With the European economy spluttering performance-price ratios are being championed over big brand status argues Yealink UK’s managing director, Andrew Roberts.

 

It’s a tough old world out there. The economy is recovering in fits and starts and, with widespread nervousness over what the future holds, getting telecoms and IT managers to commit to new capital expenditure can be a teeth-pulling exercise.

 

Such a climate leads many to re-evaluate what were previously givens. One such is that of brand loyalty. “Just what is it I’m paying for?” is a question surely on many lips. And a good one it is too.

 

Now, more than ever, specifiers are examining price-performance ratios. They’re looking to see if a big brand name really does add value - or if they’re perhaps instead simply paying for a costly marketing and operational overhead.

 

Without wishing to demean some of the excellent brand offerings available through the channel, they’re right to. In the current climate people cannot justify paying maybe twice as much for, say, a videophone, simply for brand recognition. Worryingly the effect premium pricing might have in the current climate could be to deter them from investing at all right now, thus denying resellers vital opportunities.

 

This is no theoretical debate. It’s reality. Were the European economy more buoyant then the discussion might be focussed simply upon how best to take advantage of the fantastic developments in unified communications technologies and enjoy benefits they bring. Make no mistake; people are aware of those benefits. They want rich presence. They want fully integrated, end-to-end communication solutions embracing IM, SMS, email and so on. They want HD videoconferencing. They want it all – but they want it at an affordable price.

 

Without blowing our own trumpets too much, no-one is more aware of this reality than us at Yealink. Why? Because since we launched in recession-hit Europe in 2009, we have bucked the gloom-laden trend to double our sales every six months. By May this year we had already surpassed our total sales volumes for 2011. What’s more, in sharp contrast to the general uncertainty out there, we’re highly confident about pipeline prospects, not least because a number of leading carriers have bought into our proposition and are now specifying our kit. Distributors including Micro P, Nimans, Pro Vu and Trust, have also signed up to our cause.

 

Success has in no small part been due to the breaking of brand loyalties and the championing of that price-vs-performance formula. As we become more firmly established resellers and their customers are attributing the values they previously associated with the market-leading brands to us: reliability, functionality, build quality - but not premium pricing.

 

We can do this because we have low operating costs, a tightly focused range which we can sell in volume and high reliability means fewer returns which protect not just our reputation, but our margin.

 

Of course you might well expect me to pitch this argument; my interest really could not be more vested. As long-in-the-tooth, hard-nosed professionals I’d expect you to be at the very least a little cynical. That’s fair enough. All I’d ask, then, is that you simply to investigate the facts yourself. As a market-testing exercise next time you’re preparing a tender why not do you own performance versus price analysis? It might surprise you. Better still it might give you the competitive edge in what is a brutally uncompromising marketplace.

 

About Yealink

Founded in 2001, Yealink is the professional designer and manufacturer of IP Phone and IP Video Phone for the world-wide broadband telephony market. Yealink has focused on VoIP products characterized by high cost-performance, easy deployment and affordable price. Yealink benefits customers from flexibility and broad interoperability with the major IP-PBX, softswitch and IMS in the market. Chosen by famous carriers, enterprises and clients from over 100 countries, Yealink provides SMB and diversified customers from all over the world a best choice to extend the value of network communication. Find more info on www.yealink.com