Next month I will be heading to San Diego, CA for Baptie & Company’s 14^th annual Channel Focus North America conference—May 3-4. This event brings together industry leaders to talk about the latest channel marketing trends in order to grow business.

Make It Smart

As the technology industry has evolved, so have our practices. You may have heard me talk about this before—the ‘third age’ of channel marketing—what I call, the ‘make it smart’ era. More and more clients now want to know how to determine the incremental impact of their channel programs to ensure they’re getting maximum value from them. It’s no longer acceptable to just ‘get it done’—they need to ‘make it smart’—and a data-driven strategy based on solid channel analytics is the key. So, we’ll focus on channel practices—from partner performance and communications to MDF and rewards programs—built on solid data analytics to yield the greatest channel ROI. Here is what you can expect at this year’s event:

• I am teaming up with Greg Osenga, our Managing Director of CRM, to discuss how you can more effectively communicate with your partners. We will talk about how the proliferation of multiple media channels has created a complex environment and what it takes to deliver your messages with precision.
• We’re partnering with Channel Services Group (CSG) to moderate a workshop about the golden rules of effectively measuring the ROI of your MDF/co-op spend. We want to hear from you! Join our MDF/Co-op Best Practices LinkedIn group and get a head-start on the discussion.
• For those of you interested in the latest trends in channel incentives, you’ll want to join Deb Broderson, VP, Sales Operations & Support, as she moderates a workshop about best practices in rewarding your resellers’ sales teams. Get an early start on the conversation by joining our Rewards & Incentives Best Practices LinkedIn Group.
• And we invite you to join us to participate in a workshop where we’ll talk about how to pinpoint those partners who are truly performing—and those who are not—using data-driven strategies. We’ll talk about making partners accountable for results, and when you should be more ruthless in managing your channel. It’s important to know when to let go of partners who are not performing. Join the discussion in our Channel Analytics and Measurement Best Practices Linkedin group.

We Want To Hear From You

The greatest value from this event depends on a robust exchange of ideas and active dialogue among peers. So, let’s get the conversations started now. Join the Linkedin groups that most interest you, and participate in the quick poll you’ll find there:

1. Channel Analytics
2. MDF/Co-op Best Practices
3. Rewards & Incentives Best Practices

Please also take our channel survey. We’ll share the results and use the insights to ensure you get the most out of the event.

Not able to join us at the conference? No worries. Feel free to join and participate in the online discussions—we value your input and want to keep you updated.

And remember, you can track the discussions among your peers in real-time using the hashtag #CFNA11 on twitter. We look forward to sharing with you!

Best regards,

Andy

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