Computer Shop Franchise Needs to Draw In Larger Customers

Even for large companies, turning a profit on computer hardware sales can be tough. Dell and HP PC divisions regularly operate with single-digit profit margins. 

Can a small computer shop franchise survive on sales to consumers alone? If you offer nothing more than the same PCs they can buy online or in chain stores, the answer is no.

But if you sell services with higher margins and set your sights on larger customers, you can enjoy sustainable profits and grow your business.

Seek Corporate Customers

Most business owners—or at least the IT personnel those business owners employ—will value one thing more than the latest and greatest specs in their PCs: consistency.

A diverse assortment of makes and models is a nightmare to maintain, update, and repair. Standardizing on one model allows the use of a single software image and reduces the number of repair parts needed to be kept in inventory. As older models are discontinued, corporate customers will be willing to pay a premium to upgrade in an orderly fashion.

Standardization can benefit your computer shop franchise if you can become their repair contractor as well. The same inventory and software advantages apply when you're called in to fix a malfunctioning machine.

Sell Services

There's a reason you're always offered a service plan with every television, stereo system, and, yes, PC that you buy. They're much more profitable than hardware.

Consumers don't like to be pressured, though, so you can offer other services like virus and spyware removal, operating system upgrades, and computer performance tune-ups.

Let us know what you've offered in your computer shop franchise in the comments!

And if you're serious about drawing in bigger customers, especially with related SaaS and IaaS support, be sure to enroll now in our free 7-day eCourse: Go-to-Market Strategy 101 for B2B SaaS Startups and Scaleups.