One of the central aspects of growth in 2019 is having not only a valuable and unique value proposition, but a dynamic and well established chain of partners that connect your product to your current as well as potential customers. Your channel of value added resellers and distributors can be the determining factor of building your brand from a small business to a large or even enterprise level company over time. Examining the current successful companies with channel partners which were crucial to their respective success stories is a great place to begin your research for building and planning your channel. There are 3 distinct elements which are present in a robust alignment of channel partners, and they should be at least considered before building yours.

Industry Experience & Relationship

There is no substitute for experience. This is very prevalent in the channel of VAR’s (value added resellers) in software especially. If your product is technical or in any way requires a certain degree of training, your ideal partner should be one with the background to assist your potential customers with their on-boarding or even follow-up training in proper usage. A reseller of payroll software could offer a service for installation and potential post-purchase troubleshooting. In some instances a corporate IT department may even outsource part their department to a value added reseller to handle the implementation. Therefore, customers are going to be more inclined to purchase your product if they believe that they will have assurances from your channel partner. The confidence in your channel partner in many ways translates to your product.

Resources & Influence

The bigger the better. When considering how to best procure a channel, looking at the big fish is where to start. From enterprise level companies to the individual customer, it’s all about having your product placed in the location where it will be noticed the most. Before the rise of online downloading software a consumer is purchasing, we used to have to go to the store and buy the CD or disk. Developers of software used to depend on being able to place their product on the section or shelf where it would be noticed by a potential customer. In other words, having that shelf in a store where a large volume of buyers are likely to have access to it was the determining factor for big or small profit margins. In 2019, the game has completely changed. Your channel partner needs to have dynamic and in some cases unconventional means for outreach. Having the potential customers learn about and have access to your product in a digital way is more important than ever, as foot traffic in stores has drastically diminished. And to address this pain point, a great channel partner should have the resources and staff to market your product across a wide variety of digital channels.

Location, Location, Location

Your company’s product most likely has an ideal buyer persona, and more often than not are located in specific cities or even countries which have attributes making them ideal targets. Considering the software model, large cities which have a multitude of enterprise level corporations that could use your program would be where you would seek a channel partner to help distribute it. As they will likely already have connections to customers which you are seeking to connect with. This can be the most critical for growth, as the volume and frequency of sales can expand very quickly with a well-placed and well connected partner.

In Conclusion

Building a business presents many challenges, and none are more crucial than reaching your customers. When your channel network has experience and resources to assist with distributing with what your company develops and a positive relationship with its customers; your products buyers will have confidence in their purchase of your product. Also keep in mind that your channel partners locale, will enhance not only the probability of a strong buyer-VAR relationship, but many of them. With a powerful network of channel partners your product will have a sales pipeline which can truly grow at a geometric rate.