After automation, we have seen the cloud … as the next largest topic or trend that the SMB is exploring.

Reeves: Trends that we are seeing with SMB custom-ers are their ability to leverage technology applications and services that in the past was only for enterprise businesses. An example is collaboration and video platforms. With the price of these platforms decreasing, SMBs can now provide enterprise-level sales and sup-port through video conferencing at a much lower cost than in the past. Another hot trend is security. As SMBs bring in more connected devices to their offices, the concern for security is growing. Implementing a security initiative and evaluating it regularly is important. As a managed network services provider, we alleviate any concerns about vulnerabilities from connected devices by strategically placing wireless access points outside the network, lock down user access and authenticate everywhere possible.

Are there any unique challenges when it comes to selling to the SMB?

D’Emidio: We view these challenges as opportunities. Our biggest challenge is the fact that not many of our dealers have ever called on businesses with label prod-ucts. But the opportunities are the same. Labels and packaging are in growth mode; however, our dealers are just getting their heads around this new technology and how it can help grow their business.

Foxall: One of the key things to always remember when working with the SMB is that they are people, with real lives, and often they have everything invested into their company’s success. That means there is often a lot of fear about making major purchasing decisions – es-pecially if those decisions might be disruptive to their organization. Many SMBs also struggle with cash flow, so keeping startup costs low and billing them monthly often yields better results than asking for a large pur-chase upfront.

Hensley: Providing financially viable products that per-form the same functions the big companies get, but on a smaller scale. Also, because of the lack of resources sometimes encountered, it can take surprisingly longer than expected to implement because of the SMB’s internal need for their staff to multitask.

McLaughlin: In many ways selling to the SMB market is easier than to the enterprise organizations; generally, they are a local business and so is the dealer. Large national organizations have difficulty getting to the SMB, as it is difficult to get the resources to adequately reach the market, but local dealers are more suited to support

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July 2018 39

channel chat

local business. [But] the local dealer can find them-selves challenged to provide all the support that these companies need at a cost that is effective for the small business. This is where local dealers need to evaluate the partners they work within the services area to make sure they are providing the level of support that can only come with scale. Reeves: One unique challenge we face when selling to SMBs is the ability to make them understand the impor-tance of planning and budgeting for all office technology. Usually you are dealing with the business owner, as opposed to a dedicated IT professional or purchasing agent, who only has general knowledge of their technol-ogy needs. Whether it’s an MFP, phone system, network solution or backup device, budgeting for hardware and support is essential for any SMB. Cost can vary per solution, and business owners might not understand the complexity and the overall cost. It’s important to evalu-ate, communicate and educate those key decision mak-ers. They will appreciate the time and energy you spend with them, and you will eventually earn their trust.

What do SMB clients consider their top priority in terms of office equipment?

Belttary: SMB clients are big advocates of technolo-gies working together to create the total solution. Any unnecessary redundancies in human labor to facilitate the technologies cuts into their workforce, productivity and bottom line.

Hensley: We deal with a variety of companies, so it may be a little different from what some others see. Years ago it used to be that the computers, copiers, printers and scanners were the main priorities as office equipment. It amounted to a little bit of input/content creation and a massive amount of output. Today, it is turning virtually upside down. The computers are still the mainstay, along with portable tablets and phones as the content creation devices. This is all leading to a gradual decline in the need for larger copiers and printers for output. Scanners are still prevalent, but only to convert paper to useful electronically stored business informa-tion, like a one-way ticket to the cloud.

Where can an SMB save money with office technology?

Belttary: There are a variety of ways that technology licensing is being offered, allowing SMBs to make the

best use of their investments. One great example is the subscription-based licensing of software, hardware and services that are widely available. This allows SMBs to adopt state-of-the-art technologies to help run their operations with a lower point of entry and minimal com-mitment if that is a point of contention.

Foxall: Controlling costs (through things like page management technology) or increasing efficiencies (through office automation using business automation software) are key areas where an SMB can save money/make money with office technology. This often takes an investment in time and money to get going, but then continues to pay back the SMB through the lifetime of the technology.

Hensley: It does depend on the type of business, but overall, money can be saved in a number of places. From an output standpoint, MPS is still out there and doing well, although changing with new models. That helps with the cost of printing when you have the need. Other cost savings are things like cloud-based storage and document management. With the all the business process automation capabilities proper storage and management solutions can bring, let alone the ability to access them from anywhere, time and IT resource savings can mount up quickly. Finally, companies should look at the document processing automation offerings out there. For instance, simply automating your docu-ment indexing by converting it to a hands-free process can save a ton of time and money, while allowing em-ployees to return to performing more important duties within the company. With hours (or days) worth of labor regularly being saved, these types of solutions basi-cally pay for themselves, but the dollars and efficiencies multiply fairly quickly.

Reeves: SMBs can save money with office technol-ogy by outsourcing to a managed services provider. Dedicating multiple personnel to different technology platforms is expensive. If SMBs outsource all their IT to a single managed service provider, the cost sav-ings could be sufficient; salary, benefits, car allowance, cellphone, credentials and more. By leveraging a single MSP they will have access to multiple experts for VoIP phones, document management, security, content development and desktop support. If SMBs utilize a managed services provider in conjunction with their IT department, there is still an adequate savings by having less staff on payroll. A managed services provider can assist with small, tedious tasks such as resolving printer connectivity issues, third-party software problems,

40 www.theimagingchannel.com

business phone configurations, virus software and more.

