Tucson AZ, it is one of the fastest growing "High-tech"
business communities in the nation. With this fast growth
comes a greater demand for flexible, scalable, intuitive,
feature rich, customizable, and economical options for
business class data and voice solutions.
The interesting thing though is that this "demand" is born
more out of what is "wanted" than what is really "needed".
I represent a large competitive local exchange company
(CLEC) where I focus on the local Tucson AZ business
community. It is my job to give business owners and
principles what they "want" not necessarily what they need.
Often times what they "want" is also what they "need" but
not all the time. But what a business "needs' is never as
nearly important as what they "want"
Think of this "need / want" dynamic on a generalized
personal level. Do people generally more often buy and
consume less healthy white bread or healthier whole wheat
bread? Statistically people more often buy and consume
white bread...Why? Because it is what people "want" not
what they "need". Get it?
So how does this apply "need / want" dynamic apply to the
Tucson business community and specifically to business
class data and voice solutions where my expertise comes
into play?
There are quite of few choices locally here in Tucson AZ
for a local Tucson business to use as their data and voice
provider. You have Qwest which is the legacy, "incumbent
local exchange company" or ILEC, then a handful of other
"competitive local exchange companies" CLEC's such as Cox
and Comcast and then a small group of service resellers
and other companies that exist solely in the IP world that
offer private network IP based services.
Anyone of these choices can fill the "need" to get the job
done for the local business owner. But the real question
is what does the business owner "want"? What are the
rising trends? And who can consistently provide for these
"wants" and rising trends?
Based on my field tested experience and research these are
the trends and "wants" that I see as on the rise among
Tucson businesses in regards to their voice and data
solutions.
1. Scalability: Businesses want the flexibility and the
choice to logistically scale their data and voice needs as
their business grows and not be locked into an "all or
nothing" type of solution. A popular voice and data
solution that is not scalable enough for a lot of business
are legacy, copper wire T1 lines. A full T1 in the Tucson
metro area can cost anywhere from $400 to $700 per month
before mileage charges. T1's also offer a maximum of
1.544Mbs of fully symmetrical bandwidth and nothing more.
If a business owner ever wants more bandwidth they have to
bring in a whole new sole and separate T1 and another $400
to $700 per month. Now what if a business does not need a
full 1.544Mbs of data connectivity right away because they
are a new and growing business? In this instance a T1 does
not offer the scalability nor the flexibility that some
businesses "want".
2. True Local support and local point of contact: This is
something I hear a lot. Local business owners and managers
are tired of calling support or service and getting
connected to someone in another state (or worse another
country) who has no real relationship or vested interest in
solving an issue in a painless and timely manner. Tucson
business owners want the personal relationship and for
vendors to truly understand and relate to a given "want".
Tucson Businesses want personal, high-touch, one-on-one,
and fanatical customer service and a local person that they
can form a true professional relationship with.
One business owner told me that he loves that I can be the
local Tucson based point of contact because if anything
goes wrong with his voice and data connections, for his
mission critical applications, he likes not having to go
travel very far to find me and "punch me in the face..." .
Of course he was being sarcastic....I think?
3. Ala Carte service and flexibility: Tucson business
owners "want" to be able pick and choose the services and
products that they truly "want" and not be locked in having
to take a certain level of service before being able to get
a certain feature or product with a whole bunch of other
ancillary services that they may never use.
4. Custom solutions: Tucson businesses are extremely
diverse and not one particular "off the shelf" solution
will fit every business. Tucson Businesses want to be able
to have the choice of a custom fit / custom engineered
solution for their data and voice solutions.
5. Choice to bundle services and have one vendor: Tucson
business owners love to "bundle". Practically it makes
sense NOT to layer costs spread out among several different
vendors. Tucson business owners hate having to pay up to 4
different vendors for their data, voice and HD video needs
for their businesses. Being able to write one check and
have one point of contact is not only convenient but it
also saves a lot of lost time and frustration which in
turn creates more productivity and profitability
6. Service and feature that cater to mobility and
telecommuting: Tucson Business are moving away from the
full time, static "brick and mortar" locations and are
increasingly become more mobile in their business
practices. Hence Tucson businesses want their data and
voice solutions to be as mobile as they are like "digital
voice service" with such features as "find me / follow me",
"call hunt", "simultaneous ring" etc. Likewise on the data
side Tucson business owners want the ability to access
files and folders on their own private network remotely.
Be it a virtual private network sessions or setting up a
wide area network Tucson business owners need access from
any location at any time they need it.
Also, I have noticed that an increasing amount of Tucson
businesses are employing home workers or "telecommuters".
Especially those companies that employ a large customer
support or technical support work force. To me this is a
great thing. Automobile traffic is becoming an increasing
nightmare in Tucson not too mention gas prices. So if more
people can effectively work at home the better it is for
everyone.
Being that "telecommuting" is becoming more of a growing
trend for Tucson business, business owners want features
and service that support this trend. Such as remote call
forwarding, remote VPN access or having a wide area network
or WAN for short.
7. Several different price points and bandwidth tiers to
choose from: This ties back in with scalability and
flexibility. Tucson business owners do not want to be
locked into an "all or nothing scenario". Tucson business
owners want an economical solution that is fluid and can
scale and grow as their business grows. Not all businesses
want a full T1 data and voice connection to begin with when
starting out and some business want a lot more than what a
T1 can provide once their business grow and evolves.
8. True understanding of Personal Business WANTS: Did you
ever meet someone who tried to serve you vanilla when you
never "wanted" anything but chocolate. Vendors and sales
people have gotten a bad reputation for constantly trying
to pound a square peg in a round hole all because they
don't take the time to truly listen and understand your
"wants" as a business owner. Most vendors try to
constantly give you what they think you "need" but never
address what you want.
Now, there are several different "wants" and growing
business trends here in Tucson AZ in regards to data and
voice connectivity but these are the most common I have run
across.
So now that we have uncovered the growing trends for Tucson
Business in regards to data and voice connectivity and what
they "want" (not what they need) how does a business choose
a vendor that can consistently deliver on these most common
"wants" and trends? Very carefully, that's how.
Never sign anything unless you are sure your potential
vendor is going to be able to consistently deliver on your
business "wants". Again, it is my job to give Tucson
businesses what they "want" and I will be the first one to
tell you that I can not deliver something and recommend who
can. Most times I and the company I represent are the best
choice. But sometimes we are not.
Remember, it's about what you "want" not what you
"need...Now go get what you want.
----------------------------------------------------
Blazing Fast Business Class Internet and VoIP solutions for
all Southern Arizona Businesses
FREE Consultation Call Keith 520-867-7600 or
http://www.TucsonBusinessBroadband.com
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