Printer Maintenance Contract - Is It Worth Offering to SMB Clients?

Have you ever wondered if your IT business should offer a printer maintenance contract?

Even in an increasingly electronic age, most SMB clients still regularly need to print documents. With this in mind, offering a printer maintenance contract would seem a logical way to increase revenue.

While this may suit some IT businesses, it could be fraught with complications for others. This article provides you with a simple list of considerations to help you decide whether this is a service you should offer.

What Printers Do Your Clients Use?

It is unwise and unsustainable to agree to maintain a huge variety of printer makes and models.

A printer maintenance contract is ideal for clients with standardized configurations—i.e. a collection of HP LaserJet’s that share similar parts.

Are Parts Easily Available?

In order to provide a good level of service, your firm will need to be able to quickly swap out parts when necessary.

Can your business hold a stock or inventory of parts? And, if not, can your business get parts delivered quickly and reliably?

Are You and Your Staff Comfortable with Intricate Work?

Anyone who has ever installed a maintenance kit for an HP LaserJet will know that it is extremely fiddly work.

If you don’t enjoy this kind of work, it is probably best to advise your SMB clients to find a printer maintenance contract elsewhere.

Can Your IT Business Offer a Good Response Time?

You will need to make sure you can get to SMB clients’ sites within an agreed time frame. If you own a small company, you may not always have the resources to do so. 

If, having read this list, you think that offering a printer maintenance contract is compatible with the structure of your business, then it is worth offering it as a service.

If not, you may make better use of your resources by reselling warranties or working with a partner company happy to pay your firm a commission. 

Do you offer a printer maintenance contract? Share your experiences in the comments below.

And to follow-through on the issues raised in this post, be sure to download your copy of the free special report on IT Service Contract Secrets for Getting More Repeat Clients and Recurring Service Revenue.

Also see Managed Print Service -- An Idea for Your Business?

Creative Commons Image Source: flickr oskay