Outsourcing
Services marketing and sales require dedicated resources to flourish. Some organizations may opt to outsource this function. We are unique in our ability to provide end-to-end services marketing and sales solutions.
Services
Voice of Customer & Validation
Many companies have a hard time selling services, and chances are that's because their service offerings don't quite match customers' needs, are over-priced, or are under-valued.
Conducting a Voice of Customer and Validation specifically for service will:
-
Define the segments and offerings
-
Identify the service features the customers' value
-
Validate how much the customers are willing to pay for the services
Customer-driven service offerings are much easier to sell since they match the customers' needs and what they are willing to pay for. This marketing research also identifies untapped opportunities that can give a company a genuine competitive differentiator.
Service Offering Development
Our team of experts has experience in every type of service offering, whether it be service plans, time and materials (T&M), training services, factory/depot repair, and so on.
Not only we can we create customer-driven offerings but, most importantly, we price and position the service offerings to address customer needs while optimizing profitability. We work with Service teams to make sure they can deliver the entitlements. We also translate the outcome to the customer. This means a boost in customer loyalty while achieving high service profitability.
Service Pricing & Discounting
This is the area where companies focused on capital equipment struggle the most. The first challenge comes in identifying the right pricing methodology for services, then how to control the commercial team from giving away services for free or at a deep discount.
We approach service plan pricing by first assessing which methodology is the best fit. Regardless of the pricing methodology, we leverage the VoC work to ensure that customers are willing to pay and that the service plans are profitable. We have also devised an easy-to-apply earned discount structure to will ensure profitability and significantly reduce the discount approval process.
When service plans pricing is correctly developed, discounts are in check, service contract profitability is high, and discounts don't slow down the process or erode service margins.
Marketing Communication
Even the best services will not sell themselves. The company must communicate that these services exist and why customers should buy them. We help develop marketing materials to sell service; whether it is a one-page flyer, a landing page, or sales tools for the commercial team.
Service needs to be presented differently than products, and our team has mastered the art of communicating what's important without overwhelming the piece with too many details. We can work directly with the company's agency or our own to ensure we comply with all corporate guidelines.
The likelihood of customers buying services increases with good marketing materials that clearly communicate the value of the service offerings.
Service Contract Sales
Many companies have come to realize that the sales team that sells their products may not necessarily be the best to sell their services.
Outsourcing service contract sales will ensure that value is communicated properly to the customers and negotiated discounts, which erodes margins and can expose a company to price discrimination lawsuits are avoided.
We have developed a tried and trusted process to track service contract opportunities and communicate to customers prior to warranty or contract expiration and our service contract sales team has the selling skills to drive service contract capture.