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DEALER PROGRAMMES
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“Dealers know that in a competitive
marketplace their customers find it
easy to switch from one supplier to
another because their customers’
first priority, these days, is to find
the best price,” said Dave Goswell,
Managing Director of the newly
established Olivetti Agency. “This
has a knock-on effect for the dealer.
We realise that a dealer needs a
good price, too, but by providing our
partners with more than that, we’re
actually giving them a competitive
edge.”
The Key Partner Programme was
developed for Olivetti 12 years ago by its
UK subsidiary and has formed the bedrock
of the company’s dealer programmes
throughout Europe ever since. It was
initially designed to be a simple rebate
programme, which allowed Olivetti dealers
to earn a flat-rate rebate on Olivetti
purchases.
“Most dealers at this time were very
similar in terms of their levels of activity,
so business remained fairly constant, but
some would regularly perform well and
they found the benefits of the programme
really useful,” said Goswell.
More competition
As the company’s colour MFP business
began to increase around 2005, so too
did the number of larger dealers that
wanted to work with Olivetti. At that point,
Olivetti made the decision to create three
simple Leagues: Platinum, for those with a
potential to earn more; Key Partner, which
covered the majority of Olivetti dealers;
and Partner, for smaller or less active
dealers.
This model introduced a level of
competition among dealers and enabled
Olivetti to offer greater and more far-
reaching benefits, such as regular monthly
promotions on specific products, tailored
marketing support and dedicated account
management. There was also fierce
competition to win a place on the annual
dealer trip for the top performing dealers,
regular sporting activities and hospitality
events with places awarded to those who
achieved set targets.
Today, Olivetti has a total of 120
dealers of differing size and capability, 80
of which are very active. The programme
now consists of five Leagues with a wide
range of annual targets and rebates that
dealers sign up to every year.
Membership of The Elite League, for
dealers with very high potential for growth,
is based on a dealer’s projected level of
business and commitment to achieve
high targets. The Platinum League is
still for high achievers but for those that
are not quite as big as some of the Elite
companies. There is also now a Premier
League above the Key Partner and Partner
Leagues. All the Leagues have a sliding
scale of rebate, so dealers can earn more
as they achieve more.
Olivetti circulates a Monthly League
Table for each League, with a certificate
awarded to the dealer of the month. The
League Tables show the movement of the
dealers each month, so it’s possible to see
who has moved up or down.
Through its Key Partner
Programme, Olivetti is well
placed to demonstrate its
loyalty to authorised dealers
and give something back to
partners for their continued
business.
Olivetti’s Key Partner
Programme delivers
real benefits
Authorised partners
Dealers who sign up to the Key Partner
Programme are able to use an official
Authorised Partner logo in their marketing
communications, demonstrating their
status as an accredited partner.
“This was an initiative introduced to
support authorised Olivetti dealers who
were pitching against others claiming to be
official authorised dealers but who actually
weren’t,” explained Goswell. “Since launch
we’ve reduced the number of instances of
third parties trying to undercut on pricing
and claiming to be able to sell new Olivetti
products.”
He added: “We want our partners to
feel valued and the Programme helps us to
do that. Actions speak louder than words
and the Key Partner Programme has always
delivered excellent benefits for those who
are part of it.”
It was
initially
designed to
be a simple
rebate
programme.
Coming soon
Olivetti has confirmed that it
is planning to introduce a new
Support and Communications
System that will be available
exclusively to authorised
dealers. The system will feature
a knowledge base designed to
provide authorised engineers
with access to the information
they need on their laptop, tablet
or smartphone.
The new system will ensure that
authorised engineers are only a few
clicks away from accessing vital
firmware, fixes and drivers while in
the field. Through a powerful search
engine, they will have instant access to
Olivetti’s support forum and manuals
and, via the Technical Hotline, to a
dedicated team of people ready to
take their call.
Once fully operational, Olivetti says
that the site will become a focal point
for dealers to place and keep an eye
on the status of all orders.
