WE HAVE LIFT OFF - Nine Wholesale · a contemporary magazine cover, ... dead end employment prospects, lengthy credit card ... favourite sports personality,

Purple NewsIssue 11 | Winter/Spring 2016 For our Channel Partners

Broadband installationRead about the industry-wide changes

Purple Partners set to see sales rocket in 2016

WE HAVE LIFT OFF

Broadband advertising under scrutinyIf it sounds too good to be true, it probably is

3News from Winter/Spring 2016Success is a journey, together

Welcome to the Winter/Spring edition of Purple News, I hope your 2016 has got off to a good start. We’ve hit the ground running here at Nine, planning a number of exciting initiatives for the year ahead.

We want this to be a record-breaking year for our own business, and therefore yours as well. In order to achieve this we’ve calculated some fantastic new benefits for those on the Purple Partner Programme. If you haven’t yet joined the programme now is definitely the time. Trust me; we’ve done the maths, and the savings you could make are extraordinary. Read all about the financial benefits we’re offering this year, and get in touch with your CDM to receive a Purple Partner Programme brochure outlining all of the other business-changing, value-adding features on offer.

As always we have marketing and industry pieces from our expert columnists and an update on industry-wide changes to fibre broadband installation.

Finally, many of you will have joined us at Porsche Carrera race days in 2015. To give you a quick update, Nine-sponsored racing driver, Josh, is working on plans for this season and has not finalised a decision yet. However he hopes to see you at a circuit sometime during the year.

Here’s to a fantastic 2016, we’re delighted to be sharing it with you.

Nick WebsterManaging [email protected]

Hello again

Purple News | Issue 11 | Winter/Spring

We’ve got it coveredYou may have noticed our new advertising campaign on the back pages of both Comms Dealer and Comms Business magazines, possibly because you mistook it for the front cover! Our innovative new advert design is in the the style of a contemporary magazine cover, featuring a different cover model selected from our fabulous customer-facing staff each month!

You may have recognised Vicki Cowperthwaite, Virtual Office Team Leader, on the cover of January’s advert and February featured one of our Account Managers, Kate Brodey, promoting the fantastic new Purple Partner Benefits.

We’d love to know what you think, did they make you stop and stare?

Let us known at [email protected] out for our next cove

r advert...

Coming soon



The conversation was about how different payment methods had become normalised over the last few years. PayPal, ApplePay, even Chip and Pin, which isn’t that old and we got talking about how long it would take for BitCoin to enter the mainstream not just in terms of payment methods, but in terms of actual currency.

I did a bit of research once I realised I wasn’t that knowledgeable and in brief, BitCoin is a crypto currency, or payment system that was invented in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto. (Who may or may not be a single person or a group of people.) Essentially BitCoin is a database, or open source software, depending on how you’re looking at it. You can ‘mine’ it by offering up your computing power to verify and record payments into a public ledger.

Which doesn’t sound like money at all if we’re being honest.

Yet there are ATM’s that issue BitCoin, Barclays now trades using the currency and many charities accept donations in it.

Why this sudden interest in BitCoin? I am fascinated by disruptive innovation. It’s fair to say that there is a huge pace of change with regard to technology in the work place, in our industry and in fact in our homes.

Innovations such as BitCoin are nothing new but one contribution could be considered to be from the evolution, creation, deregulation, and privatisation of UK telecoms network kicked off in the early 80’s and the subsequent introduction of competition into the UK market as a result.

Whilst it is fair to say that this evolution would probably have happened elsewhere in the world without the above, it paved the way for broadband, fibre optics, DIA, hosted voice and countless other product improvements over the years as carriers researched, developed and marketed new, more cost effective but innovative ways to transmit voice and data over long distances.

They created products that allowed a staggering suite of applications that we pretty much take for granted today; from network level voicemail to Outlook integration. And of course all of these innovations lead to more product choices, more available services, more customers; more sales.

And yet somehow I hear that there are some that feel that this rate of change doesn’t affect them; that the copper network will be here for eternity; that on premise phone systems will continue to provide good revenues for generations to come.

At Nine we know we don’t have all of the answers, but we continue to work closely with all of our partners and suppliers to apply that knowledge in a number of partner workshops. Workshops that look at new ways to earn additional margin, for marketing or new for 2016 product specific workshops that look at new technologies and applications and how we can apply them in the market. Look out for those in the coming months.

If you’re a Purple Partner these come as part of the programme, if not, you should really consider joining up or you could pay using BitCoin.

INDUSTRYNOTEBOOK

Marcus DacombeGroup Commercial Product Director

The price of innovationYou’ve no doubt heard of BitCoin and you will have seen ApplePay being advertised with every mainstream bank. I’d not been taking that much notice until I was involved in a conversation about the virtual currency and realised that I didn’t know all that much about it.


