4 minRecurring Monthly Revenue (or RMR) is all the buzz these days. I am sure that every AV integrator has attended at least 1 Webinar about RMR. Hopefully it was the one we held last week on “Getting started with RMR.”
In addition to the obvious (which is making money), Remote Troubleshooting and Customer Care Services are a powerful opportunity for integration companies and IT professionals that goes far beyond earning recurring revenue. With more consumers bringing connected technology into their homes, the need for remote IT support is only going to increase year over year.
For integration companies, the truth is that Remote Troubleshooting and Customer Care Services offer a huge opportunity to improve customer service and build long term business value. Here’s a recap of the benefits that integration companies reap from Remote Customer Care Services:
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- Terminal business value: a remote support service is an area that all companies want to get into. This is because it is opportunity to build long-term revenue rather than a one time sale of a product with a margin.
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- Smooth the ups and down of the smart home sales process: Remote troubleshooting and support services enable integration companies to improve the customer experience with smart home technology. Addressing how problems are solved when something does go wrong will lead to a smoother customer experience in the long run.
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- Monetize your existing customer base: Adding new services is a great way to monetize the customer base that you already have.
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- Shift from selling products to selling services: By offering technical services for remote troubleshooting and client care you’ll be expanding your business capabilities. Results won’t happen
Although remote managed service is buzzing and everyone wants in, many are still confused about exactly how to get started. Selling managed services is an entirely new way to do business that many of us just aren’t familiar with yet.
Here are 5 practical and actionable tips for getting started with remote troubleshooting and customer care services.
In order to provide remote services to your customers, you’re going to need a software platform as the back bone. There are many Remote Network Monitoring Software platforms to choose from. In order to keep room for your own margins, we recommend choosing a remote network management system with affordable pricing. For example, some cost as low as 2.99 a month per network, leaving plenty of room for margins.
#2: Prepare to monetize your existing customer base
Many installers that I’ve talked to have explained that selling Maintenance Service Contracts to their existing customer base is difficult. They feel it’s complicated because an existing relationship is already in place that didn’t involve a Maintenance Contract before.
As a marketer, I totally disagree! In fact, it should be the exact opposite. An existing customer base is the best place to turn to for selling any new product or service.
For example; as a marketer each day I look for strategic ways to add people to our existing customer base through collecting leads via our corporate website, social media, SEO and attending events. All of these actions help me to build a list of potential and active customers. When I’ve got a new product or service to tell the world about, I head straight to the email marketing list that I have built.
In order to make sure you’re ready to announce your new service when it’s available, it’s best to start building a list of potential customers for your new service.
To keep track of leads use a free CRM tool like: Hubspot or You Don’t need a CRM. You can also use an email marketing tool like MailChimp to organize your contacts and communicate with them.
#3: Define tiered remote troubleshooting and customer care service packages
In order to sell your customers maintenance services you will need to define what each offer will include. We recommend using tiered offers: ranging from $50 – $200 a month. Creating different offers (with different features and price points) will enable you to reach the various customer segments you have access to.
Remote Troubleshooting and Customer Care Service ideas include: Remote Issue Qualification, Advanced Issue Detection, Real-Time Issue Resolution, Remote Power Management, Network Blue-Printing, Advanced Alerting, Queue Jumping and Reporting/Analysis.
#4: Sell and market your new remote troubleshooting and remote customer care services to your existing customer base
So now that you’ve organized your customer list and developed your offers, you’re ready to announce your new services to the world.
It’s important to come up with a systematic way to get in touch with your existing customers about your new services.
Email Marketing: Send out an email marketing campaign announcing your new services to your customer base. Use a strong call to action.
Outbound sales: Contact customers individually via outbound email or phone campaigns
1to1 Consultation: set-up a consultation with each individual customer on your prospect list. Use the opportunity to discuss how they can improve their smart home, network performance and propose your new service.
If every customer going to sign-up for your new service? Absolutely not! You should set realistic expectations and aim for a conversion rate that’s relevant and achievable based on data. A benchmark to start aiming to convert between 2-10% of the prospect list you’ve developed. You’ll want to measure your success on converting your leads into buyers and look for ways to improve this conversion rate over time.
#5: Make remote Troubleshooting Services and Remote Customer Care a mandatory part of your offer
As you move towards a service focused business structure it’s important that Managed Services for Maintenance become a constitutive component of each future installation that you perform. This is because if you don’t have a maintenance contract in place you may end up providing free support to keep your customers happy or billing your customers in advance for services.
About Domotz
Domotz develops disruptive remote network monitoring software for service providers, integration companies, manufacturers, and retailers. Learn more about our remote network monitoring features, low cost installation options and disruptive remote network management pricing.
Looking for volume pricing or a more customized solution for your business? Contact our Sales Team.
Want to learn how our solutions can save you money and time and help generate recurring monthly revenue? Check out our Help Center and Knowledge Base resources.
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