ChangeForge | Ken Stewart

Your Good is not Good Enough.

Ken Stewart — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:30:30 +0000

Customer satisfaction is often thrown around like the word “good”. Good might be meant in the best of intentions, “I had a good day!” Or it might not, “How are you?” someone asks. “Eh, — I’m good I guess,” is the response.

But customer satisfaction is a number easily measured but not necessarily easily converted. It is certainly not a thing that will keep your customers coming back for more if your offering is not solid too. But what of things like customer retention and innovating as a means to thrive – not just holding steady in order to survive?

When a company culture begins caring less about constant and fanatical innovation to acquire and retain customers than it does simply surviving, perhaps it’s time to step away. The tough question to ask is whether you are culpable of being asleep at the wheel too.

What do you think?

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken serves on the board of the Managed Print Services Association (MPSA), an international industry organization seeking worldwide best practices for the managed print services industry. He is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting with you.

Ripped From The Headlines

Joe Kozlowski — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:45:04 +0000

Xerox chief charts her new path
Xerox Sweeps Printing and Imaging Honors in CRN Channel Champion Study
XChange 2010: HP Prepares For Growth With Economic Recovery
Toshiba Earns BTA’s Top 2010 ‘Channel’s Choice’ Award
Plustek Unveils Scanners for Financial Industry
Cloud data protection: Archiving to reduce backup data increasingly important
Five Trends Reshaping The Health Care Channel Right Now
Photocopiers – A Global Strategic Business Report – New Market Report Published

… plus as many as 15-20 other news items, press releases, white papers and case studies EVERY DAY that will effect your Document Solutions Business …

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Ripped From The Headlines

Joe Kozlowski — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:45:42 +0000

Lexmark International Defies Bears, Challenges Key Technical Resistance
Canon Business Solutions opens Tampa Bay offices
HP’s difficult week continues with strikes and a lawsuit
Francois Ragnet Deconstructs the Document
How to Optimize Business Processes Using Integrated SAAS Solutions
Paragon and NextDocs Introduce Clinical Optimization Solutions Targeting Life Sciences Firms
D.I.G.(TM) Enables Morphology-Based Cross-Content Multi-Lingual Search for Fast and Accurate Intranet and Website Information Retrieval
One on One with Jeff Segarra of Nuance
Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. – Financial And Strategic Analysis Review – New Report Published

… plus as many as 15-20 other news items, press releases, white papers and case studies EVERY DAY that will effect your Document Solutions Business …

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Your first month is FREE. Cancel during your first month and you won’t be billed!

Blogs Are Important To Your Customer. Are They Important To You?

Ken Stewart — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:30:42 +0000

“If it’s too good to be true, then it probably isn’t true.” That’s how the saying goes, right? How often do you buy something you are suspicious of? Being real with your customer elevates the level of trust in the buying cycle.

I receive a good many PR solicitations each week with this or that firm asking if I want to look at this or that. Most of them are not compelling in the least, but there was this one e-mail that got my attention regarding a subject I am very passionate about.

So I started chewing on the e-mail a bit. Once I got past the fact that from address was from an ISP and not their company domain (seeming a bit spammy), I began to review the PR company’s website. Instantly, I’m greeted by a warm smiling face of the owner. Interesting.

I read about the first 2 sentences of the front page of the firm’s website, and then I’m scanning the navigation for things like depth of content, ease of categorization, and what can I find that isn’t so manufactured. I stop on the link titled, “Blog.”

You see, I wanted to see some thought process going on, and the best way I can see that you are thinking is to share your thoughts (this is what Social Media is supposed to be about, by the way). If I agree with what you are saying, I begin to intellectually and emotionally align with you – thus engendering trust where none had existed prior.

Dee Wilcox of Dealer Marketing Systems, and owner of Creative Perch, posed the fundamental question of “Why are websites and search engines important to my dealership?” She goes on to say,

This is a good question. After all, our industry has been built on relationships, hard work, and good service. However, the business world is changing. While relationships are still important, the way relationships are formed, developed, and maintained is radically different than it was 15 years ago. … keep your site updated with fresh content that contains these keywords. The easiest way to do this is with a blog.

Looking at my own behavior, I instantly began to identify the business owner of this PR firm, whose picture graced the home page, as legitimately engaged in helping people. Just because there was blog? Nope, because there was content on the blog that spoke to the questions I was asking – and caused me to ask a few more.

Blogging is a labor of love; you don’t do it because you are going to get rich quick. Don’t believe me though. Take a look at some of what HubSpot, an authoritative inbound marketing company, has to say:

… In review of data from 1,531 HubSpot customers (mostly small- and medium-sized businesses) 795 of the businesses in my sample blogged, 736 didn’t. The data was crystal clear: Companies that blog have far better marketing results. Specifically, the average company that blogs has:

55% more visitors: Why are website visitors important? Because more visitors mean more people to convert to leads and sales.