What would you say are the top IT challenges facing the SMB customer?

Hensley: To outsource or not to outsource. With trying to “do it all” and not only build, but support, whatever they actually do for a living, SMBs run across this chal-lenge quite often. One reason this is an issue is secu-rity. Some security story appears in about every news organization at least once a month, so this is obviously a big issue for both large and smaller companies. Finally, an SMB quite often overloads their resources for projects and normal day-to-day responsibilities. Having to manage resources tighter than their larger competitors can also be extremely taxing on an SMB and therefore force an outsourcing conversation.

McLaughlin: There are very few IT departments in the SMB environment. Most small organizations have a person or two that handles the IT requirements. But the IT world is changing faster than ever before. The hardware is stable as we have pushed the principles of Moore’s Law, but software and analytical capabilities are exploding with possibilities. It’s more than one per-son can keep up with, but without the benefit of these developments, companies can lose their competitive edge. The upside for the SMB world is that when con-fronted with the facts and benefits they can act quickly to implement these opportunities. Enterprise organiza-tions are lethargic in comparison.

Network security is perhaps the area of greatest vulnerability for the SMB customer. The absence of technical staff means that their exposure to the very high-end security product is likely not there. They are limited to the standard packages offered by the network carriers, which are too general to be really effective. They need access to the more advanced systems. Their need in this area is every bit as critical as is the enterprise and actually maybe more critical. Many SMBs feel that they are somehow less a target but actually, they are a higher target for the very reason that they are less protected. Where there is vulnerability there is opportunity.

Reeves: The biggest IT challenge facing SMB customers today is without a doubt network security. It’s imperative that SMBs adopt a plan to monitor all types of network security: access control, anti-virus and anti-malware software, backup and disaster recovery, software

applications, printers, copiers, email, firewalls, mobile devices, web security, wireless access points, desktops, laptops, remote access (VPN) and more! In addition to adopting a security initiative, SMBs need to budget and create a long-term plan: desktop and laptop additions and replacements, firewall and server upgrades, new versions of software applications and additional user li-censes, cables and wiring, professional services for instal-lation, and so on. A rule of thumb is replacing desktops at the manufacturer’s warranty expiration date.

What are some of the challenges the SMB faces when it comes to digital transformation that the large enterprise doesn’t, and how can they overcome them?

Belttary: Probably the biggest challenge that SMBs face when it comes to digital transformation is a clear and actionable allocation of internal resources. Without a solid plan in place, employees struggle to work toward the bigger picture because they are unable to visualize where they are today, where they need to be and how they are going to get there. This, however, can be addressed through outsourcing the experts who would conduct the analysis.

Hensley: The cost of the tools typically available to big business has not necessarily scaled downward. SMBs are therefore at a disadvantage due to lower budgets and strained resources. To combat this, SMBs need to employ a strategy of intertwining multiple solutions we have described. For instance, deploy an MPS strategy to lower the cost and volume of printing output. Push those savings into a cloud-based document manage-ment system, equipped with an automated document ingestion engine for automated indexing and filing. These solutions, when put together, will allow for mas-sive savings and speed of getting information where it is needed for quicker business decisions. Plus, when done correctly, they should help pay for themselves and keep operating costs low, even during growth.

McLaughlin: This is where the lack of staff and support personnel can be a detriment to the SMB companies. Enterprise companies have full-time staff whose job is to evaluate and analyze emerging and developing technology trends. They know what is coming and how it fits into their existing systems or what changes they will have to make to accommodate new solutions to problems. They also have the resources to plan and implement them with minimum disruption. However, the SMB is capable of moving with a much greater agility

July 2018 41

channel chat

and speed than the large enterprise organizations, and this can offset not only the visibility, but could become an advantage over the bigger organizations if they are provided with the right information in a way that enables them to grasp the importance to their mission. The advantage, generally speaking, is there are no commit-tees to reconcile the opinions. Management instead just makes a decision and they go. The best part is those small companies can make mistakes, correct them and adjust course. Large organizations adjust errors even more slowly than their smaller brothers, compounding the cost of missteps. I really think that with the speed of change in digital transformation and the speed of imple-mentation, the advantage goes to the smaller, quicker and more agile SMB player. Partnering with the right provider that really understands the issues and paths to solutions is key.

What advice would you give an SMB entrepreneur in today’s business environment?

Foxall: Get help! I recommend joining a peer group of some sort and learning from others’ mistakes

rather than making your own. In my case, I joined Entrepreneurs’ Organization and got into a peer forum – probably the smartest thing I ever did. I was able to realize that my problems were not unique, and that many other bright and capable people have fought my challenges with mixed results. Not feeling alone and being able to learn from others has elevated my busi-ness. In addition, never settle for the status quo and always be looking at how you can improve your busi-ness. Do your best to be part of a group where you surround yourself with people smarter than you are. This means peer groups, but it also applies to hiring – as a leader you never want to be the smartest person in the room on all topics.

Hensley: Build your infrastructure before you need it and growth comes much easier. Making the invest-ment early may seem risky, but it’s not. Growing fast and not being able to support it is the real killer. You want your company to be able to respond and not panic and have to wing it in times of growth. When you have made the investment in the foundation, you will be much better off.

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