What The Beatles Knew About Channel Marketing
Money can't buy you love, but when it comes to channel marketing, sometimes it's expected to. Technology channel marketing organizations invest significant time and dollars making sure they have the right mix of product portfolio, certification, training support, and the icing on the cake – market development funds, rebate programs, and rewards for lead generation activities.
But if the channel has been trained to chase dollars, now hardware and software providers are learning the hard way that services, not products, are earning greater margin for the channel, as much as three times more according to some surveys. So how do you remain relevant to your channel partners, and ultimately, the customers they serve?
If there's one thing the increased emphasis on services has taught us, it's that tech customers are through buying boxes. It's not solely about the product but instead about what the product enables customers to do, whether converging multiple services on a single network, aligning packaged applications strategy to business drivers, improving mobility or securing enterprise network data and resources, among others.
As technology marketers attempt to move "beyond the box," channel partners begin to play an even bigger role in creating solutions, as they’re on the front line listening to customers talk about their organizational pains and what they specifically need to achieve business goals.
That's why today's channel marketers need to develop solutions and value propositions that move beyond the product by addressing specific vertical market needs or enterprise/SMB pain points that not only enable channel partners to bundle products and services, but allow them to become more entrenched in the very issues driving technology adoption and purchase. The marketing support and programs behind these channel efforts are vital for success because they set the stage for how solutions are positioned and delivered to customers.
So what if you're still pushing product through the channel?
One of two things will happen. Either a channel partner will continue to sell products, albeit fewer and fewer as customers pursue alternatives that can deliver solutions. Or your channel will respond to customer needs by cobbling together a solution of their own, one that doesn't necessarily represent your brand and the value it brings. The lesson? Create marketing programs that help channel partners effectively position and support application-centric solutions or they'll create them on their own (or with your competition).
Sure, channels make selling more efficient and reduce the cost-to-serve for certain customers, but they're also the face of your brand to the majority of the market, which means the success of your channel partners is vital to your own success. When it comes to selling and marketing, many technology organizations have a mixed view of the channel – they're part family, part customer and part hired gun. But the most successful channel marketing programs think of them simply as partners.
So money might not be able to buy you love, but the right channel marketing programs may be able to buy you something even more valuable – sustained channel loyalty and customer relevance.
