Knowing your customer

Knowing your customer is more important than ever. Following from last issue, we look at employees who need to duplicate their office space at home and the opportunities this presents to dealers

Hybrid working is expected to continue to grow in 2022, with the pandemic still causing problems and many employees preferring the flexibility of working some of the time in the office and the remainder at home. This presents opportunities for dealers to supply customers with the necessary equipment for both venues – which is why having close relationships with them is important.

“Hybrid models, or greater permanency working from home, puts the onus on the employer for even greater duty of care,” says Marianne Chamberlain, sales director at Data Direct. “Some employees are well set-up, but some aren’t, so dealers have a crucial role to play – working with their end-user customers in a consultative and adaptable capacity, understanding their working arrangements – fixed and on-the-go – and providing proposals to deliver these as both one-offs and as part of a regular top-up and consumables proposition.”

Furniture focus

For instance, it is important to ensure there’s a dedicated desk or workstation, an ergonomic chair, and storage set up at home so that people can seamlessly switch between office and home working, says Simon Howorth of Dams.

“The more items that need to be transported between the office and the home on a daily basis, the higher the likelihood of a disorganised or cluttered workspace, which has been widely proven to increase levels of stress and anxiety,” he explains. “While keeping the workplace tidy seems like an obvious starting point for being more productive, most employees find it the hardest to stick to – especially in their home workspaces which do not have the structure of the modern office spaces. Make the space inviting and functional, with dedicated furniture, and clutter-free, so you can be more productive and have a space inside your home that makes you feel good.”

Jeremy Cooper, marketing manager UK and Ireland at Fellowes, adds that the company has seen an escalation in demand for products that replicate the office workstyle within the home environment. “For example, where staff are used to working with two computer screens in the office, it makes sense to have the same function at home in order to maintain the same levels of productivity,” he says. “This means not only having comparative tech but also investing in monitor arms to house it and work with it efficiently – this is a product line that has grown exponentially over the last few months.

“Similarly, we’re also seeing great appetite for everyday essentials that transport well between locations, including portable laptop risers, wrist supports and lumbar supports and storage files.”

IT needs

IT infrastructure should not be ignored either, says Russell Brown, head of SOHO sales at Brother UK. “Partners have the opportunity to engage with customers through a consultative approach to assess whether their current hybrid IT infrastructure – which may have been hastily implemented at the start of the pandemic – will continue to meet their needs over the next few years. This needs-based assessment of customers’ tech and office supply set-up can help to shore-up vulnerabilities in security, productivity, cost-efficiency or sustainability, while ultimately strengthening relationships. Such an assessment can cover everything from whether staff have the right office chairs and laptop risers at home to avoid occupational injury, to an efficient printer that boosts productivity while keeping company networks secure.

“Managed services can also be an easy way to duplicate the office set-up in the home. IT managers can equip home workers with printers while retaining full oversight and control over remote workers’ print devices – helping businesses to manage security, cost-efficiency, maintenance and remote diagnostics.”

Keep on moving

Of course, for those who move between work in the office and at home, luggage is also a concern. Robin Bayliss, group sales director at Bisley, says that, pre-March 2020, commuters regularly took their laptop and cables to and from the office. “Now they have two offices, what do you do? Well, the main difference is you now most likely have a dock-in screen at the office and another at home, so you still transport laptops but now you’re taking more files and paperwork between each location.

“Manufacturers and dealers have looked into whether to offer luggage – clearly there’s a market, right? Wrong. The luggage of choice is, and always will be, the humble rucksack; it does exactly what you want it to do – it can hold a ton of stuff and you have it on your back so you still have two hands for your mobile and morning cappuccino. Many places sell them, and at such varying price points, so the market supply is ready-made.”

However, when in the office employees need somewhere to put their belongings, with lockers being the storage of choice, Robin points out. “During and post-pandemic the need for lockers has kept multiplying. Now when you get to the office everyone will have their own locker compartment and no longer with just a key – smart locking technology is hot topic news.”

Working wherever 

Elisabete Wells, marketing manager at ACCO, believes there is also a trend towards solutions that make it easy to work comfortably and productively wherever an employee may be. “Resellers should be introducing their customers to products that are portable, lightweight, compact and easy to set up, and should present these products in a way that addresses their pain points,” she says.

Elisabete explains that employees should have the right tools at their disposal wherever they are. “ACCO has taken some essential products – such as wireless keyboards, compact laptop risers, and backpacks – and paired them with travel-focused products like laptop locks and portable USB docks to present these products in a way that transforms them into holistic solutions tailored to the modern worker’s situation.

“Similarly, dealers need to approach selling as problem-solving and help the customer to easily visualise how these solutions can fit into their working lives. Resellers need to package their offerings in the strongest way possible to cross-sell the bigger picture – perhaps through bundling items with a special price or a ‘buy two, get one free’ offer. Resellers also need to make it as easy as possible for customers to find these products. Hybrid working is here to stay and, therefore, should be a dedicated section of any e-commerce site.

“That way, customers can quickly and easily find and shop relevant product categories.”