Channel Readiness Blog

In one case, a manufacturer received complaints from dealers that there were just too many broadcast communications, some with repetitive content. Of course, on the other side, corporate employees reported that their dealer communications were frequently ignored! Obviously, there had to be a better solution.

Being able to market effectively to channel partners is mission critical to any company that sells through independently owned and operated dealers and distributors. After all, these are the companies representing the OEM's brand and selling the product. In order to provide to very best service to end-user customers these re-sellers need.... 

Product is not Ready

In the complex world of global business structures, manufactured products rarely start with a single company and make it to the consumer without a loop through various business partners. This is often referred to as the Indirect Channel.  In fact, over 70% of the products manufactured globally are sold through indirect channel relationships.

Channel Partner Education as Preparation

Excessive tension with channel partners plagues enterprises and their partners. It’s an indication that the OEM is not making it easy for their partners to do business with them.  What happens then?  Mindshare suffers.  What could be a relationship based on aligned goals and a fluid exchange of information ends up as a situation which partners are frustrated because they perceive they’re not getting what they need to sell and service products effectively.  This results in missed opportunities, wasted time, and wasted money. One way to smooth over channel frustrations and gain mindshare is by using a technology-enabled partner relationship management (PRM).system

Similar to a customer relationship management (CRM) system, a PRM consolidates partner support into a single database that lives in the cloud. In fact, most PRM systems are web-based, allowing for access by partners as well as the enterprise. This allows partners to collaborate with each other and with the enterprise to deliver the best products and services.

Effective PRM systems also allow for companies and their partners to share best practices.  Partners can share information with each other and end-user customers can be brought into the powerful on-line community as well. They can aggregate libraries of information, like sales tips, presentations, and images, and use this information to increase sales and ROI for the entire extended sales ecosystem.  All of the information is maintained in formats compliant with the corporate brand.

Finally, with a PRM system in place, companies can focus on supporting and enabling, not managing their partners. Instead of wasting time and resources being reactive, they can get back to what they do best. The top performing dealers will appreciate the support and excel while the laggards will embrace the support and begin selling more.  An ease of doing business benefits partners too. They're able to get your products to market faster, increasing their profitability and spend more time on their businesses as well. 

If you're like many organizations, supporting channel partners (like dealers, distributors, VARs and franchisees) is mission critical.  You've likely concluded that the higher engagement you have with this extended sales ecosystem so goes financial performance.  But, how do you determine where to start?

Most manufacturers today provide their dealer partners with websites to assist them in their business. But what you may not hear are your dealers internally complaining about the “systems” and “websites” and “extranets” that they “must use” when they do business with you. And you know when they tell you “you’re difficult to do business with,” you have a problem. You can provide your dealers relief through the adoption of a True Partner Portal, and in the process increase the mindshare of your dealers’ employees, resulting in an improved ROI for everyone.