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February 11, 2014 | By

Bringing B4B to Life: Moving from Disruption to Growth

b4bAs cloud computing continues to evolve and expand, business leaders need to recalibrate not only their firms’ internal operations, but also their understanding of B2B relationships.

This very topic was the focus of a recent webinar, “Bringing B4B to Life: Moving from Disruption to Growth.” The term “B4B” was coined by the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) in a recent book of the same title. Essentially, B4B represents the next evolutionary stage of the previously dominant B2B model, one based largely on the “as-a-Service” model.

Organized by TSIA and LogMeIn, this webinar featured two presenters: John Ragsdale, Vice President of Technology and Social Research for TSIA, and John Purcell, Director of Customer Care Products for LogMeIn. These experts discussed the nature of B4B, its implications for the business world at large, and how firms in every industry should strongly consider adapting to this new paradigm.

The B4B shift

Early in the webinar, Ragsdale highlighted some of the key concepts featured in his firm’s B4B book. Specifically, he focused on how the rise of cloud computing services is leading companies to shift from CapEx to OpEx, thanks to the ongoing, service-based nature of these solutions.

Critically, Ragsdale emphasized that B4B represents a new relationship between business-facing organizations and their clients. In the past, firms would work hard to sell their wares to other businesses, and then would move on. With the cloud, though, this is no longer feasible, as businesses are selling services, rather than products. This means that ongoing performance and support are essential for maintaining satisfactory revenue levels.

This shift may not be easy for every company, but it is where the business world is moving. This webinar highlighted not only the differences between traditional B2B and the new B4B models, but also the intermediary stages many firms will go through as they evolve toward the latter.

LogMeIn and B4B

Following Ragsdale’s presentation, Purcell offered an overview of LogMeIn and how its products and services align with this new model. He noted that LogMeIn now has more than half a million paying subscribers and more than 55 million people have created 19 million accounts for LogMeIn’s BoldChat, Cubby, and other offerings.

All of LogMeIn’s offerings, Purcell explained, are built for a world in which customers can choose their preferred service channel. He explained in depth the advantages and disadvantages associated with direct, light, and self-assistance models, and how firms can leverage service to achieve greater customer loyalty.

Questions answered

The webinar concludes with a lengthy Q&A session. The questions, asked by Ragsdale, were generated by TSIA members and concerned how to make the B4B transformation. Purcell provided his responses and thoughts to these questions by using LogMeIn as an example in this scenario.

Questions asked and answered include:

  • How have Wall Street’s attitudes toward cloud computing firms changed, and how did LogMeIn explain its revenue model to potential investors?
  • In what ways does LogMeIn use its own technologies internally to help along key customers?
  • How did LogMeIn make the transition to this cloud-based model?
  • Considering the ever-present issue of privacy, how does LogMeIn handle customers’ sensitive data and privacy concerns?
  • What should other businesses do to emulate LogMeIn’s success in improving customer brand loyalty?
  • Are there any industries that will never embrace the cloud, or will it inevitably play a role in every vertical?
  • Purcell answered these questions at length, providing a unique level of insight, based on LogMeIn’s own vast experience and tremendous success in making the B4B transition.

To hear the great dialogue between Ragsdale and Purcell, and to hear Purcell’s thoughts and responses to Ragsdale and other TSIA members’ questions , while learning more about the rise of B4B, download and listen to the webinar now.

(Image Credit: TSIA.com)

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