Brand – Principle IV

Every relationship has a label – a brand. It might be “best friend”, “fishing buddy”, “confidant”, “lover”, “mentor”, or numerous other labels that give meaning to a relationship. These brands make it easy for us to explain our relationship and for others to appreciate it.

Channel designations are an important “brand” component to channel relationships. Many companies choose to use precious metals (platinum, gold, silver) and others use gems (diamond, ruby, sapphire). There are countless labels that can be used, but the branding that goes behind the nomenclature is extremely important because it lends credibility and an endorsement of the partner to the end user.

The designation represents that one party in the relationship has achieved a certain status and that the achievement represents value to the end user. When an end user is sourcing a product they want to work with a channel that has demonstrated some commitment to the product and worked to achieve a level of competence in support of the product. The designation enables them to market and differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Would you rather buy from a Platinum Partner versus another that did not carry an equal designation?

The company providing the designation must establish a tiered structure of requirements and then provide marketing support behind the designations they offer. It is important that a significant amount of equity is built for the designation, or channel relationship, brand.

Achieving a Microsoft or Cisco designation has value for the reseller and creates a competitive advantage for them in the market. The designation equity is also extremely important to Microsoft and Cisco because the reseller will invest thousands of dollars into achieving the designation, thus creating switching costs for the vendor.

How you structure the designation program in terms of requirements and benefits will be discussed later, but a focus on end user value is critical. The days of volume based designations are over, because they offer very little to the end user…the brand becomes meaningless.