97% more inbound links: Why are inbound links important? Because they signal authority to search engines, thus increasing your chances of getting found in those search engines.

434% more indexed pages: Why are indexed pages important? The more pages you have on your site, the more chances you have of getting found in search engines.

You may believe you don’t have the technical know-how to start blogging. You would be wrong. It’s never been easier with SquareSpace, Blogger and WordPress. Whether you think it’s too hard, too time-consuming or simply a waste of your time, you can’t deny the one true fact about your customers – they buy because they have a need or want. But the major component at the time of transaction is trust; they trust that what they are buying, and who they are buying it from, will uphold its value and fulfill the need or want.

Blogging offers a message for your customers that you care about something enough to say it and put it out there. Don’t be intimidated, just be yourself.

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken serves on the board of the new Managed Print Services Association, an international industry organization seeking worldwide best practices for the managed print services industry. He is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting with you.

Ripped From The Headlines

Joe Kozlowski — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:45:27 +0000

Xerox CEO Ursula Burns is getting a raise
Lexmark CEO gets 2009 pay of $2.2M, down 36 pct.
Microsoft Targets Cloud Partners With BPOS Incentives
BTA Business Planning Workshop
FaxAgent Online Fax Server Integrates Fully with ShoreTel IP PBX
2009 Storage Software Sales Dip, Hardware Sales Dive: Reports
Solutions Summit 2010 Program Focused on Moving beyond Managed Print and Managed Services
Document Management Roll-up: Office in the Cloud, Business Process Management to Follow
InfoTrends’ Document Outsourcing Forecast Indicates Market is Expected to Rebound
Buyers Lab Introduces the BLI Solutions Center

… plus as many as 15-20 other news items, press releases, white papers and case studies EVERY DAY that will effect your Document Solutions Business …

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Your first month is FREE. Cancel during your first month and you won’t be billed!

Special Edition: Finally Market Intelligence for Less Than Market Price!

Ken Stewart — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:30:46 +0000

Are you a dealer or channel partner who is always on the move, always looking for that next sale? Are you short on time and budget for marketing research data to help you make faster, accurate decisions to be there before the market does?

I have been involved with the development and pilot of Photizo Group’s new Market Intelligence Package (MIP), which provides dealers and reseller channels with a range of information and guidance about the MPS marketplace. The new service, available March 1, will provide a subscription-based service with ongoing market intelligence to support your MPS program development and sales success in this brave new world we find ourselves in.

For less than $400 a month, about the price of an HP LaserJet printer, The Market Intelligence Package gathers a suite of Photizo information resources into one package geared to dealer MPS program development and sales needs. This includes:

MPS Channel Insights News – A weekly dealer channel-specific update including critical news and market developments, along with insightful Photizo perspective. Clients also receive the complimentary Daily MPS Insights.
Monthly MPS Webinar – Live presentations look at MPS business development and sales insights relative to the Hybrid Dealer curve. Each topical webinar covers explicit case studies or implementation examples. Repeated twice monthly for convenience.
MPS Monthly Newsletter – Online publication of timely MPS topics targeted to dealers in varying stages of MPS adoption. Articles focus on competitive, market and end-user trends with implementation examples. Designed for customization and use with dealer’s clients and business associates. A front-page column will be reserved for a message from the dealer or vendor.
Quarterly Insights Journal – Professional business journal devoted to the challenges, opportunities and experiences of developing an MPS business. Delivered online and as a printed magazine to add credibility to sales presentations and business discussions.
MIP Online Portal – This online hub gives full access to Photizo online archives, including news releases, newsletters, webinar features and presentations, which can be used to support client business or sales initiatives. The MIP Online Portal is also a forum for feedback and discussion.

“Talking with many channel players in the last year made us realize the enormity of the challenge they face in creating MPS programs. This service provides quick hitting, channel-specific summaries of competitive events, along with our commentary on the impact to operations,” said David Cameron, PhD, Senior Consultant, Photizo Group. “Channel partners with even small to medium training and research budgets can quickly justify the investment. The package will more than pay for itself is subscribers gain one additional MPS contract because of what they have learned.”

So do you think you can afford the price of a printer? My real question is can you afford not to keep your finger on the pulse of the MPS marketplace?

Find out more HERE and sign-up HERE.

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken serves on the board of the new Managed Print Services Association, an international industry organization seeking worldwide best practices for the managed print services industry. He is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting with you.

