MPS – Are You Thinking Laterally or Vertically?

After reading a number of postings in several Linkedin user groups I recognize similarities to our national political discussion. So, I have decided to borrow an idea from Mike Huckabee and apply it to the ongoing MPS discussion; lateral and vertical thinking.

The Similarities

If you are a cable news junkie like me, you must be amused by the non-stop chatter of political talking heads who constantly position every issue as either left or right. This filters down to our elected officials who argue every point strictly within their Democratic or Republican party position. Have you noticed no one seems to care about what is good for We the People, the taxpayers. This is lateral thinking, right or left versus vertical thinking, positive results for the people or negative impact on them– get the idea?

What I see happening in the MPS discussion are different folks taking positions to the left (MPS) or the right (hardware focused sales). MPS advocates definitely consider themselves as the progressives so they earn the left position on my lateral scale.

Lateral Thinking

In many of these discussions the participants like to talk about the positioning of their offerings and usually describe them in terms of how solution oriented (leftist) they are. They talk about what title to apply to their sales professionals and programs. Much attention is paid to the CPP approach and electronic monitoring of devices. There are lots of challenges issued to the dinosaurs of the copier world (my words) and a significant number of negative references to their business practices. Has anyone but me noticed that each side considers the other’s sales professionals and dealers as pencil whipping scammers and brokers of dishonesty?

Bottom line is most of the discussion is on positioning according to the marketing strategy and processes employed: this is how we do it!

Vertical Thinking

In contrast vertical thinking is about positive or negative results for the client.

Outside of a few individuals there does not seem to be much discussion about this. I read about and see in the field many programs that employ MPS processes but do little to nothing to improve the client’s environment. Some of the ones I have seen actually increase the clients cost structure without adding very much convenience to justify it (must have been some great pencil whipping done).

I think a recent posting by Jim Fitzpatrick summed it up quite well. To paraphrase; “if the client has not seen an account manager or been presented with suggestions for improvement based on reports since the implementation this is not MPS!”

Where is Your Thinking

So the question I ask is where is your thinking and MPS program? Is it simply a sales strategy as discussed by Tom Callinan a while back, or is it an actual program that manages the client’s environment beyond delivery of fix/repair services, supplies and usage reporting?

I would suggest if it is the former you are going to see some pretty strong competitive challenges as other vendors and industry participants educate your clients about what MPS could be. If this is the case, there are a number of resources for you to use to create greater value in your programs and service offerings. Start with taking a quick look at the Managed Print Services Roadmap contained in my Linkedin profile.

My Linkedin Profile

If your thinking is truly vertical, congratulations and good luck with your business; you should be able to realize some nice growth over the next few years!