Purple Monday

Your correspondent finds himself having to write an uplifting marketing article on what is “officially” the most miserable day of the year, or Blue Monday, as Sky Travel christened it in their 2005 PR campaign. Although there is no real science behind the creation of Blue Monday, it is easy to understand how a combination of late trains, dead end employment prospects, lengthy credit card statements, gloomy weather and failed resolutions can produce a dark fog of despair. In an effort to lighten the mood, we sent you our Purple Monday antidote, so I hope your demeanour was duly transformed and many cheery endorphins flowed around your person as a result.

The Marketing Plan

Depending on your business calendar and year end, you may well have embarked upon, or even completed your annual marketing plan. Similarly, here at The Hub, we have also been reviewing our 2015 version, recycling the good bits, lamenting the bright ideas that didn’t escape the drawing board and creating some lively, fresh ideas for the year ahead. It would be careless of me not to share some of our experiences and maybe inspire you to examine your own marketing schemes.

With further reference to Purple Monday, no opportunity to link a marketing campaign to topical events should be over-looked and this primitive, but effective ruse will have grand scope in 2016, with the Rio Olympics, European Football Championships in France and even a presidential election in America. The trick is to do this well and not be tired, obvious or hackneyed, unless you have a relationship with your customers that has achieved a level of familiarity, where you can safely be cheesy and self-deprecating. Don’t be tempted to act out of character – if your traditional marketing is authoritative, factual and informative, then don’t suddenly go all quirky and humorous – brands are like people and odd or unexpected behaviour can be unsettling.

One element that I always insist upon is to write the marketing plan in the voice of the customer, so don’t set goals in your own voice; think about what you would want your customer to say about your business in twelve month’s time. The marketing plan should be for them, not for you.

Content is really just another word for a story, so write some new ones about topics that are important to your customers and then make them work really hard for you – tell the stories on your website and direct people there using social media. Re-tell the story in direct mail and newsletters and why not generate some PR and press coverage, locally or in suitable trade press. People will engage with stories that have a more personal element and every business has something interesting to say – what’s your biggest story right now?

My final tip would be to pay some attention to your website. Do you need to invest a bit of money in the first port of call for your customers and prospects? Do you need some dedicated headcount to make sure that it is always fresh and topical – an out of date, or empty news section does not say good things about your business.

BT and EE

In complete lack of surprise news, the planned £12.5Bn acquisition of EE by BT has gone ahead, presenting a brand conundrum comprising only four letters and while the comics would have us believe that the new name will be B-TEE (cue, Maureen Lipman’s return), it is far more likely that the EE name will disappear over time. Quite right too – if you have been there with them from the start you have had to endure Mercury, One2One, T-Mobile, Everything Everywhere and thanks to CEO, Wolff Olins, who though Satchi and Satchi plus Fallon’s creation, “silly,” the abbreviated form, EE. What is it about mobile phone networks that they like a strange name - you may recall that in 2001, BT also gave birth to mmO2, which became the slightly less mad, O2. What will happen if and when 3 and O2 get together?

Plan for Success

I was somewhat dispirited to read that the nation’s favourite sports personality, Andy Murray, has a plan for success in 2016 that involves Novak Djokovic being a bit less good than he was in 2015. Is he being realistic, or defeatist? An acceptance that being the best you can be may not be good enough feels rather timid to me. While there will always be a bigger company with a larger marketing budget, then I never lose faith in the ability of the team around me. We have the capacity, inspiration and desire to be a sensational business and we plan to succeed – I heartily encourage you to feel the same way.

at th

e m

oon

Group Marketing Director, Mark Saunders, strategises for the year ahead, comments on upcoming industry changes and plans for success.



50

BEACH

PPP BENEFITS

THE HUB


Openreach are going to stop supplying their current VDSL modem for any new Fibre broadband orders placed after the 15th March 2016 but will continue to support installed Openreach VDSL modems until the end of March 2017.

The good news is that this means that new orders will no longer require an engineer’s visit to the end user’s premises. Openreach will go to the primary connection point to set the jumper to the cabinet, and an engineer visit will be available to order at an additional cost for those customers who require manual connections or whose wiring needs an uplift.

Any orders placed with Nine on or after the 16th March will require a modem / router device compatible with the Openreach network. We will offer the Technicolour TG589vac on the iBillie portal for this, and maintain a list of compatible equipment; you will also need a microfilter which is included with the router. These items will need to be on site before the connections go live in the same way as ADSL installations.

If you have any questions about this get in touch with your CDM - we can help.

