Brother Launches New Channel Program, SMB Solution

Brother International, a leader in technology for offices of all sizes, unveiled today its new authorized partner program to provide solutions for small-to-midsize businesses, alongside its "Don't Supersize. Optimize" initiative.

The company said it's providing solutions for SMBs to become more productive as the industry is changing the way it uses paper and how often it prints.

"We really think it’s a unique time in the industry because so much change is occurring, and the change is how businesses are communicating and printing," said Dan Waldinger, director of marketing, solutions and services at Brother. "We are really looking to sign up a number of dealers and VARs. This program is designed to grow the dealers in the VAR community, because we want to have new conversations with customers through channel partners. Things we think are changing are how people are communicating, and the proliferation of smartphones and tablets. And people aren't printing the way they once were."

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Waldinger said that as companies have become "greener" and more mobile devices are used, printer use has gone down in recent years, so SMBs often have multifunction printers capable of printing 100,000 pages a month, while, on average, no more than 10,000 pages are being printed from each device.

"Companies may have made purchases for yesterday's needs," said Waldinger. "Print volume is down across the industry. As printing comes down, we think it is an optimal time to look at their needs and determine whether or not they should be rightsized. The days of going to a conference room where you're having a meeting and being handed a set of staples and hole-punched documents are over. People don't communicate that way anymore. We find that, on average, when they print they are printing three to five pages."

The company sees an opportunity to help SMBs adjust accordingly. Its online assessment consists of eight questions about office environments at dontsupersizeoptimize.com, in order to find the best course of action for creating the most efficient and productive printing and software set up for document management.

"The new Brother partner program includes many incentives for VARs and resellers to address the unique needs of SMBs," said Jeff Steed, director of managed print services for Mid-South Digital, a Memphis, Tenn.-based solution provider and Brother partner. "We look forward to working with Brother on this strategic initiative to foster relationships, drive sales and provide solutions for the rapidly changing needs of small-medium businesses."

Waldinger said his company prides itself on being 100 percent channel and never selling direct. He lists some of the major incentives for partnering with the Bridgewater, N.J.-based company, saying that Brother provides products specific for SMBs that can't be found at other vendors. Brother also has deal-registration advantages, and resellers can offer extended warranties, competitive pricing and significant discounts if a customer is registered. In addition, it is launching an aggressive digital advertising campaign to gain leads for channel partners.

"Limited distribution product is a huge advantage because it is something only they will be able to sell," Waldinger said. "We also have an SMB team and commercial team that can go in with the resellers to bring expertise to a customer. Again, we never sell direct. All these benefits in this channel program are already in place for our longer-term partners."

Brother has seen significant growth in recent years, and Waldinger believes expanding its channel network will help that continue.

PUBLISHED OCT. 6, 2014