It’s not a revelation when we read that channel partners often feel frustrated, because IT manufacturers fail to understand their business. This is partly due to the partner being bombarded with communication and services that are not best suited to help them grow their business. It doesn’t matter whether this lack of understanding is perceived or real … perception is reality.
Partners complete lengthy partner program registration forms, participate in vendor surveys and/or speak regularly to their account managers in order to inform vendors about their business. Combine this with the information available through POS data and the web stats generated every time a partner logs into a partner program, and it’s no surprise that they feel frustrated when this information is being overlooked. What is surprising is the lack of precision and insight observed in channel marketing when compared to other industries that embrace direct marketing—industries that typically collect less data about their customers.
When you add everything up, channel marketing has the potential to be a rich direct marketing opportunity. Read more…
During the recession it was a bit like pulling teeth to get partners to respond to vendor surveys. We’ve recently been conducting quite a few surveys for vendors and I’ve noticed that response rates are noticeably higher than they have been the last few years. Prior to the “Great Recession,” we would generally see response rates of 3-5% for most online surveys among our technology clients. Then, during the recession there was a huge drop-off and 1-2% became the norm.
Now, we’re seeing response rates of up to 8% (and that’s for rather robust invitation lists)!
I’ve been mulling over the possibilities for these increases…. Read more…
Just what do lions and tigers and bears have to do with running a channel? It’s all the scary things that pop up unforeseen that do you in. Essentially, lions and tigers and bears. How do you best plan to make sure you don’t run into those scary things? Start from the desired end result and work forward.
1) What will you need to report? If you always keep that top-of-mind, you will ensure a program designed with those details front and center. Items such as: Read more…
I just finished reading, “A Year in Provence” by Peter Mayle. While this book doesn’t discuss the challenges of channel marketing, it does parallel the business environment faced by channel marketing professionals today – that is, doing more with less.
Budget decreases. Resource cut-backs.
Budgets and resources are tightly constrained within each of our client’s organizations. As a result, partner program benefits have come under intense scrutiny, as marketers decide how to Read more…
