As recently as 2009, service providers could profitably deliver a single cloud service—such as e-mail or domain registration. As cloud services have matured, however, adoption rates have risen, with small and medium businesses (SMBs) now typically consuming two or three cloud services rather than just one, and preferring to get all their cloud services from the same provider. In addition, the increasing commoditization of cloud offerings has driven down prices, making it harder to deliver a single service profitably.

Both of these trends point to the growing importance of creating offerings that bundle several cloud services together, and then upselling your customers to higher-value packages and cross-selling them other services that might be of interest to them. All of these approaches are win/win solutions for both you and your customers. For you, they increase revenues and profitability while decreasing churn—because being able to get several services from one place makes for “stickier” customers. For your customers, they provide the convenience of a “one-stop shop.”

A new whitepaper just published on PartnerNet begins with a discussion of the overall SMB cloud opportunity—how big it is, and where it’s headed. Then it explains how you can increase the profitability of the cloud services you offer by bundling similar services together, upselling your customers to higher-value services, and cross-selling other services in which they might be interested. Finally, it takes a closer look at three categories of cloud services— hosted infrastructure, Web presence, and hosted communication and collaboration—and provides specific recommendations for bundles, upsells, and cross-sells within each category.

The whitepaper is available immediately for anyone who is a member of PartnerNet – register today if you’re not!