New Players, New Rules, New Game.
One thing few in the Imaging Channel want to discuss is the innovative processes which will replace much of the old way’s deliverable. The glory days of selling print equipment and its services are just beginning for some innovative thinkers and ending for some others.
All things do in-fact change. Even those who refuse, eventually are forced to change. No one can circumvent progress regardless of their marketing strategies or their hopes that current circumstances remain a little longer.
“Those who say they are waiting for the right time to change usually prove they can’t tell time.”
The old-way always experiences more struggles to re-invent themselves, then the creators of the new way. The new approach is so focused on the customers desired outcome, and they are minus the baggage to the way things are or used to be. The new ways very existence is to defeat the old way. This reality is why legacy players must have the courage to explore how to defeat themselves ahead of the innovators.
The end user's realities of printers, MFP's and their services are giving birth to innovative processes from customer-centric organizations. Customer-Centric Innovators will take the old-way's great relationships as they educate those customers on how selfish, and costly their product-centric vendor is.
I think some in the Imaging Channel have been missing the point of innovation. It seems many still believe their innovation will be a result of product enhancements — innovation in the Imaging Channel just like nearly all innovation. Comes as a result of new processes, or the means to a customers desired outcome is enhanced or completely changes, thereby providing the customer with a better experience towards reaching those outcomes.
Who wants to create the new rules, with me?
A new customer-centric deliverable will be an A4 strategy and will focus on 80-85% of the market which continues being oversold A3 equipment. The new scalable model will be void the high cost of servicing the extremes on the deliverable’s edges. These innovative resellers will run from production print a 2% or less market share; they will focus on replacing the millions of A3 copiers and MFP’s which produce 7,000 pages a month or less. There are 10 of millions of these devices.
Remember, Innovators don’t play by yesterday’s rules. Innovators create new rules. The greatest threat to the Imaging Channel’s dealers. Is losing a vast majority of their A3 MIF (Machines in Field) to a customer-centric innovator who delivers the better experience of A4.
As I discussed in the video, I produced on the struggles of Hertz caused by the rideshare deliverable (UBER). When an Innovative process creates a better experience for a massive amount of the old ways customers to reach the outcomes they desire. The old-way cannot survive on the customers left with them. Usually, Innovative processes are created for the majority of the old way’s customers, customers whose expectations are more in line with the innovators than the legacy providers.
The innovators will ignore those small percentages of customers who are out of scope in expectations with the majority they seek. The Imaging Channel is too focused on delivering to every potential customer from the highest volume to the lowest volume in the same manner. This everything for everyone is not scalable or profitable in a declining needs market, and the pains of this approach are in fact surfacing.
The Imaging Channel was born by creating a process to deliver print equipment. Over its life, it grew in its capabilities, as the market grew. Today the market is declining, and so, naturally, everything the Imaging Channel grew into will now decline, as its end-users needs continue declining. It’s not logical thinking that the engine built for growth will remain in its current state. It's now time to build a profitable engine for the decline.
How the Imaging Channel re-invents itself to thrive off the decline will determine their relevance. One thing is for sure; the innovators will not seek permission or seek compliance from the old way. Instead, they will focus on delivering a better experience to 80-85% of the old way’s customers.
My friends in all channels come to ITEX April 24th-25th at the MGM Vegas and learn how the disruptions coming to resellers are also opportunities.
“Innovation is what you find on the other side of the horizon you find it when you can look past what’s in front of you.”
If you wish to connect on LinkedIn send me an invite.
See you all in Vegas.
Ray Stasieczko
CEO/TEASRA, The Innovation Channel
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