What does VAR stand for? Value Added Reseller.

In my opinion there is a big difference between a reseller and a VAR.  A reseller is someone that you pay to update your software when needed and also someone that will possibly give you a legitimate answer when you call tech support maybe once a quarter.  A VAR is someone that offers its customers and other users around the world additional value beyond the basic updates and tech support.  So how can a reseller become a VAR?  My answer is social media.

Social media has been the latest fad over the last 5 years or so.  I think that it has moved towards more main stream the last year or 2 instead of just a fad that will pass.  When I mention social media, I include resources like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and blogs all into this category.

A reseller that has turned into a VAR and seems to get it is GoEngineer.  With offices is Idaho, California, Colorado, and Utah their customer base is spread out over a large area.  About a month ago GoEngineer started a YouTube page that at the time of this post has 47 different tutorial videos.  These are all great videos that range from 1:04 to 9:15 in length and are chocked full of great tutorial content.  Here are a couple of my favorite videos from their YouTube page.

Another reseller that has turned into a VAR is CAPINC.  CAPINC has turned into a VAR in my opinion not because of a YouTube page but because of the CAPUniversity SoidWorks Tips & Tricks Technical blog.  This blog, similar to GoEngineer’s YouTube page has a ton of great tutorials and tips & tricks on it.

So why am I pushing for more SolidWorks resellers get into the social media realm?  The SolidWorks AE’s are the ones that field calls all day from users that have a problem or can’t figure something out.  Why not take those phone calls and emails and turn them into a blog post or a quick training video.  When I attended the Chicago SWUGN Technical Summit I sat in on a presentation by Adrian Fanjoy & Josh Altergott from CATI.  The title of the presentation was “Redneck Workarounds – The SolidWorks Equivalent to Duct Tape and Bailing Wire” and it was somewhere between 15 and 20 problems that they had received from tech support calls and how they solved the problems.  It was one of the best presentations I have ever sat through.

Every reseller should strive to be a VAR and in my opinion, this is the best way that they can get on the fast track to achieve your goal.