Create SMB Training Teams: Sprint now has SMB specialists in its top 40 markets. They focus on preparing retail stores and third party partners to support SMBs. They also help to develop custom proposals and provide continuous training to front-line staff. “Training provides a higher level of employee satisfaction because we are investing in their professional development. The longer the employee stays with us, they better they get” and the bigger the customer base they’re able to develop over time, which can translate into more income for the individual.
Retool the Website: Most wireless carriers’ website cater to consumers, and sometimes to large enterprises and government customers. This makes SMBs feel lost in the wilderness. “The majority of purchase transactions start on our company-owned website,” says Shaughnessy. Sprint has retooled its website to cater to three different levels of small business, based on the number of devices they need. He adds that half of those customers will call an 800 number, so call centers also need to be ready to deal with small business customers or route them to the proper channel rapidly.
Moving to a new carrier or a new set of devices can be risky for a small business.
Offer Useful Applications: Shaughnessy says that scheduling, find-me-follow-me, and GPS-leveraging apps are gaining acceptance and are “the next frontier” for SMB offerings. Small business owners want to know, for example, where their trucks are on the road and how well their employees are performing day to day. Simple mobile apps can address these concerns and Sprint is working with its partners to drive app development in these and other areas.
Partner with Respected Brands: An emerging trend in wireless is for carriers to partner with big brands from other industries to offer joint apps and services that help business productivity, but also give customers’ confidence in the product. The rationale is that the combined brand power has more credibility than either brand on its own. “If Intuit endorses a mobile payment app, that’s got more credibility” than if a carrier offers it on its own. “If the small business can tie that back into its Quickbooks, that’s very powerful,” he says.
Adjust the Compensation Plan: Most front-line reps are compensated according to a very specific commission structure. If that compensation plan isn’t set up correctly, it can drive reps in directions that aren’t best for the customer. “You don’t want the customer’s experience to be different than what’s intended,” says Shaughnessy. He says it’s an ongoing process to measure and evaluate how sales associates are rewarded to make sure they’re doing what’s best for each type of customer.
Make the Devices Work Right: Moving to a new carrier or a new set of devices can be risky for a small business. If email isn’t working on new Blackberrys, or number ports aren’t conducted correctly, it can result in lost business and upset customers. Shaughnessy says that Sprint’s goal is to make sure devices are programmed and working correctly before a customer leaves the store, and that the customer understands how to use a new device for business.
SMBs represent a large and somewhat untapped market for communications providers in general, and wireless carriers in particular. It’s easy to overlook small businesses when websites, compensation plans, call centers, and retail stores are geared either to consumers or to large enterprises. The market is just beginning to embrace SMBs and recognize how valuable they are to the bottom line. Sprint’s small business team seems to be headed in the right direction. It needs to be if the company hopes to regain the market share it has lost in the past couple of years. At the very least, Shaughnessy’s game plan makes sense. His team deserves credit for trying to do right by a market that’s been mostly neglected for far too long. As opposed to commercials featuring Dan Hesse, overhyping the Palm Pre, or exacerbating price wars with all-in unlimited plans, Sprint’s small business strategy seems like a smart way to go about rebuilding its reputation and customer base. The proof, of course, will be in its performance. Pipeline will check back in with Shaughnessy in the near future to see how things are going.
Pipeline
Publishing, Volume 6, Issue 9
