4 Channel Partner Program Managing Approaches for Vendors.
Thanks to ever-evolving technologies, vendors and partners share a much different relationship than in year’s past. The days of vendors administrating and managing each piece of the channel partner program have long past. Vendors no longer have ample control over how partners should approach the channel, which leads to pursue, which lead-generation tools to deploy, or how incentives will be rewarded. As a result, vendors must adapt to the changing landscape of channel partnerships and managing channel partner program or face a snowball effect of partner disengagement.
Today, channel partnerships are done through a collaborative effort; vendors nowadays perceive partners as teammates, not customers.
In order for vendors to maintain partner loyalty, inspire motivation, and cultivate consistent recurring revenue, they must provide their resellers with a channel partner program to .
How Vendors Should Approach the New-Age Philosophy of Managing Channel Partner Programs
1) Harness your Value Proposition to Partners
The shift from one-dimensional communication to data exchanging portals has forced partners to re-examine their goals, needs, pain points, and go-to-market strategy. In other words, partners have more information in regards to what makes their business productive. Partners know what resources they need to improve their process flow.
Luckily, partner portal platforms provide vendors with the perfect mechanism for spotlighting their value proposition that is both tangible and thorough.
For example, let’s say a vendor promotes a new MDF incentive program to partners via a . Within the promotional content, there can be resources that detail the benefits of participating in the channel partner program. In addition, the vendor can outline the unique attributes that help contribute to a specific partner’s objectives. Vendors have the flexibility of tailoring their message to fit the unique needs and wants of individual partners.
2) Educate Partners On and Off-Site
Before emerging technologies became the catalyst for , vendors would only supply a limited amount of time and energy into educating channel partners. In the past, vendors would occasionally visit partners on-site. Such visits would allow them to discuss best practices in go-to-market strategies or information on product functionality and customer service.
This resulted in partners having to adjust their schedules and prioritize their work around the convenience of vendors.
Nowadays, such scenarios may exist but are combined with digital resources.
Partners require vendors to make their lives more convenient, not the other way around. Whatever the information, vendors must make a comprehensive catalog of diverse, relevantly informative resources always available. In addition, vendors need to routinely audit and/or clean-out content that no longer applies.
3) [Constructively] Assist During Lead Generation Process
Unlike in the past—where vendors initiate the direction of partners with targeted leads in an effort perpetuates their internal business goals—partners now call upon vendors for to help secure their objectives.
Vendors today should act almost as spiritual leaders instead of as authoritative figure. In other words, helping partners with tangible resources that improve their opportunity at succeeding.
From providing co-branded digital marketing content to assisting in joint sales calls, from helping partners with customer questions to handing down qualified leads—the more constructive and engaged you are during the lead-generation process, the stronger and more lucrative your channel partnership will become.
4) Conceptualize your Incentives Based On Partner Needs
The days of managing channel partner programs that were designed solely with the purpose of attaining value for your business no longer apply. Today, incentive programs should be designed based on creating value for your partner[s].
After all, it’s an incentive program, not a vendor program.
Listen to your partner’s pain points, needs, and objectives. It’s imperative that when you create your incentives to align the benefits with specific partners.