Verizon Channel Chief: New Portal, Improved Customer Experience Creating Partner Opportunities
"We're as close as we've ever been to having it under one umbrella with one doorway into Verizon," Wendy Taccetta told Channel Futures.
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Channel Futures: What’s new with the Verizon partner program?
Wendy Taccetta: Like everyone, we’re coming to the end of the year. And we are looking back at what we’ve done and looking forward to what comes next. The most recent announcement is the new brand. And I would say that it’s a mix of what you’ve always known from Verizon, and our aspiration as we continue to build up the program. So the tagline is “always reliable, radically simple.” And I think it’s fair to say that we’ve always been known as a reliable network. But simple has not always been our tagline. And as we’re looking forward towards fixed wireless, that’s what we’re thinking about. What is it going to take to turn the corner with this new product category and make it easier than what customers have sometimes [experienced].
WT: If there’s one thing has become an advantage for us out of COVID-19, it’s that we’ve been thinking about connectivity for a while. And you marry that to what I call the hybrid generation, which is where I think we are. We all want the ability to work from the office and work from home. We all want the ability for our kids to work in the campus and work from home. And in order to recruit employees, you need that ability. Well, that means you can’t wait for wired internet. You can’t only have a solution when you’re in one location. You need agile internet. That’s what business internet is going to bring.
As we start building out the business internet of the future, and we continue to build on the C-band investment we’ve made, this is our moment to make it easier. And I think the launch of the new portal allows partners to engage with us more easily, bringing partners along from day one, not day 201. And really looking at the opportunity that’s in the industry right now. It really is a little bit of a match made in heaven at a moment that’s been a challenge for so much business. I think this is actually a place where the stars are aligning to a create a moment for us, and we’re going to create a moment that matters.
CF: Are partners that normally sell wireless coming to you and saying, “I’m interested in selling fixed now?”
WT: Everyone is talking to us about selling internet. Now, sometimes that means fiber, of course, but agile internet seems to be what the industry is demanding. One of the things that’s interesting is, it’s what customers are demanding. People keep saying, “When we go back to where we were.” I’m not sure we’re ever going back to a time where some customers won’t demand an agile experience. And solutions that are built on wireless let you deploy solutions at the pace your company is growing. That has not always been the case for internet. We obviously have people talking to us about phones; that will always be true. We have people talking about wired internet; that will always be true. But when people are looking at where the opportunity in the industry is right now, it’s all about agile internet. And that’s what we’re building right now. That’s what the investment in C-band allows us to unleash.
WT: The best part to me is, 40% of what customers do today with their fixed internet can be done on our existing nationwide coast-to-coast 4G network. That means right now I am selling solutions to replace fixed internet. That’s pretty incredible. And as the C-band rollout continues into next year, those types of solutions that we can offer will continue to grow. So you’ve got a really incredible distribution arm, you’ve got new ways of working with Verizon, you’ve got an absolute business demand, and we’ve got a product that meets the needs of this hybrid world that we’re all learning to navigate together. It’s as good as it could be. And the question is, do we have the commitment to develop a moment that’s going to matter? I think that’s exactly what you’re seeing with my team, with the brand, with the investments that we’re making, and partners are telling us that they notice.
CF: Could you tell us more about what this new portal entails?
WT: There used to be so many ways to come to Verizon, so many ways to send us orders, so many ways to engage. We’re as close as we’ve ever been to having it under one umbrella with one doorway into Verizon. But it allows you to get access not only to ordering, which is important, but to the ways that you could be using the technology solutions that we may be even doing on our direct side. One of the interesting things is, there is very little that a customer could come up with that we haven’t explored with someone else. It’s an advantage to being a company our size with the level of relationships and the depths of years we’ve had together with customers. If you’re thinking about it, we’ve probably got a way to do it.
So the portal gives you a chance to see some of that, and as we launch things like our new podcast series, you’ll get to hear from some of our leaders about things they’re doing, what’s on their mind and where we’re going next. Because if there is one thing that I think we’re all clear about, we are all going to have to be continuous learners if we’re going to navigate the new future. And we’re opening up the podcast to make that a little easier for our partners and for our customers.
CF: Matthew Montgomery went on stage at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo and talked about Verizon’s ambitions of centering the partner more. Not just in bringing together wireline and wireless but also increasing MDF. Can you talk more about that added investment?
WT: I would tell you that almost all the investment that I talk about has to do with partners these days. Because we want to make sure that partners can deliver the same quality experience that customers have come to expect from their direct relationship with Verizon. A partner program is only as good as the experience that the customers have. So we are sitting with partners and talking to them about, “What would it take for you to be more digital? What would it take for you to fulfill customer requests faster?” And probably the thing we get most often: “How can you create more transparency for the customer along the journey?” Because customers want information in their hands. They’re no longer willing to hear, “We’ll get back to you in three weeks.” They want to know exactly where things are, where where they fall in the process, and when to expect delivery of services. And that’s what we’re building out.
For each partner, it’s different. Some partners don’t need any help. And some partners need a lot of it. But the closer our relationship is to being signature, where we are the only carrier that you work with, the more bells and whistles that we can offer. But that is that is definitely a partner-by-partner answer for us. And with over 5,000 partners, as you could imagine, the answer is different for everyone.
CF: Can you talk a little bit more about the customer experience? When I when I talk to partners about vendors, the biggest thing they tell me is, “If something does break, I need to know that the vendor is going to take care of it promptly.”
WT: This one is table stakes. One of the things Verizon takes a lot of pride in is we do business with partners and vendors that reflect our values and our standards. And that’s absolutely true when we’re dealing with what we will and will not sell through partners, or so well with partners. We have one of the more robust qualification processes in the industry. Because every brand does not have the same level of reliability. We understand that customers take for granted that Verizon will deliver a quality experience. That means that when we certify something, we’re standing behind it. And I think our partners would agree that’s always been our standard.
The interesting thing for us as we go forward is, where does time meet excellence? And this is where we all have to go a little slow to go fast to make sure that when we launch these new routers, as we move forward with C-band, that we make sure we don’t skip over steps that ensure quality for the customer. And we are committed to that. We are not going to rush to market if the product is not going to be what customers expect from us and our partners. But the impetus is to move faster and just skip steps. That’s just never been our way. It’s why we’re so reliable in moments that matter. It’s why when we have these natural disasters, you can always count on Verizon. And it’s a commitment we’re never going to walk away from, that we will make sure what we deliver for our partners is of the same quality as what customers have come to expect from us through our direct routes.
CF: Tell us more about that qualification process for what partners can sell.
WT: Everything still has to go through our certification and testing on our network. It is a pretty rigorous process. I think all of our partners would agree sometimes they’d like that to go faster. But we are testing the network in all conditions. Because it’s great when the network works on a great sunny day. But we want to know, is it going to work when you’re in the rural markets. We want to know how it’s going to handle when we have a lot of traffic in an area. So we are pressure-testing it. One of the advantages to having the amount of customers that we have at Verizon is that we have experience with a network that is being used. We are always focused on what happens when there’s a lot of people, when there’s a lot of demand, when things are not ideal. What are all the things that could go wrong, and let’s plan for them, so that we are always planning for the worst, so that we can always deliver the best.
CF: When we spoke earlier this year, you shared your vision for building synergies between direct and indirect. How’s that going?
WT: It’s been amazing, actually. One of the things that we had to be careful about is setting the right expectations for partners. If we’re gonna bring you in on day one, then you’re going through the growing pains with us on day one. And that means that 99.9% of things will be right. And we’ve got to work together on anything that’s not working the way we intended on day one. Actually, what’s been helpful is, it’s helped us identify issues faster.
So when we’re launching new plans, when we’re launching new routers, as we turn toward launching services next year, you will see that we are deploying those services with our partners. At the same time, we’re doing it with our direct teams. And we are taking feedback from both. And more information is a gift when you’re starting out on new things and new new products. And I have found that the partners have been wide open to it. They’ve been vocal. This is not a shy group. They’ve been vocal, but they’ve also been appreciative as they’ve seen us solve problems faster than they’ve been used to. So my job is not to make sure everything is perfect on day one. My job is to make sure we never stop pushing toward a better outcome for our customer. And that relentless focus — that relentless commitment — customers and partners seem to appreciate it.
CF: Is there anything else you want to say directly to the referral agent partner audience?
WT: 2022 is going to be probably the most important year in the Verizon story to this point. And I say that as someone who’s been here since 1999. I’ve been here when we formed Verizon, when people didn’t know how to pronounce it. I was here when we launched 3G. I was here when we launched 4G. And a lot of people think the next thing is how we expand on 5G. I would tell you, it’s all about internet. It’s all about connectivity and a customer that needs to be hybrid. A country that is embracing hybrid in all senses of the word and having the products for this moment. And the question for us and our partners is going to be, “How fast can we go? Will we do it with the same quality we’ve always had? And how do we make sure that we embrace being radically simple every single day?” The moment is ours. The time is right now. And I’m excited to do this next phase of the journey with our partners, with our customers and with our people, because it is definitely going to be the most important year yet.
CF: Is there anything else you want to say directly to the referral agent partner audience?
WT: 2022 is going to be probably the most important year in the Verizon story to this point. And I say that as someone who’s been here since 1999. I’ve been here when we formed Verizon, when people didn’t know how to pronounce it. I was here when we launched 3G. I was here when we launched 4G. And a lot of people think the next thing is how we expand on 5G. I would tell you, it’s all about internet. It’s all about connectivity and a customer that needs to be hybrid. A country that is embracing hybrid in all senses of the word and having the products for this moment. And the question for us and our partners is going to be, “How fast can we go? Will we do it with the same quality we’ve always had? And how do we make sure that we embrace being radically simple every single day?” The moment is ours. The time is right now. And I’m excited to do this next phase of the journey with our partners, with our customers and with our people, because it is definitely going to be the most important year yet.
Verizon continues to consolidate its partner program with the launch of a new portal.
The carrier has been working hard to streamline its interactions with partners over the last two years. The company made a big step earlier this year when it announced a unified partner program that brought wireline and wireless offerings together. Now partners can access those opportunities as well as use cases and a new podcast, through Verizon’s new portal.
Verizon’s Wendy Taccetta
“There used to be so many ways to come to Verizon, so many ways to send us orders, so many ways to engage. We’re as close as we’ve ever been to having it under one umbrella with one doorway into Verizon,” said Wendy Taccetta, senior vice President of small business and channel chief.
Taccetta, 22-year Verizon veteran, took the helm of channel efforts in April. She vowed to build more synergies between the sales force and channel partners, and to unlock more opportunities around 5G business internet.
Taccetta spoke to Channel Futures about Verizon’s pledge to invest more market development funds into the channel; plus, the relationship between direct and indirect sales.
See her comments in the 10 slides above.
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