How important is competitive analysis for support?

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses vis a vis the competition is critical for success if you want to successfully sell a product or a service, but does it matter for support since, after all, customers can rarely purchase it from another vendor?

Yes because

1. Presenting a reasonable (as measured against the competition) support portfolio underscores that your company is a reputable vendor that can be trusted.

2. Removing the obstacle of having to defend unusual support offerings makes life considerably easier for the sales team.

3. Offering defensible pricing schemes makes negotiations easier and faster (and deters uncontrolled discounts.)

4. A competitive portfolio makes it easier to renew support contracts.

5. A comprehensive portfolio allows you to redirect customers’ requests for extras towards purchasing a higher level of support.

So indeed, a competitive analysis of support offerings is a great idea!