Ripped From The Headlines

Joe Kozlowski — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:45:01 +0000

Recovery Indicators Take Another Sidestep
HP Revises First Quarter Earnings Following Developments in Legacy EDS Litigation Matter
HP Named No. 1 on Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens List
Ricoh Introduces Aficio® MP C6501SP/C7501SP Color Digital Imaging System
What is Printer Yield on Ink and Toner Cartridges?
Low-Cost Cloud Storage With Cloud Leverage
Photizo Launches Dealer-Focused Market Intelligence Package
Services Differentiation, Bundling of Services Anticipated as Outsourcing Evolves
The cost obstacle for any business to obtain a digital document management system has ended
Reportlinker Adds Global Photocopiers Industry
2010 Trends To Watch: Enterprise Content Management – New Market Report Published

… plus as many as 15-20 other news items, press releases, white papers and case studies EVERY DAY that will effect your Document Solutions Business …

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Your first month is FREE. Cancel during your first month and you won’t be billed!

Production or Productivity: Are Your Actions Aligned with Your Attitude?

Ken Stewart — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:30:47 +0000

How do you start your Monday’s? Jotting down your list of to-do’s, thumbing through your mental Rolodex of things ahead, or maybe just gritting your teeth the night before in anticipation of the crush of your day?

A former LouisGray.com teammate, Rob Diana of Regular Geek, wrote a very thought-provoking article entitled Are You Managing Resources or Building Knowledge?, in which Rob asked a great question:

“Paper and money are resources because they have a finite capacity or duration of existence. They have no knowledge. People have knowledge, so why are they treated like resources?”

According to Wikipedia a resource is:

“Any physical or virtual entity of limited availability, or anything used to help one earn a living…”

while knowledge is:

“Expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject…”

The bridge here is application, or the ability to apply a person’s knowledge to the task of making money. In my humble opinion, money matters to shareholders and those who benefit from the survival of a company (e.g. employees, community, etc.). However, it is certainly a travesty to what lengths a company will sacrifice its most important “resource”, the knowledge worker – the person!

Andrew Carnegie is credited with saying,

“Take away my people, but leave my factories and soon grass will grow on the factory floors……Take away my factories, but leave my people and soon we will have a new and better factory.”

While it is completely rational to conduct various capacity and fiscal planning exercises, it is the inhumane practitioners masquerading as so-called managers who forget their job is not to drive production, rather it is to foster productivity.

As you start your Monday morning ask yourself a question, “Do I believe my work to be worthwhile?” If so, then I urge you to ensure your actions are in alignment with your attitude.

Special Edition: MPSInsights.com Launches

Ken Stewart — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:00:53 +0000

With all of the buzz around MPS, do you ever feel like Peppermint Patty having a conversation with her teacher? “Wah, wah. Wah-wah-wah, wah.”

Trying to keep up with all of the information in the MPS space is almost impossible, let alone trying to determine what is real and what is supposition. Well, aside from the new MPSA portal and a few blogs (like mine and some guy’s named Greg), there really isn’t much in the way of substantive information. I know what your thinking, I read Greg’s blog for the articles too.

I’ve been keenly watching the Photizo Group grow up into a leading, well respected market intelligence firm specializing in the realm of MPS. Well, they are launching a new website, MPSInsights.com, complete with articles on subjects like:

Channel development
End-user purchase criteria
Decision-maker evolution
End-user MPS deployment
MPS current events

It sounds interesting, and of course I recommend it. Why? Well, because I will be guest authoring on Tuesdays for them – so you know the quality of the content should be top notch, even though I did hear they asked Greg to contribute too!

Stay tuned, and check it out HERE. My sources are telling me it will be live Monday, March 8. Wait, is that today?

Change is Inevitable; Growth is Optional. Ken Stewart Guest Authors for the MPS Insights Journal.

Ken Stewart — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:31:33 +0000

We continue to see the massive gears of change grind away, with acquisitions and mergers having clear-cut the landscape we once knew. Everyone is still attempting to come to grips with just how billions of dollars in market consolidation will impact not only today’s revenue, but tomorrow’s profitability and growth.

And what of the economic outlook we all face? While many customers began retrenching, the prevailing tone seemed to be one of dour determination in the face of the prevailing storm. Many turned to their past for answers on how to survive in the present; “Make it up on volume,” seemed to be the wisdom of the masses.

In keeping with the laws of supply and demand, end-users continued to strengthen their position in the marketplace–seeking more services-oriented approach to solving their problems while displaying a matured feature-set expectation and holding a hard-line on costs. Today’s technology no longer underwrites the requirement that knowledge workers settle for deficiency in ability. Could it be that the technology itself has found its place among the me-too list?

For more articles, visit the Managed Print Services website, and receive your FREE sample of the MPS Insights Journal. Read the entire article by clicking the PDF icon below:

About the MPS Insights Journal:

The MPS Insights Journal is published on a quarterly basis and is the only publication dedicated to the Managed Print Services industry. It includes case studies from the vendor, dealer and end-user perspectives as well as timely insights relevant to the individual involved with MPS. The MPS Insights Journal is a cost-effective informational tool containing key understandings into a complex and rapidly growing market.

Subscribe HERE.

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken serves on the board of the new Managed Print Services Association, an international industry organization seeking worldwide best practices for the managed print services industry. He is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting with you.

7 Steps to Surviving Change