The new European strategy for Bittel is to be executed on several fronts. For starters there is a global re-branding exercise underway to freshen the image of Bittel. This will be launched in Europe October 1st. The European operation will also be responsible for ongoing marketing across the whole of Europe, tailoring marketing initiatives for both individual countries, multiple languages, and for the different types and motivations of potential buyers for the products. Europe is also rolling out a new 5 year warranty on Bittel products (2 years for IP devices) and will assume responsibility for existing warranty obligations on Bittel equipment already deployed. The aim is to give customers a single point of contact and to ensure the highest possible levels of customer satisfaction.
Perhaps the most significant strategy change is Bittel's recognition of the importance of the channel market. Having witnessed the success that Teledex has had with the channel market, Jonathan Toni's core strategy for Europe is based around winning the backing of the channel.
Bittel's competitive price points may spark an initial interest, but Bittel is under no illusion that a successful channel strategy has to include several key things: a decent margin on product sales, a competitive price to the end-user, a comprehensive support and warranty service, a well designed product, a rich featureset that compares favourably to competitive offerings, a comprehensive marketing and PR strategy, and an ongoing sustained commitment to channel partners (even at the expense of potentially more lucrative direct sales).
Bittel Electronics EU is confident it can deliver on all these points, and make communications equipment sales for systems integrators interesting again, so that they can deliver a winning proposition to their customers, and also make money beyond the PBX and its support contract.
Bittel Electonics EU launches in October at the HOTEC conference in Cyprus and will also be present at successive events across Europe. Bittel is keen to hear from resellers interested in participating in their partner program, regardless of how frequently they service hospitality opportunities.