Known by many for its photo printing solutions, Epson Corp. is making a bigger push into the small business market next year with new products and a new value-added reseller (VAR) channel.
Colin Donahoe, director of consumer inkjet products at Epson America, said the company, which has historically been known for its strength in the photo printing space, is in the process of repositioning its brand to also include printers designed for the small business market.
These customers, typically in the one to 20 employee range, typically don’t have their own IT department and they purchase their products through retailers or online.
“Small businesses want low-cost and high availability,” Donahoe said. “These customers want to be able to print on-demand and they want something they can set up and forget about.”
Donahoe said in Japan, where Epson is based, the company has a big portion of its business coming from photo printing solutions; however, that market is now saturated. He said the company sees more opportunities in the business space in North America. To attract small business users, he said Epson has a variety of multi-function printers that provide affordable, reliable and efficient print jobs and fax services.
For now, the company will focus its efforts on the small business market. The long-term plan is to move up-market into the small to medium-size business (SMB) space, targeting businesses of up to 100 users.
“We’re repositioning our brand and are building up our business to focus on the small business market,” he said. “We’re not abandoning or forgetting about our photo heritage, but we’re focusing more of our efforts on our WorkForce (printers). Our tagline will be Epson, built to perform.”
Tamara Walsh, marketing manager for Epson Canada, said the company is currently evaluating what vertical markets would be best suited for its WorkForce printers.
“We think not-for-profit organizations would be a good fit because they have limited budgets and they need to print things such as brochures or newsletters,” Walsh said.
Donahoe said the company wants to establish itself as the manufacturer of choice for small businesses when they’re concerned with image quality and speed. Currently, Epson’s WorkForce line of printers for small business includes about 10 products, with plans to introduce more next year.
In addition to its retail and distribution channel presence with Synnex and Ingram Micro, Donahoe said Epson will build out a VAR base in North America toward the latter half of next year.
“We realize more feet on the street is important,” he said. “We’ll have different versions of our products going through VARs than what’s available in retail stores. An example of a different version could be having a different warranty. Our VAR initiative will be a slow and steady progression because we want to attract the right people and make sure we can provide the proper support for them.”
Epson doesn’t have a goal for how many VAR partners it wants to work, with but promises all partners will be supported through various initiatives including training, programs, and more.
In Canada, Walsh said there will not be a channel manager per se, but the company will have a sales team, which currently consists of eight employees, with dedicated account managers and a staff member that handles distribution.
Both Donahoe and Walsh admit it’s still early days for Epson and its VAR channel strategy, but they said small business and working with more partners is the direction the company’s taking moving forward.
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