The secrets to unlocking recurring revenue

One defining characteristic of the hybrid workplace is the explosion of technology that corporate businesses are using daily to maintain the digital workflow and enhance unified communications. For integrators and resellers, this presents an opportunity to drive additional revenue streams through AV services to ensure end users consistently have the best possible experience. Snelling Business Systems shares its journey working with Faye Bennett Consultancy Services (FBCS) to put a scalable and future proofed service solution in place

If the Covid pandemic taught us anything, it’s that end user services need to be a priority. When lockdown first struck in March 2020, the way businesses traditionally operated changed swiftly and many projects were stopped completely, resulting in a pause in revenue. The only source of revenue that remained for AV businesses was through services and for some, it was close to the only profit they made, signifying the importance of a resilient service model. We have also seen a rise in the number of solutions being used to facilitate meetings. From systems in dedicated meeting spaces, which range from huddle rooms to town hall environments, and personal setups which can include external cameras, headphones, speakers and microphones for those working at home or on the road. Currently, research shows that almost 50% of integrators don’t have dedicated service structures in place. Snelling Business Systems recognised that the end user landscape was changing in 2019 and began to prioritise its service structure through a holistic approach working with Faye Bennett Consultancy Services. This coincided with the expansion of Snelling into the corporate market. Prior to this, the integrator was best known for its work in the education sector, initially launching in 2004 to provide audio and visual solutions to public sector authorities in Norfolk - and expanding nationally into the higher education sector in 2009,when the company was first registered on the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC) framework.

“We had seen the services business model and trends around support changing in the years leading up to 2019, but one of the challenges we faced was that our main audience at that time, the higher education sector, traditionally didn’t buy services,” explains Toby Wise, managing director of Snelling Business Systems. “Projects in this space were product focused around frameworks and buying cycles, but obviously that has changed since Covid. “We completed our first £1m+ corporate project for a company in Savoy Place in central London in 2016, and it was then that we knew we needed to establish a service model approach to evolve for the level of support needed for the corporate sector.”

Following initial investments Snelling turned to FBCS to lead this business transformation. “One of the clear benefits of working with an external consultant is that they evaluate all processes and systems from an objective viewpoint to provide a holistic advisory service, something that I think has hugely contributed to the success of the project” says Wise “FBCS focuses on the user experience when projects have been delivered. Traditionally when projects end, stakeholders move on, but this new approach extends ROI and longevity of the project by ensuring the solution delivers against the business goals and objectives of the initial project brief.”

• Listen

“Snelling had already started putting a commercial managed service offering in place, so following an in-depth review and gap analysis we began by redesigning this existing structure to better serve the corporate market,” explains Faye Bennett, managing director of Faye Bennett Consultancy Services. “We began by establishing how Snelling can drive revenue and win market share by readdressing the pricing structure, ensuring appropriate margin levels and preparing sales tools and literature as a robust commercial model.” “We then did a review of the service delivery function and infrastructure in place at Snelling which would ensure that the business could meet customer expectations and deliver a reliable service every time. We know from our work in our industry how critical this step is, and how often it is missed by service providers with commercial managed service offering.”

• Recommend elivered a complete post-sales service strategy to ensure the very best end user experience, whilst delivering clear benefits through the business model for Snelling. This took into account operations procedures and systems, establishing a dedicated service team and clear channels for customer communication.

• Implement

“To deliver a robust service function you need to objectively assess all areas of the business and be prepared to go through a period of change to deliver services to a high quality,” explains Bennett. “It is also essential to identify the roles needed to facilitate the services and find and train the right people.We worked with Snelling to recruit the right team to manage the service desk and drive revenue through a dedicated customer success role. We then put KPIs in place to ensure quality measures around monitoring, tracking and managing responses. These also informed the SLA offerings, both as standard service packs and custom iterations, and ensured the infrastructure was in place to deliver services confidently and without compromise.”

• Maintain

“Key clients now have a dedicated customer success manager for relationship management, to deliver service insights and enable a proactive approach to ensuring an excellent user experience This role works strategically with priority customers directly from the service function and in collaboration with the sales account manager. One key takeaway is that end user service solutions can’t be delivered in isolation, they need to be part of a holistic transformation project that all business functions are brought into.”

“In parallel with training the new service team, we also worked with Snelling’s sales teams to empower them to promote the new managed service proposition,” says Bennett. “This helped to build the bridge between sales and service. This multifaceted approach ensured that outwardly Snelling was managing customer expectations, and internally the company was sure it could deliver to the standards outlined in the SLAs. It also meant a robust and joined up internal picture across teams was formed which benefits customers at all touchpoints with Snelling.”

“I’ll admit, whilst I knew change was required the positive impact this has had for our clients and on the business has exceeded our expectations, it’s safe to say that Faye and her team helped us revolutionise our service approach and offering, which now, with the benefit of hindsight we realise positioned us perfectly for the Covid pandemic,” explains Wise. “By having a robust service offering in place, we saw our revenue grow during the pandemic. Our corporate business since the implementation has grown to over 65% of revenues and it has played a huge part in our expansion into European territories including Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Thanks to the infrastructure and investments we had already made, we had the mechanisms to generate revenue even when key projects were on hold. It also meant that we could focus on what our customers needed during those extremely challenging times. This project performed above and beyond our expectations it has brought positive change for both our customers and the business too. We have taken on board all the advice wholeheartedly and fully embraced it across all areas of the business, and continue to evaluate and evolve as new products, platforms and the requirements for service emerge.” continued from page 17

“I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge Faye Bennett and FBCS for their remarkable consultancy support. We recognised that the Enterprise Service Desk (ESD) was increasingly important to our long-term strategy but lacked the time and had struggled to find a consultant who can truly relate to our industry. FBCS has proactively and independently delivered what they said and created significant opportunities within our business. In true partnership, FBCS worked very closely with the management team to develop a deep understanding of our corporate culture and values and provide pioneering vision and leadership to develop a market-leading service and support proposal.

Right from day one, FBCS invested time in workshops, stakeholder interviews, audits and appraisals to find meticulous detail in data and insights. I can confidently state all recommendations and proposals were based on facts, and backed by solid evidence, which significantly reduces decision-making time. Faye brings exceptional skills, perspective, and experience. Most interestingly, Faye explains everything and ensures we’re fully aligned on the right strategy. She quickly understood our customer base and helped identify the right strategy for each. An absolute pleasure to work with and we are seeing real and tangible benefits. The great results show FBCS is clearly committed to helping us succeed. As well as delivering on all agreed outcomes, FBCS continually came up with new ideas and opportunities. They’re a big factor in our growth. I recommend FBCS without reservation, said” Toby Wise, Managing Director, Snelling Business Systems.