Are you calling on the right person?

In the past, the office manager or purchasing manager was the starting point in the copier sales cycle. Make the callfind out what they hadsell them a faster device. As copiers have become part of a companys information network, the point of contact has migrated to the IT department. Not engaging IT in the early stages of a sales call can lead to a big disappointment down the road. IDC, a industry consulting firm, conducted interviews with small to large size companies to gauge IT involvement in the decision making process. While you would expect IT to be heavily involved in the purchase of Printers, their involvement in other aspects of acquiring hardcopy devices has dramatically changed.

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In the late 1990s it became apparent that IT would play a more important part in the hardcopy device acquisition process. Today, not only does IT play the critical role in determining which brand/model is selected, they are also involved with purchase negotiations and service. IDCs survey was evenly mixed between company size. (small company = <100 employees, mid size company = 100-999 employees, large companies = 1000+ employees). What was uncovered was somewhat expected. However, some of the findings as it relates to brand selection are startling. Who has budget responsibility? In small companies, the owner or president is most cited as responsible (41%); in mid to large size companies IT (25%) has budget responsibility for MFPs.
Who Holds the Budget (% responsible) for MFPs
Title Ow ner/president IT CEO/CFO/CIO Facilities/ops mgr. Total 19.2 18.7 17.8 13.8 Com pany Size Sm all 41.3 6.7 18 8.7 Mid 10.9 25.5 24.1 14.6 Large 36 25 11.4 18.6

As you would expect, IT involvement in the selection of Printers is even higher.

Who Holds the Budget (% responsible) for Printers
Title IT Ow ner/president CEO/CFO/CIO Facilities/ops mgr. Total 26.2 20.1 15.7 11.2 Com pany Size Sm all 12.7 43.3 16.7 8 Mid 35 11.7 18.2 12.4 Large 32.1 3.6 12.1 13.6

Who Most Influences the Brand & Model Selected (% ) fpr Printers
Title IT Ow ner/president Facilities/ops mgr. Office mgr. Total 45.9 14.3 10.1 9.6 Com pany Size Sm all 22.7 35.3 7.3 12 Mid 56.9 4.4 12.4 9.5 Large 60 1.4 10.7 7.1

As you can see from the charts, brand and model selection is dominated by the IT department for both MFP & Printer, especially in the mid to larger size companies. Thats why it is important to involve this group early on in the sales cycle. The usual copier point of contact, the office mgr., and purchasing mgr. influence in the final decision continues to erode, even in smaller size companies. The study also revealed increased IT involvement in arranging the servicing of equipment.
Who Manages the Servicing of the Equipment (%) for MFPs
Title IT Facilities/ops mgr. Office mgr. Ow ner/president Total 33.5 18.3 17.6 11.9 Com pany Size Sm all 18 13.3 16.7 31.3 Mid 46 16.1 21.9 2.2 Large 37.9 25.7 14.3 0.7

Who Most Influences the Brand & Model Selected (% ) for MFPs
Title IT Ow ner/president Office mgr. Facilities/ops mgr. Total 38.9 14.1 11.9 10.8 Com pany Size Sm all Mid 14.7 36 12.7 8.7 Large 52.6 2.9 15.3 11.7 51.4 1.4 7.9 12.1

Who Manages the Servicing of the Equipment (%) for Printers

Title IT Office mgr. Facilities/ops mgr. Ow ner/president Total 41 16.9 14.1 11.2 Com pany Size Sm all 21.3 17.3 11.3 30 Mid 55.5 15.3 11.7 2.2 Large 47.9 17.9 19.3 0

Even in small companies IT plays a critical role in selecting the brand and model selected. If you are not engaging IT in your initial discussions, you might be placing yourself at a disadvantage when the final decision is made.

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The survey also included questions about device consolidation, how long devices would be kept in service along with which brand is most often at top of mind. Slightly more than half of the respondents said that their company has consolidated, is consolidating or will consolidate the number of devices they currently have. Targets of this consolidation include: monochrome laser printers (69%), copiers (67%), ink jet devices (53%) and fax machines (51%). Given this, understanding the workflow patterns, print and copy output volumes, including monthly peaks and valleys, utilization rate, page sizes, applications being used etc., will be extremely useful in positioning yourself as a consultant who can assist the company in right sizing the fleet. Why is this important? Consolidation does not mean that replacements wont be made. The survey indicates that when migrating to new devices companies are selecting: shared color Printers (46%), monochrome laser printers (46%), monochrome laser MFPs (43%) and color laser MFPs (39%). All devices will be connected. Guess who will be involved in the final decision? When these new devices are installed, respondents anticipate the life of an MFP to be 34-38 months and Printer 34-41 months. Brand Acquisition As you would expect, HP is the Printer brand of choice. Approximately 60% of the respondents, regardless of company size, placed HP at the top of the list. With an 8.7%, Xerox is a distant second. Kyocera ranked seventh mention and tied with IBM! The surprise of the study was the MFP brand selected by the respondents. It wasnt Xerox or Canon or Ricoh. It was HP and by a wide margin. 25% mentioned the brand as #1 on their list. Xerox was mentioned by 18.7%, Canon by 15.5%.

Interesting is also the fact that the IT professional mentioned HP 20% of the time vs. Executives who mentioned the brand 34.5%. Clearly, HP has become a force to reckon with in the MFP segment of our business. In another IDC report, HPs 45 PPM 4345 MFP achieved a 16% share of segment 4 placements during the first half of 2006, making it the #1 model in the category. Two years ago, HP had a 0% share. With HPs dominance in the Printer space, emerging strength in the MFP space and the predisposition of IT towards the brand, engaging IT in the sales cycle, especially in mid to large size companies, is essential. Yes, HP is formidable. So was Xerox back in the 1970s. No one ever go fired for buying a Xerox. was the expression back in the day. Sound familiar? Back then, Xerox commanded an 85% market share. By the mid 1980s their share of market was under 10%! Like the Xerox of the 1970s, HP represents an excellent replacement target. As you have read in this study summary, device consolidation is happening. Migration to newer, shared workgroup devices is taking place. Companies are searching for way to manage their hardcopy devices and output volumes. Throughout it all, the IT department plays a critical role in the acquisition process. What to Do Get IT involved early in the sales cycle. Conduct device and output volume audits. Get to know users and workflow patterns. Become a consultant that can recommend the right number of hardcopy devices with the appropriate configurations that can get the job done and a reasonable cost. Good selling.