I posted a story today about the difficulties some channel partners are having.  There is no doubt that Apple has better resources, better stores in most cases, and better advertising. They can reach customers in ways channel partners often cannot. For now at least.

I’d like to hear from anyone who has ideas about how Apple’s partners could move away from fretting about hardware sales usurped by Apple and work the halo effect.  What can they do that Apple cannot?  Are they missing business opportunities?  How will they have to change?

Here in Australia, a company called Next Byte addresses this issue by providing what Apple cannot. Remember, in Australia, there are as yet no Apple stores, only the online store, though an Apple store will open in Sydney by the end of the year.

Next Byte provides tailored training courses; consultations for software packages and solutions; and after-sales service packages.

Basically, they identify the needs of Apple customers that aren’t being met by Apple, which includes dealing with Apple. Odd that, isn’t it? But Apple doesn’t respond as attentively to the needs of, for instance, business customers,  as it should do (and I am told by Next Byte management that there is an increasing business clientele after the Intel migration).

Key word: service.

Apple doesn’t understand service. And that’s where channel partners should step in.

Aye, I think that most third party retailers will find that offering services, especially to businesses, is their only real chance.

Community involvement and outreach is another area where these folks can really outdo Apple.

I also think that any 3rd party retailer in a market with an Apple-owned Apple Store has to have great staff and a good looking store.

[quote author=“Bryan”]I also think that any 3rd party retailer in a market with an Apple-owned Apple Store has to have great staff and a good looking store.

That would be a challenge, no? In a market region with one or two Apple stores (LA, New York?), wouldn’t the number of staff with sufficient talent already be thin on the ground?

The 3rd party retailers would need to be committed to an intensive training program and incentive scheme to help their staff outshine Apple’s staff, don’t you think?

Aye, they would, Coaten, and that’s the hard part. 

But training is not just about the techy side, it’s about customer service, attitude, helpfulness, etc.  Even if a third party retailer can’t touch Apple’s technical training, they can train their employees to have the right attitude to make customers want to come back.

That said, the whole thing is a tall order, and the two things I mentioned above training are most likely the best avenues for success for these stores.