Industry-wide changes to Fibre Broadband installation

NEW PPP benefitsWe’re welcoming in the New Year by offering some incredible new benefits for our Purple Partners. These value adding discounts are aimed at increasing your margin, improving sales and ultimately making 2016 a superb year for your business.

Marketing 101

We’ll be holding Marketing 101 workshops in both the North and the South of the UK this year. Keep an eye out for your invitation.

What’s your view on marketing?A fundamental part of your business plan, or a fluffy toy to play with when you have the time?

Too often, Marketing gets overlooked, particularly within a small business. However, when done correctly, it can play a key role in creating sales.

All of our Purple Partners are invited to attend our Marketing 101 workshop which will take you through the role of marketing in a modern organisation, including:

+ Taking a creative look at traditional brand marketing+ Customer engagement and creating sales+ Lead generation and digital marketing

Not a member of the Purple Partner Programme yet, what are you waiting for?Get in touch with your CDM today or email purple [email protected]

for 2016!

How easy was that!


50

BEACH

PPP BENEFITS

THE HUB

ConnectivityThis year we’re offering not one, not two, but three brilliant connectivity benefits:+ 9% discount on Fibre

Broadband monthly rental+ Free router and free install or

migration for the first 6 months of 2016

+ First month free on Fibre Access (GEA FTTC)

MobileWe are offering Purple Partners a £200 connection bonus for the first 50 connections made during 2016 - eligible on new and ported connections on the O2 Business Choices tariff (DISE)

Inbound Call ManagementWe asked what new training you required, you told us and here it is!

For the duration of 2016 we’ll be holding free Inbound Call Management accreditation workshops worth £250 per person for Purple Partners. Dates coming soon.

If you have any questions about these benefits please get in touch with your CDM.

There are so many other incredible benefits to joining the Purple Partner Programme that we have a brochure full of them! Ask your CDM for your own copy.

Introduction to Telecoms

Have you recently taken on a new starter?If you’ve taken on someone with little or no experience of telecoms, it can take time and focus to bring them up to speed. We can help!*

Our introduction to Telecoms course will help your new starter with:

+ An understanding of the history of the market

+ An insight to the market - the structure, the supply chain and where your company comes into play

+ A translation of the complex jargon our industry loves so much

+ An introduction to the products you sell, including connectivity, MiCall (hosted telephony), MiLine (SIP trunks), Inbound Call Management, mobile and even basic calls and lines

Not a member of the Purple Partner Programme yet, what are you waiting for?Get in touch with your CDM today or email purple [email protected]

GO


*Free to Purple Partners. The cost for non-PPP members to attend is £99.

Wednesday 10th February09:00 – 16:00The Hub, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire



It seems that the Advertising Standards Agency has been having similar thoughts, according to findings published last month.

Research carried out in conjunction with Ofcom tested consumers’ understanding of the cost impact of ‘free’ broadband. You will have seen “Free Broadband for 18 months” splashed all over your television, print and online from a variety of providers.

Whilst this is aimed squarely at the consumer market, it does have ramifications within the business sector as SME’s are rightly asking “why am I paying so much for this service at work, when I get it for free at home?”

Consumer and business grade products differ - the provision of static IP addresses, dedicated support and for many products QoS provision for voice traffic and SLA provision, for example, but it is difficult to escape the word ‘Free’.

The ASA’s research concentrated on the presentation and likely consumer understanding of the additional pricing elements of the free deals, such as discounts, activation costs, delivery costs, mandatory additional products and contract length to name only a few. The ASA and Ofcom have published the following results;

23% of participants correctly identified the total cost per month after the first viewing of an ad when asked simply to recall as much information as they could about the deal on offer without prompting

In response to the same question, 34% of the total sample recalled pricing information, but only provided partial information or an incorrect figure for the broadband service or line rental costs

22% of participants, were still not able to identify correctly the total cost per month after the second viewing (If this proportion were reflected across the population of fixed broadband subscribers, this would mean around 4.3 million UK households being unable to figure out what they would be paying)

64% of those who couldn’t calculate the total cost per month, despite a second review, thought the headline price for the broadband element of a package constituted the total cost per month and that line rental costs did not apply

81% of the sample were not able to calculate correctly the total cost of a broadband contract when asked to do so

74% of the total sample believed that information about one-off and on-going costs after an introductory period was either fairly or very unclear

? ?

? ?

The ASA is recommending the following courses of action for providers:

• If broadband products require mandatory line rental then this is included, no more separating line rental out

• That advertisers give greater prominence to contract length and post discount pricing

• That upfront costs are given greater prominence

Broadband is certainly under scrutiny right now. Indeed, OFCOM has also tabled a code of practice for business broadband providers, which will provide customers with clearer, more accurate and transparent information on broadband speeds - before they sign up to a contract. Signatories to the voluntary Code also commit to manage any problems that businesses have with broadband speeds effectively, and allow customers to exit the contract at any point if speeds fall below a minimum guaranteed level.

Making sure your commercial offers are correctly structured can certainly be challenging, but our PPP members workshop can help:

Buy Smart: In our workshops, we have worked with many channel partners to ensure that resellers are not misled by promotional offers that when deconstructed, have a total cost that belies the fanfare headlines.

Sell Clever: Nine would always advocate customer transparency and our recommendation is that disclosing the full costs of a broadband service, in addition to any promotional deals is the right thing to do. Ultimately, your customers will place more value in integrity and trust than in a misleading offer that may save them a few pounds up front.

The direction of travel is clear - the regulator is keen to ensure that customers understand what service they can expect and what they will be paying for it - hard to argue with that.

Buy Smart: Sell CleverMore workshops are planned throughout the year, please get in touch with your CDM to find out more.

Broadband under scrutinyThose of you who have attended the Buy Smart: Sell Clever workshops will know that we spend a bit of time deconstructing competitor broadband pricing to ensure resellers understand that they are getting the best deal available to them, while also offering advice on how to optimise margin from their own customers.


Purple News | Issue 11 | Winter/Spring GuestcolumnPam BlanchardDirector

What do you find most enjoyable about your job?The most enjoyable part of my job is having the freedom and control to make decisions that will affect the future of the company and the team. Each day presents a new challenge and with it a new opportunity.

How do you keep your team motivated?I feel there are three simple steps to motivate the team:

1. Involvement is key, the team are the most important asset to ICA and so deserve to be involved in the decisions that affect them, the business and the customers we supply to.

2. Communication, I think it’s fair to say that no organisation can ever be accused of over communicating and yet in the industry that provides the very tools to communicate it is grossly undervalued. As a team we all need visibility of company performance, challenges, success stories and feedback.

3. Providing the tools with which to deliver both company and personal goals. Autonomy to make decisions and take ownership and to learn and develop from any mistakes that are made.

What is the biggest change you have seen in our industry over the last five years? The speed with which the marketplace has changed and the growing demand for data connectivity and speed. Whilst the demand also presents a growth opportunity for the sector, the pressure is ever increasing for the availability and resilience of connectivity. Customers are driving the demand for more powerful devices, ubiquitous connectivity, delivering mobility through applications and integration into social media.

Delivering Unified Communications and video to the desktop requires resellers to rethink the marketing mix by reimagining the entire user experience. With far more reliable connectivity and powerful broadband, SIP is ever more a viable alternative to traditional lines and the uptake on SIP Trunking and hosted telephony has left some providers on the outside looking in as others have capitalized on the opportunities.

Another major impact in the last five years is the introduction of Microsoft Lync, and the question of whether this will replace the PBX.

What is the most valuable piece of advice that you would give to a start-up reseller?To determine your goals. Plan how ambitious the goals are and how they will focus on the customer experience. Research the market, the competition, products and services and determine how you will differentiate yourself.

Keep technology in the background and the customer experience up front, don’t create technology for technology’s sake; it should be a tool for providing the best experience to the people using it.

Finally, choose a well skilled team and involve them in the development of processes, procedures and company values.

At the end of last year we were delighted to be awarded the Gold standard for Investors in People, joining the top 7% of accredited organisations across the UK, who believe in realising the potential of their people.

Having already achieved the Silver standard in July 2013, at the first time of asking, neatly sidestepping the entry level Bronze standard, Nine Group has shown an unwavering desire to place employees at the very heart of their business. Commenting on their fantastic achievement, Nine Group HR Director, Helen Chamberlain said, “we are a fervently customer centric business and heartily endorse the maxim that happy staff are the first step towards happy customers. The Investors in People Gold standard is an important accolade and a key milestone for Nine Group, representing a welcome endorsement of our commitment to staff excellence.”

Investors in People is the UK’s leading accreditation for business improvement through people management and provides a wealth of resources for businesses to innovate, improve and grow, with a focus on good people making great business.

Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People, said: “We’d like to congratulate Nine Group on their Gold standard. Such a high level of accreditation is the sign of great people management practice and demonstrates a commitment to staff development, showing an organisation committed to being the very best it can be. Nine Group should be extremely proud of their achievement.”

Nine Group will now be benchmarking their progress by entering the prestigious Investors in People awards for 2016 and looking to carry off the award for Gold Employer of the Year. The journey does not end there though and Helen Chamberlain confidently predicted that Nine will be chasing the Platinum standard before too long.

ACHIEVE GOLD

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WE HAVE LIFT OFF - Nine Wholesale · a contemporary magazine cover, ... dead end employment prospects, lengthy credit card ... favourite sports personality,