The biggest challenge facing channel partners this year is being flexible enough to meet ever-changing customer needs amid the fallout from the pandemic, according to Mitel’s Sales Director Nick Riggott.
Speaking to UC Today, Riggott said that Mitel has embarked on an internal reshuffling over the last year to better support partners and “share the load” of projects that have been rolled out at record speeds.
“We have always been partner-centric, and we’re blessed with an incredibly capable, innovative and assertive channel community,” he said.
“Our growth and success have been 100 per cent attributed to the capabilities of partner. The big shift
that we have seen going into 2021 is that we’re partner first and more conscious than ever that we ensure there is the right support, resource and that we are fully aligned with our partners
“We have to take responsibility and be accountable for the growth that’s required and the way in which we support partners. We need to step up and make sure we are carrying our share of the load, rather than just putting a product portfolio out in the market and trying to drive that through enablement and support.
“For us, it is very much about ensuring we support our partners to drive the growth we’re going to see throughout the year.”
Riggott said that Mitel’s internal reshuffle has also seen the vendor boost partner–aligned sales resources by just over 61 per cent, which he said has “hit home” with partners and enabled the vendor to deliver strategic plans with partners in a more coherent way.
From a customer experience (CX) perspective, the sales director said that Mitel is dedicating sales engineering resource to specific partners that are looking to drive innovation into their end-user market, as well as improve their self-sufficiency
He explained that some businesses had implemented short-term strategies to serve customers when the pandemic hit and, as a result, now understand that linking CX and gaining a broader and deeper understanding of how integrating applications as part of their digital transformation strategy is vital if they are to remain successful.
“It has to be more sustainable,” he said. “Some of the technology that we have across our CX portfolio may have been previously been judged on merit, but in isolation, perhaps with a siloed approach to value add in term of how that could be deployed.
“Now, it is part of a wider piece in terms of supporting business communications. It cannot just be an element; it needs to be right in the centre. We’ve all dealt with businesses over the last 12 months and the ones that we feel like we’ve had a higher level of engagement from will afford a higher level of endorsement.”
This is happening at a time when customers are becoming more demanding of fast, efficient service, as opposed to sitting on hold for extended periods.
Riggott said that channel partners which adopt flexible offerings, particularly around technologies such as chatbots and artificial intelligence, are the ones that will see sustained success in their chosen verticals.
“The key for me is understanding the customer requirement and being able to translate that into how it can be supported from a customer perspective, and then the accuracy, speed and quality of the execution,” he added.
“These will be the key differentiators. The partners that can deliver that, in comparison to partners with more of a legacy-based offering, are going to find themselves not just rising to the top but staying there.”
