The Datamax Thinking Blog

How well has your technology partner paid solid mind to how you work and operate? What your objectives are? What you value as a business?

Great partnerships produce great results.

The Wright Brothers, though they got their start fixing bicycles, developed the three-axis controls that made flying a fixed-wing aircraft possible. Through their collaborative partnership, the two literally gave us all wings to fly.

Over the last 9 months, we’ve worked hard to answer COVID-19-related questions, to provide resources, to deliver the content that mattered most to our customers, in an unprecedented time for businesses everywhere.

We'd love to shake your hand, but an elbow bump will do for now. Either way, we sincerely appreciate you reading in 2020! 

Our year at the Datamax Thinking Blog kicked off with a New Year's-themed article, “6 Resolutions Your Business Technology Partner Must Truly Value in 2020.” It detailed characteristics that businesses should seek in any technology vendor relationship they engage with: Traits like “the ability to respond – and resolve,” “the creativity to dig deeper,” and “the worthiness of your trust.” 

In working with your partner, how successful is implementation of new technology? Is there a Change Management Methodology that gets every employee on board safely? Or just a train wreck? 

Woodrow Wilson once famously said, “if you want to make enemies, try to change something.”

Funny, but for IT managers or business owners implementing an MFP fleet or IT-related onboarding process, perhaps a little too close for comfort.

A thorough technology assessment – significantly more than a simple walk through – is designed to provide accurate insights and perspective on current infrastructure, workflow and personnel.

It can become a lot like herding cats.

Organizations often fall victim to processes that are unorganized, unwieldy and scattered in all directions: Delayed document approvals that gather dust on a desk or stall helplessly in a manager’s inbox. Shaky (and unsecured) IT Infrastructure that has the wheels of IT personnel spinning for hours every day. Fluctuating monthly print costs that ride along spreadsheets like a rickety wooden roller coaster – enough shake and rattle to give any CFO a migraine.

Does the IT staff at your school have the time to devote to forward-thinking technologies? Do you have a collaborative, meaningful partnership with your provider? 

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “We cannot build the future for our youth—but we can build our youth for the future.”

The 4 “Cs” in education have become a fundamental representation for the National Education Association’s vision for 21st Century Education. Critical thinking, Creativity, Collaboration and Communication are all key components from the NEA to helping students of today – and tomorrow – prepare for college, for work, and for life.

Intertwined within these timeless  4 "Cs” assets today, of course, is the development of and proficiency with technology as students forge ahead in today’s digital era. For example, students must be encouraged to use technology to communicate innovatively and effectively. Additionally, technology plays a key role in effective student collaboration inside the classroom and, in some instances, across the globe.

A successful Vertical Marketing plan requires education, in-depth collaboration and a discovery period of investigating the day-to-day workflow of a specific organization.

In business, sales representatives plant seeds all the time through their interactions with prospects and clients. But how committed they are to acquainting themselves with and nurturing these relations once planted, often determines ultimate long-term growth.

Consider Vertical Marketing the ultimate exercise in studying and tending to individual seeds, learning each nuance and developing growth consistently based on relevant client needs. It’s much more than canned brochures or pre-determined sales pitches. It’s a duel effort of zeroing in on a specific market’s shared challenges and objectives, and finding relative solutions that produce long-term results.

The top 10 questions a sales rep should ask you before they EVER give you a price – or recommendation.

There is nothing more unsatisfying than a salesperson who cannot give you a price when you ask them how much something is going to cost. Their reluctance may even cause you to doubt them. Believe me when I say it, they are actually doing you a favor.

Sure, any salesperson can throw out a number just to make you happy, but in the long run, the true cost of office equipment depends on many things. Sure, you can:

By responding to their career needs and aspirations, resolving real world business issues and challenges, and maximizing investments of time and expertise, we convey our desire to inspire the raves of our very own.

There’s nothing insignificant or unintentional about the size or color of The Datamax Little Blue Book.  Although brief, at just twenty-six short pages, it’s packed with decades of insight regarding "The Datamax Way" and our invitation to you to join in on the journey.

Don't settle for average or worse service from your copier dealer.

Do you spend a lot of time on airlines that ignore your requests and pass you over on the upgrade list? How about a restaurant where you can never get a refill because the server is off texting?

You can encounter bad service everywhere you go, and you probably cross those businesses off the list after they ruined your experience. Sometimes these situations are unavoidable, but in most cases, the people involved simply chose to deliver subpar service.

The same thing can happen with your copier service. You might settle because you're locked into a contract and you didn't realize just how bad the support was until you needed help. Why would you walk away from those airlines and restaurants in your personal life but continue to suffer as an SMB? It doesn't have to be this way.

 Achieving a high return on technology investment can greatly be enhanced by finding a partner who is focused on a customer strategy that is “RELEVANT,” and that provides “VALUE” well beyond the transaction.

Whether it's Return on Investment (ROI) or more specifically Return on Technology Investment (ROTI), it’s ALL about results. Preferably ... "BIG" results. The results we’re looking for come in many shapes and forms, yet in the world of business technology, they all include the measurable improvement of an organization’s operational performance. Results have to make an organization more nimble and competitive than previously before, or what’s the point.  The kind of results our customers commonly envision include: