Across the pond is a company called StoreKit. If you visit their website you’ll probably wonder what they do. We don’t mean that in a bad way: StoreKit has built a website that’s clean, modern, and crawling with high quality content. You’d think they were a startup software company of sorts.
But they’re not.
StoreKit is a VAR (value added reseller) in the true sense of the word, and they’re showing just how innovative a channel partner needs to be if they’re to survive.
StoreKit was founded by technologists. And while they weren’t building software themselves, they were building a business that would cater to the undeniable rise of software-literate merchants. “When we became a reseller we realized many customers would be finding us online,” commented Christophe Delacroix, StoreKit’s founder. “So we made sure to invest in SEO and develop content that would be helpful for any retailer that needed to understand the difference in POS systems.”
StoreKit is – in some respects – a large lead generator for cloud POS companies. In producing quality content, retailers often find StoreKit before they might find their POS of choice, and they use StoreKit’s helpful advice in selecting their ultimate POS.
We’re software neutral but we feel we know the different POS systems really well. Some systems won’t be good fits for merchants and we’re able to head that off before it becomes a problem. Getting the right fit between POS system and retailer is in the interest of both parties, even when we decide to warn retailers of a poor fit. The retailers we do send their way probably have a much lower churn rate and are better customers long term.
Christophe Delcroix, StoreKit founder
Christophe and his team know that their jobs don’t end once the POS sale closes.
There are lots of things POS companies do well… but there are problems where third party software is the right answer. We also know the third party ecosystem well and can help merchants choose the right bolt-ons to complement their POS. There’s no swiss army knife. Software is a tool kit – and we help our customers identify the right tools for a job.
Christophe Delcroix, StoreKit founder
We found this bitterly ironic as several of the cloud POS systems StoreKit sells attempt to monopolize the entire stack for themselves. It was refreshing to hear an honest assessment from the customer’s perspective via StoreKit: third party solutions aren’t gratuitous, despite what some POS companies would have you believe.
StoreKit makes its money on POS and third party bolt-on referrals in addition to advisory services to merchants. “POS is becoming impersonal, often leading to regret. Using an organization like StoreKit, merchants can get the relevant information they need to make an informed decision. Merchants often have very specific questions and it’s tough to open a conversation about POS without calling a salesperson. But customers don’t want to be pushed around; they want to feel in control. Talking to StoreKit lets store owners find POS, information about POS, or third party software, on their terms.”
This is a cut-and-dry story of what tomorrow’s VAR looks like:
- Updated web presence with quality and useful content
- Knowledgable on different POS systems and not biased towards one product
- Consultative in sales approach and able to provide value after the sale
- Fluent in third party tools to help businesses succeed
- Ongoing partner that evolves with market changes business needs
Or StoreKit could just overcharge for hardware, sell one POS system with questionable applicability, and only talk to the merchant when it’s time to renew their processing contract.
Which model do you think a merchant will pay for?
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