The B2B technology industry as a whole has placed a greater focus on channel marketing — to increase sales, achieve increased market penetration and enhance brand recognition. More and more, large vendors are announcing their intent to bolster their Channel efforts and direction, recognizing the substantial growth that can be attained. The bottom-line is truly the bottom-line – how to increase revenues while reducing the overhead and direct costs of driving those increases. Businesses today have many more options in their buying cycles – from research tools, analysis, social media, and an expansive reseller community. This has changed the sales process dramatically, and technology vendors are racing to adapt. Potential customers are expecting more competitive pricing, improved value, and consultative services to complement their process.

What Are The Challenges?

Channel marketing presents a number of challenges that must be identified and overcome in order to realize the full benefits and revenues. These challenges are both internal to the vendor, external with the partner, and ultimately, reflected at the customer-level as well. Some of the more recognizable challenges include identifying, on-boarding and training new partners, aligning messaging and solutions with partners, managing MDFs and Co-op funding, managing leads and follow up activity, and ongoing nurturing and cultivation.

What Are The Solutions?

• There are some key steps that can be defined and implemented to help accomplish a successful channel marketing infrastructure and process.

• Identify your optimal channel partner profile – evaluate alignment, corporate culture, growth, vertical markets, solution expertise, support, etc.

• Assign dedicated resources to manage the relationship and marketing funding – nurture the relationship to a mutual partnership, leveraging knowledge, materials, and solutions.

• Continually evaluate partner performance – Ensure partners maintain an agreed-upon performance level and contribution.

• Develop Lead Nurturing Strategies – establish specific pilot programs to help the partner and VAR community develop a cost-effective framework for lead nurturing and cultivation.

• Design, structure and implement a “Demand Center” framework – provide packaged campaigns, with centralized repositories of campaign information, preferred vendors, services, templates, lists, etc.

• Host co-branded events – draw attendees based on the vendor’s brand recognition, and add further credibility to the channel partner.

• Create and maintain ongoing feedback mechanisms and tracking – ensure continual two-way communications on all activity to create a teamed approach to close deals, through status reporting as well as automated tracking systems.

Addressing and implementing these 7 steps will help to build partner loyalty through support, knowledge, funding and programs, while ultimately increasing the revenue stream for both prime vendors and their channel partners.

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