Channel Maven Update
Sheila O'Neil,
VP of Channel Strategy
We’ve heard so much about the evolving “buyer’s journey” in the last few years, but in the Channel, we've just started talking about how the Partner Journey is changing.
Gone are the days where Vendors steered the ship. Today, Partners have so many different Vendor options and they’re doing their research.
So how are they choosing Vendors? It all comes down to ease of doing business. Okay and a good product. Partners won’t sell a bad product no matter how great your resources and program.
For Partners, everything should be easy and transparent starting with the courtship. Partners expect to know up front the support that is offered, the investment they need to make, and what their ultimate payback will look like.
As Vendors work to woo the modern Partner, the journey becomes one of answering those questions early and building and strengthening relationships with Partners through all stages: awareness, consideration, and conversion.
Yep, that’s right. The journey isn’t over after recruitment. Not even close.
The channel is moving at the speed of technology and the Vendor-Partner relationship needs to continually evolve for both parties to be happy and profitable.
This evolution may mean updating enablement tools, helping Partners hurdle technology roadblocks, offering competitive incentives, and so on. The key is to understand that keeping up your partnership relationship is the real journey.
