Times, they are a changing in the world of communications. It used to be one or two companies had a stronghold in the telephony industry. Technology, and specifically voice over Internet protocol, is breathing new life into this business. Through the magic of reselling, entrepreneurs have the opportunity to build up their own business via private label UCaaS. A partnership with a service company offers recurring revenue without all the hassle associated with high technology management.
What is Private Label UCaaS?
Private label UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) puts the small business owner into the role of phone service provider. While VoIP technology is more flexible than the old-fashioned phone lines, it does require some impressive hardware and complicated maintenance protocols. It is not practical for business owners to purchase and manage all the technology necessary to run a phone company. That is where reselling comes into play.
How is it possible to run and own a phone company without any hardware? It is done through the magic of cloud computing. Working within the cloud means any company or sole proprietor has access to hardware and software as a service.
Through a private label UCaaS program, businesses can step into the telephony industry without dealing with the intricate hardware and operating systems. The service provider handles the back office environment, so the business can focus on marketing and lead generation. Private label means each SMB establishes an independent brand and builds a customer base. They just use equipment from the reseller to do it. In return, they develop a source for potentially high margin recurring revenue, but pay only a service fee for use of the hardware.
Who Should Become a Private Label UCaaS Provider?
That is the beauty of combining VoIP service with cloud computing. Anyone willing to work to establish him or herself has the ability to become a private label UCaaS service provider. From the entrepreneur who has always dreamed of owning a company to the medium-sized business wanting to branch into a new industry, private label UCaaS is an obtainable goal.
The hard part about becoming a service provider is purchasing and managing the system. Through cloud technology, the communications firm is handling this aspect of the business. All resellers have to worry about is learning the variety of system options such as full hosted PBX and SIP systems. The SMB takes that knowledge and builds up a customer base. Private Label UCaaS is right for:
- Managed Service Providers
- Value Added Resellers
- Internet Service Providers
- Office Technology Dealers
Even the mom and pop store down the street could jump on the private label bandwagon. It doesn’t take years of education or training to understand and sell the products.
A lot of private label UCaaS resellers started out as agents or working for a master agent, reselling and referring services for another company. This model, which may be good for those not making UCaaS a priority, only allows for small margins and no ownership of UCaaS customers.
The VoIP Opportunity for Resellers
The VoIP industry is growing every day. That opens up opportunities for anyone interested in becoming a VoIP reseller. A VoIP reseller can target residential customers looking to get less expensive phone service using their traditional telephone or move into the corporate marketplace to sell audio teleconferencing, managed toll-free numbers or set up a hosted PBX solution.
Choosing the Right Service Provider
There are many companies out there offering communication packages to resellers, so finding the right fit can be challenging. There are key questions one should ask before deciding to partner with a communications service provider.
Is this company offering true private label programs? The point of opting for a private label platform is building a brand. Some service providers may dress up a reseller program as a private label enterprise. The SMB ends up marketing for the provider more than establishing a name.
Who is doing the billing to the end-user? The difference between a reseller and a sales representative is revenue. If the service provider is billing the end-user, they are reaping in the benefits. A true reseller program means the SMB establishes the program costs, handles all the billing and only pays the service provider a fee.
Does the service provider’s software offer business automation? This is a critical question to ask when scaling a business model. Determine the margins of the provider. A company creating a customer base needs to understand what limitations there might be with a service provider and figure out if it is worth the effort.
Finally, how about training options? Does the service provider give the reseller all the tools necessary to learn how to manage a business in this industry? The technology is complex. Understanding how everything fits together from portal administration to accounting is vital.
White Label Communications private label UCaaS offers a way anyone can take advantage of the growing communications industry and build a phone company brand without a fat start-up bankroll. A little ingenuity will take you a long way as a UCaaS reseller.