SP Transformation Day - The Service Provider Maturity Model

Tuesday, Jun 28th 2022
IT guys helping and engaging in discussion, laptop and desktop

Top priorities for service providers today

Enterprises today are facing growing pressure from customers to digitize and streamline their processes and move from multi-channel to omnichannel platforms providing them with a better experience. Findings from the market suggest that print communication is moving in an interesting direction including packaging, labelling and 3D print. The future of print seems to be disconnected from the applications that traditional Service Providers (SP’s) are providing today – namely direct mail and transactional documents – when aligned with the objective for the enterprise to communicate and engage with their customers.Where should enterprises focus?

Some of the top priorities that successful enterprises are focusing on for better customer engagement include: improving customer data analytics, offering better CCM for better customer experience, creating better synergy between communications channels and mobile interaction expansion.  In addition to these challenges, enterprises are also looking for solutions to help them ensure compliance, manage risk and comply with the upcoming GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

Challenges that service providers are facing in the market

Many of the challenges that enterprises face in today’s market are well known - internal politics, inertia, and having a siloed approach as opposed to a holistic approach, all make adopting an omnichannel platform difficult.  Another problem area for service providers are the challenges that arise when trying to deliver on digital transformation projects in house, where the pressures to meet job deadlines and minimize costs can run counter to the compliance requirements of their customers, driving up risk for their enterprise customers.

The dilemma is how to get things done quickly without compromising on data quality, compliance, and security.  Enterprises are turning to agile solutions that allow for digital transformation projects to take place quickly, on time and within compliance - to the delight of CIO’s.

The SP maturity model

Service providers don’t work their way to delivering complete digital projects all at once.  SP’s moving towards digital find themselves at various stages of digital maturity. 

Stage 1
 SP’s offer print only and charge a fixed set up fee for the IT service component.  

Stage 2
Service providers understand that they need more people and more software, and they are able to sell IT service for a given job at cost plus margin.  At this stage digital is offered with one digital channel.

Stage 3
Service providers are using 2 to 3 digital channels, digital is sold, print assets account for 15% of revenues and IT is prevailing.

Stage 4
The highest stages of maturity, a service provider understands that it can sell IT (digital) at the value that it’s creating for the enterprise, they are working with 5 or more digital channels and IT staff are a strategic HR asset. At this point digital is the core business with very little print.

Some key takeaways:  

1.    Decide that digital is good – even if it cannibalizes your own print initially.

2.    Re-think your sales team – invest in the right people who are able to sell the value of digital as opposed to a print job only.  Invest in new IT skills or invest in improving your IT skills, invest in digital.

3.    The IT infrastructure delivers value.  Invest in it, but also invest in engagement with your customers by building out your development and communications team with a focus on delivering a better overall customer experience for your clients. 

 

The shift to digital means that it is not going away, it is here to stay, and companies need to adopt it in order to be seen as a strategic provider to enterprise customers.

For a deeper dive into Service Provider Digital Transformation, click on the link to download the complimentary eBook, “Service Provider Transformation: A Pragmatic Guide to Achieving Digital Success”.