Is 1 Rate aka Flat Rate Billing Passe in a Post Pandemic Business World?
Since July is all about prospecting I've been able to pay many visits to Linkedin for conducting my research. Today the post below stood out from all of the others.....
Yes, it seems Kyocera is going to have their own version of the 1 Rate aka flat rate billing for MFP's. For me the ad implied that the "one fixed rate subscription will be coming to a dealership near you soon".
I had a rather long chat with an industry veteran today and we covered so many items in the industry and then landed on the 1 Rate aka flat rate programs. I was asked about my opinion for the subscription based billing model that was gaining popularity before COVID19 struck.
I believe that the subscription based models (1 Rate or Flat Rate) is good for clients that are producing a high volume of prints. Most DM's can see the value and take it to the bank. With those lower volume users there are many us of in the industry that can pick the plan apart and offer a less expensive alternative to the client. That's what we were doing in the pre-COVID19 times.
Since we're in a post pandemic business climate my thoughts have changed about the subscription based billing model. Many if not all businesses were forced to adapt to "shelter in place" and then launch remote services for most employees to work from home. Thus those MFP's in the office sat idle for months and months on end with little to no volume being produced. Win, win for the manufacturer and major loss for the clients. Since many subscription billing models are tied to a lease there was no way for a client to get a financial relief with the MFPs not in use. They still had to pay and I'm sure the thought of what a great plan it was turned in to more of what did I do?
I guess the nice thing about having a maintenance agreement separate from the lease means that if a client asks the dealership there maybe a chance that some relief can be offered. Well not a chance because I know many dealerships that did offer some type of relief for those clients that asked.
Post Pandemic Subscription
Most business leaders will make decisions based on past experiences and many will also rely on a vision of what the next few years will be like before signing a long term contract.
I and others believe that we will see more of these "shelter in place" and businesses relegating employees remote working when the next pandemic hits. I don't believe it's a case of "if" it happens but rather when it happens. I don't believe that it will be another 100 year cycle like the Spanish Flu. I do believe that we now live in a different world when it comes to viruses and whose to say that what we just went through won't happen again with the next few years.
Getting back to the subscription billing model means locking in for 5 years and I can't see any business owner/leader approving something like that after what the world just went through.
_=Good Selling=-
Comments (3)