Being around the business for a while I can tell you that pricing and packaging is a constantly changing animal. It is important to
understand what exactly you are getting yourself into when someone throws the word “free” around.
Usually, companies around the telephone world that bundle hardware but then want the end customer to sign a longer term contract or term. More recently we have run into a new tactic where the phone “rental” is free however, the vendor (who is channel only?) sets the price and bills your customer directly without a termed contract or term.
This tactic is interesting however having a 3rd party bill your customer outside of your IT service agreements for the whole thing removes the ability for you to control the pricing structure, align the story with the other bundled services you include in your IT packages, and limits the ability for you and your customer to have CHOICE!
There are many times where replacing the devices your customer uses is plain out the best option. However, sometimes there is one product line that fits better than others based on your customer’s expectations. Being forced into 1 option is not the answer right? What happens if your customer won’t make a change unless they can re-use their un-locked or un-proprietary devices? Maybe they are newer or maybe they have not finished paying for those devices. Chances are you won’t be able to get them to make a change unless you have the ability to re-provision those devices.
In this particular example, the company offering the “free” phones who set the price, bill your customers directly, and then kicks you back commission. That means the money you can generate is clearly limited and once again, that’s not a good story. Don’t fall into the same mouse trap where the commission that you will generate simply won’t cover your staff time fielding the help desk calls that will come one way or another. Wait, this provider says to have your customer call them for support and if they need to get you involved they will contact you.
Really? Customer experience is critical to the way your customer feels about your company if you are doing a good job or not. Doesn’t this take away from that one number to call or “one-stop shop” marketing pitch you have been putting out there for years?
The moral of the story, read deeper into the situation and you will find that FREE really isn’t FREE it’s just another tactic!
