Next week (July 27th) is the capstone broadcast for hawkeye’s webinar series on the Data-Driven Organization. As the organizer for our webinars, I thought it would be fun to try something new this time so we’re taking questions during registration and the entire webinar is being built around submitted questions and registrants’ areas of interest. The original plan was to have two experts available to field questions. I’ve been receiving so many interesting (and diverse!) queries this week that I’ve reached out to a couple other subject matter experts and now have a panel of four SMEs for the webinar.
If you have a question you need answered this is really a great chance to get four experts focused on your issue. The panelists are Greg Osenga, Dave Hafermann, Deb Broderson, and Vaughn Aust and collectively they have a wealth of experience in the channel including analytics, ROI, data integrity, CRM/PRM, MDF, and rewards/incentives.
And, yes, I know this sounds like a shameless plug for our webinar (big blog no-no), but really, I just want to be sure I have lots of questions to keep this panel really busy for an hour! If you have a question you want to get answered, just register here or if you’ve already registered and thought of something else, feel free to drop me an email at tdelphia@hawkeyeww.com.
Next month I will be heading to San Diego, CA for Baptie & Company’s 14th 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:
- Channel Analytics
- MDF/Co-op Best Practices
- 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
The topic of measuring ROI on channel MDF/Co-op programs is one that surfaces in almost every conversation with channel clients. Inevitably, when I discuss this subject with other solution providers like hawkeye, the conversation starts with how to measure and shifts to how to improve MDF/Co-op programs.
Here are 3 practical ways to measure ROI on channel MDF/Co-op programs:
1. Ask – Establish the metrics based on the type of activities that will be funded and ask the partner to provide results after the project has been executed. Consideration: Metrics are only as good as the partner provides, so reserve the right to audit periodically and reward good behavior.
2. Data Analytics – Measure sales for partners over a period of time. Compare participating and non-participating partners to eliminate environmental factors and determine the net uplift in sales for participating partners.
3. Offer Execution – Execute the project/campaign on behalf of the partner, and utilize one of many great tools to close the loop, track the lead, etc.
When MDF/Co-op activities are measured against clear and established metrics, improvements can be very specific, as they are based on real success or failure.
If you would like some MDF/Co-op improvement suggestions based on best practices with Fortune 100 technology clients, we have published a white paper that outlines practical guidelines to improve the impact of MDF/co-op programs. You can get it here.
Are you sure you know what motivates your resellers?
Every company selling through an indirect channel wants to achieve greater partner mind share. What makes the resellers want to sell more AND achieve the ROI that you need for your programs? Incentives! When used appropriately they: Read more…
