This survey of U.S. small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB) gauges their need for premium technical support services. This study provides insight into technical support needs, examines current tech support solutions, and looks at preferred providers and pricing.
Parks Associates surveyed several hundred owners, managers, and IT support decision makers from small and medium businesses across a number of industries for this project.
Key Benefits
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Quantifies SMB demand for technical support services
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Determines current provision of technical support
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Identifies the technology products and services that require the most support
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Identifies preferred providers and pricing
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Segments the businesses most likely to use technical support services – by business type, number of employees and computers, etc.
Identifying the SMB Environment
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SMB segmentation by type of business, location, and number of employees
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Technology use within small businesses - number of computers/workstations, fax machines, copiers, etc.
Understanding Tech Support Needs
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Triggers for seeking out and using technical support
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Additional services where SMBs could use tech support
Understanding the Tech Support Environment
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Current providers
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On-site versus remote services
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Levels of satisfaction
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Triggers for switching support providers
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Information sources for finding technical support services & providers
Customer Support in the Digital Home
This primary consumer survey provides a quantitative assessment of the market for digital home technical and customer support services. Specifically, it will examine digital lifestyles products and services currently in use, determine where opportunities exist in troubleshooting problems, providing break/fix services, and enabling proactive automated solutions for consumers at home.
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Consumer Demand for Technical Support Services
This third installment in Parks Associates' groundbreaking tech support research provides data on consumer need for and interest in premium technical support services, with additional insight on adoption of “attached” services.
It identifies consumer response to marketing and other promotions and quantifies today’s market opportunity for premium technical support services.
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- Retailers and Support Services: Analysis and Forecasts
This report analyzes how consumer electronics retailers and PC OEMs are building support capabilities. It provides an overview of the key services being offered and discusses the role of support businesses in the context of revenue and new service category creation. It also provides primary consumer data and includes forecasts for different categories of premium technical support services through 2014.
"As a significant percentage of consumers are seeking to have professional technical support services offered to them at the time of a new computer or consumer electronics purchase, retailers are well positioned to create new revenue streams,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst with Parks Associates. “They can also be well positioned to provide after-purchase and break/fix support services via truck rolls, in-store services, or remote support services.”
- Service Providers and Support Services: Analysis and Forecasts
This report analyzes how broadband providers are building support capabilities, provides an overview of the key services being offered, and discusses the role of support businesses in the context of revenue creation, profitability, and customer retention. It also provides primary consumer data and includes forecasts for different categories of premium technical support services through 2014.
"Digital home tech support services provide an opportunity for service providers to more proactively address customer support issues that will grow as the digital home increases in complexity,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst with Parks Associates. “As consumers grapple with evermore complex digital home technology headaches, ‘DIY’ is quickly becoming ‘do-if-for-me,’ which opens up significant opportunity for many players.”
- Digital Home Tech Support: Analysis and Forecasts
This report provides analysis on the business of digital home customer support. It examines the market for technical support services for such digital lifestyles categories as PCs, Internet, and consumer electronics. It provides an overview of key companies providing both technology support services and solutions and includes market forecasts through 2013.
"The market for digital home technology support is one of the most dynamically-growing segments,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst with Parks Associates. “As consumers grapple with ever-more complex digital home technology headaches, ‘DIY’ is quickly becoming ‘do-if-for-me,’ which opens up significant opportunity for many players.”
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