The SMB market holds the most significant growth potential for telecom players, according to Iain Sinnott, Director of International Carrier Sales at Enreach for Service Providers, a division of the Enreach Group.
During Enreach’s 'Collaboration for Growth' partner gathering in Nice, he conveyed a strong belief that telecom firms ought to prioritise supporting small businesses by providing services in the realm of inbound call management.
“Previously, the focus was solely on voice,” he told IT Europa. “Now, voice and messages need to be handled. Delivering inbound interactions in a smaller business environment is crucial these days.
“This presents an opportunity for telecom players to enhance their offerings by introducing solutions like casual call centres and integrated inbound message systems.Many telephony providers have overlooked upgrading to more advanced call management systems, creating a notable gap in the market.”
Matthew Townend, an Executive Director at Cavell Group, mirrored Sinnott’s perspective about delving into the SME market. During his talk on industry shifts at the Enreach partner event, Townend emphasised that the "opportunity is too significant to ignore."
“There's ample opportunity to develop collaboration solutions for SMEs using your tools, as their needs are distinctively different,” he says.
He pointed out that big players like RingCentral from the US have often missed the mark on this opportunity. "However, there's a palpable shift now,” he observed. “During my investment discussions, there's now a renewed emphasis on the SME sector. Finally, they recognise the immense potential present in the market. There's significant potential in this market, and we anticipate it to explode.”
Pivoting to the topic of omni-channel communication, Townend highlighted that businesses, particularly in the US, are also progressively adopting a “multi-channel communication approach to interact and connect with their customers across diverse platforms.”
Supporting this notion, Sinnott added that B2C customers frequently prefer to use various communication channels, and inbound management is one way to support this, improving their multi-channel CX.
“B2C customers, who are also players in the B2C market, aim to engage with their customers through various methods, he says. “They'll need to establish omnichannel relationships with their customers, as that's where the demand will eventually converge. We must provide this group with a roadmap to transition from a non-formalised contact centre to a omnichannel solution, without calling it that.
“Small businesses can enhance their customer interactions using inbound messaging and call management systems, and that's a proposition they are likely to buy into. I joined Enreach largely because I believed their blend of core telephony, PBX replacement, integrated casual contact centre, and mobility was precisely what the SMB market needed.”
In the aftermath of the pandemic, mobility has become more crucial for SME businesses. Coupled with this is the demand for Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), which Sinnott believes is central to Enreach’s roadmap.
“Before the pandemic, our primary sales were in telephony. During the pandemic, our focus shifted to meetings and collaboration. As the work-from-anywhere trend evolved, we pivoted to emphasise mobility, adapting to the changing landscape.
"If we recognise that a business can gain from our contact centre capabilities, it is beholden on us to do that because it represents one of the most significant ROI elements we provide to our end users.To stay in business in the next few years, you'll likely need to offer core telephony complemented by a contact centre solution to enhance mobility. I'd argue it's crucial for the future success of businesses.”
In a concluding note, Sinnott re-emphasised the need for a dynamic portfolio, resonating with both present and future customer requisites. With the SME sector emerging as a growth area, he warned, “Overlooking this space would be a grave oversight for telcos. It’s a pivotal time for SMBs and to serve this marketplace.”
This blog was published on IT Europa
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