SMB Conferences – Where’s MPS?
Just a few short months ago, I was writing for one publication under the 1105 Media umbrella. Now I write for two. And with the opening of that door – in this case, The Imaging Channel’s – a whole new set of opportunities have presented themselves to me; in the past month alone, I’ve attended two conventions – both of which target IT SMB owners. In both instances, my goal was to establish new connections with people in the field, but for the media, there’s always a need to keep eyes and ears open regarding more general industry trends as well, whatever that industry might be. In my case, it’s all about print.
Now, I’ve been hearing for quite a while about how the SMB is this great untapped market for companies that play in the MPS space – how the OEMs have struggled to penetrate the SMB segment, have their message resonate with small MSPs, and are thusly acquiring specialized players in the MPS business (e.g., Printelligent, FMAudit, Equitrac, etc.) to be able to seize this last frontier: the as-yet-unclaimed pages printed by MSPs’ end users. So imagine my surprise when I got my floor maps and found only two MPS vendors making appearances at these shows.
In the face of this cognitive dissonance, I was forced to ask myself a few questions about what I was observing. First off, where is everyone? Sure, purse strings are tight, but it’s not like nobody from the MPS arena is attending these shows, and the fertile ground of the IT SMB space is being touted by research companies such as the IDC as the promised land for MPS companies. “The fast-growing managed print services (MPS) market … remains open to a variety of would-be providers,” said Leigh Worthing, senior research analyst, IDC Western European Peripherals Group. “This is particularly true when looking at the largely untapped SMB segment, where systems integrators, VARs, and IT service providers are all continuing to vie with hardcopy manufacturers to gain a foothold and grow share.”
So why aren’t those already involved in MPS committed to bringing it to the SMB? Either I’m misinformed, people think they can somehow avoid the inevitable increasing competition resulting from the convergence of print and IT, or the worst has happened: People in the MPS space just don’t care to court new markets – a scary thought, considering how stagnant things are on this side of the fence. Page counts are flat, at best, and many in the industry at this point seem to be land-grabbing/cannibalizing versus investing in the pursuit – or even the creation – of new and surely more profitable markets for MPS.
Why do I say “creation”? Because based on other observations I made while attending these shows, there may be a bit more selling involved at this point when it comes to educating IT SMBs who either have no clue about or no stake in offering MPS. It will be your task to make them see the light if you’re seeking new money from this arena. Question is, will you, MPS company, dedicate yourself to convincing them that your offering is worth what you know it is?
When I think of the two companies who made appearances at one of the conventions in particular, the dedication they have to selling to SMB owners is clear – and these companies essentially have no competition at the moment, which makes the deal even sweeter for them. So will you sit back and let these folks win all the business? Will you play it safe, waiting to see if their efforts are ultimately successful before making your move – by which time, it may very well be too late? Or will you stop competing for the same old pages and throw your hat in the ring alongside these companies to pursue new ones?
Truth be told, if you don’t put yourself out there now, not only is there a strong possibility that one of your current competitors will obtain the business instead, but you may someday find yourself competing against the very MSP you think you can ignore today. Don’t misunderstand me: Just because MSPs currently seem a bit confused about MPS or are unsure of getting involved in it right now doesn’t mean they won’t be your competitors once they figure out – or partner up with people who already know – how to make money at it. And they already have a sizable customer base ripe for the picking.
The good news is, having a background in MPS might make you better able to onboard MSPs well before they become your opponents. At the conferences, one person pointed to resources the majority of MPS companies have versus SMBs and another pointed to copier/printer dealers’ superior sales skills as edges that, if leveraged, can allow you to significantly impact the space. So carpe diem! Get out to these shows and take advantage of your strengths while there’s still a market left to tap. Sell, sell, sell!
Posted by Raegen Pietrucha on 10/19/2011