No matter the size of your IT company, there are four things you need in order to offer your customers real, unparalleled value.
In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, live from
Ingram Micro’s ONE event, guest host
James Carbary of
Sweet Fish Media speaks with the CEO and founder of
Information Technology Professionals (ITP),
Paul Hager.
The two discuss:
- Four boxes today’s IT businesses need to check
- Offering IT customers more value
- The benefits of being part of Ingram Micro’s SMB Alliance
Four boxes every modern IT business should check
At ITP, Paul has made sure to hire people of various professional backgrounds to make up for any weaknesses he may have as CEO. Because of this, ITP has been able to meet four major needs of its IT customers.
"If people feel connected to the work they're doing, all the statistics say you're going to retain people." — Paul Hager
Plus, ITP can use the same framework when consulting other IT providers. Paul’s team has seen this customer-centric approach deliver value to ITP customers and consulted providers alike.
Four staples your customer-centric IT company needs:
- Administrative IT help. This is the person (or people, depending on the size of your business) who offers day-to-day support to your customers. Essentially, they’re the help desk of the whole operation.
- Engineering capacities. Engineers are the ones who will help your IT business and your customers make leaps and bounds in technology. They’re the professionals who turn ideas into reality.
- Operational roles. This is the position that helps everyone adhere to the latest policies and procedures. Employing an operational IT professional will mitigate risk and headaches for you and your customers.
- Strategists. This is often the quadrant of an IT business that’s forgotten. However, it’s one of the most essential contributors to your company’s future. The strategist’s role is to plan for the long term and help everyone else adopt the company vision.
Being a customer-centric IT provider means fulfilling each of these quadrants. Depending on the size of your company, it may be just one person who’s filling each role or multiple people per role.
Ingram Micro’s SMB Alliance
Through his journey with ITP, Paul has felt grateful for being part of Ingram Micro’s
SMB Alliance many times.
The SMB Alliance has provided Paul with a
community of professionals who share their knowledge and experience within the small to mid-sized IT space.
By being an Ingram Micro partner, Paul has been able to focus on giving his customers more value in addition to having the bandwidth to consult other IT providers.