Inside & Out

When you are building, or renewing, your channel plans, it is important to look at the business from all sides. Too often companies look exclusively at the customer (channel) facing organization as the sole consideration. The challenge that will eventually present itself is that if you do not have the internal infrastructure to support your channel story, you will not be able to effectively sustain your strategy.

If your channel story is “bigger than the widget”, then your focus is on the entire channel experience. This will include your pricing models, channel programs, incentives, technical support and service, training, and communications platform(s). This infrastructure is needed to support your story. At the end of the day, it really is more than the widget. Likewise, if you solely focus on building the infrastructure, without the input and guidance from your channel facing sales and service teams, you run the risk of missing important considerations. Bad marketing programs are usually developed by someone who builds them from behind a desk. You need external input.

This is where internal partnerships are so important. Sales, marketing, IT, accounting, finance, operations, and service are essential in the development of an effective and thriving channel business. Your channel leader must be able to work across the organization to build support and execution.