How the West Was Won: A Look at Improving Channel Performance from the Vendor's Perspective - Collect and Analyze the Right Data
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Opportunity No. 2: Collect and Analyze the Right Data
How many times have we seen channel research ranking vendors? When looking
at the results, you find out that your competition is rated a 9 and you are
rated a 6. The problem: No one truly understands what it means to be a 6 or
what to do about it. Why not change the way you do VOP (voice-of-the-partner)
research by asking them what they want from you as a vendor? You’re more than
likely to learn something truly valuable, like you’re losing favor due to a
competitor that’s offering new inventory terms.
You also can extend the research and look at partners’ company culture and
customer demographic to make sure partners are a good fit.
Consider this example of one large office equipment manufacturer. The vendor
faced three years of market stagnation, so growth had to come from competitor
market share.
First, the vendor asked end customers to highlight value drivers and
competitive positioning, which was shared with all partners. Next, the vendor
asked partners what they needed. Then the vendor adjusted its offering to meet
the expressed needs of the partners. Those needs were pretty simple, really:
enhanced training on account targeting and acquisition, strategic selling, and
presentation skills. To make sure the requested items were utilized, the vendor
added non-cash incentives for those partner reps completing training and
increasing sales. And finally, the company expanded its partner MDFs (market
development funds) to include lead generation programs.
The results: In the first year following the program change, partner rep
training participation increased 41 percent and client sales increased 9
percent in a market that declined by 14 percent.
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