Create content for joint marketing
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Create content for joint marketing

 

Channel Partner Relationships

There are many forms of business partnerships. A common one that we explore here is the channel-partner relationship, where one company is a channel for sales distribution of another, such as a software producer. When the product company is making software, it is typical to create channel-partner relationships with other software companies, hardware vendors, and service companies that act as system integrators.

 

Each side of the partnership has its own needs and goals. Of course, both partners want to sell more products and services, but the channel partner may want to position itself in a new market by using the software-vendor’s technologies.

 

The software vendor may look at the channel partner as just a distribution vehicle. This would be a mistake, as channel partners often bring new capabilities and markets to a vendor. Technology integration is also an important aspect of channel-partner relationships.

 

No matter what goals the partners have, a clear go-to-market understanding will help both companies to define and manage an achievable sales target.

Channel-Partner Needs

A channel-partner company may have many alliance relationships. This can be good to fill out the menu of options for customers, but puts their sales force and downstream partners in a difficult position. Those sales reps may not understand the plethora of software-product capabilities, nor how to position the value of any one product in a customer discussion.

 

Channel-partner companies need a well-defined set of marketing tools that help sales reps and customers to understand your software products. Even more, they need to realize value and make sure that your products are easy to purchase, install, manage, and support.

 

Alliance marketing teams work to create these messages for software products in the ecosystem of the channel partner. 

Software Vendor Needs

The primary goal of product companies in relationships with channel partners is to increase product sales. That is no secret. It is important to get clear on the value of the relationship to both companies as the partnership begins.

 

When a software vendor creates value for a channel partner, it is easier for the partner to engage their field and downstream sales partners to leverage that value. Sometimes high sales numbers are the value. But more likely, the value provided is through the use of technologies and in expertise in a specific domain.

 

Software vendors need to communicate the value that they create in multiple forms of marketing that channel partners can easily consume.

 

While software vendors want increased revenue, what they need is to define and show value that channel partners can leverage, integrate, and sell.