Big Blue serenades the SME sector

IBM must learn to get the right tone when speaking to the small business market, writes Sara Driscoll

Products are irrelevant when it comes to selling. Be it the best software, hardware, services or shoes, it is neither here nor there.

What counts is whether the buyer is open to a deal and the tone with which that deal is pitched. And it has been getting this tone of voice right that has so far been a stumbling block for many vendors looking to target the lucrative SME sector.

IBM has been warming up its small business voice for some time. Its dedicated Integrated Partner Team (IPT) is aimed squarely at putting Big Blue to the forefront of SME resellers’ minds. Last week, the vendor announced that it was adding software to the IPT portfolio, to sit alongside the existing SME-targeted System X, P, storage and printer hardware.

And about time too. Selling hardware on its own, even when it is a volume play, is a thankless and (almost) margin-less task. Simply put, some software has to run on the kit. With this in mind, it makes perfect sense for IBM to bundle both together, boosting margin and creating a more rounded offering for small businesses.

However, the most crucial point in the sales strategy will not be about the products being sold, be it software or hardware, it will be about the pitch and the price.

Big Blue still has a high-end, big money, big business reputation. The small business mindset is not geared towards IBM because an assumption exists that the vendor’s products will be too complex and the price will be too high for smaller firms. While IBM is heading in the right direction with IPT, and resellers have welcomed the move to bring software into the group, it must ensure that it gets the tone right when trying to speak SME language.

Most small businesses are facing towards Dell right now, and although its crown is slipping slightly, it is not singing the blues just yet. Dell is in tune with SMEs and it is this note that IBM needs to find. When it does, then the vendor can make a song and dance about its product set.