conflict-in-channelImproving economic conditions bring top line revenue growth potential for tech developers and their channel.   How can we make growth happen faster?    How do we prevent destructive performance conflicts within the channel, between technology developers and solution vendors from causing everyone to miss out on potential growth?

Today leading technology developers design their revenue delivery machine with channel front and center.  We watch them grow the percentage of the total revenue from channel every year.   As a channel marketing strategy organization, we see them invest enormous resources in executing on that strategy.

Channel partners invest in technology certifications of qualification.   They connect syndicated (or more ideally, custom) channel product content to their websites.  They hire sales resources to sell.

Both sides of the channel invest with the intent to capture revenue growth.   But, for most organizations, the growth is not happening fast enough.   Why?

The top inhibitor in capturing this channel revenue growth is:

For many of these partners, the products they sell have reached a maturity level so high, that they are less differentiated, and have become commodities.  At the same time, the ever increasing volume of partners and  competitors turns the market in to a Sea of Sameness.

This Sea of Sameness makes “me too” marketing less effective, drives a lower return on channel partner marketing investments and elongates the sell cycle, slowing the revenue stream that the developer and channel partner depend on for their very existence.

How can you tell if this problem is leading to below goal revenue production and channel conflict in your business? Over
the past few decades, Frantz Group has had the privilege of working with many fortune 100 technology developers and their channels. Listen to what people are saying on both sides of the fence.

What kinds of things are we hearing from developers and partners that could indicate problems within the channel?
What Developers Say:
  • Our partners need to learn to hunt their own meat.
  • Our partners expect to be spoon-fed sales leads.
  • The partners need to learn how to market and appropriately invest in marketing their business beyond just their direct sales efforts.
  • Partners seem unwilling to invest in our pre-designed campaigns.
  • We need to find new & better partners.
What Channel Partners Say:
  • The developer used to give us good leads now we have to do all the marketing.
  • Pre-built, cookie cutter campaigns provided by the developer do not perform.
  • They want me to invest more in marketing, but, where is the return?   When?
  • The channel owner is cutting us out of deals, how do we make it up?

So, what is the solution for a struggling channel?

The channel partner community needs more help developing a unique value position in the marketplace if they are expected to drive a lead stream in a Sea of Sameness.  They need help breaking through the clutter with clear business value messaging. We’ve developed a solution that does that: the Right Offer Workshop

We believe this can be done, and done affordably by leveraging many  tremendous partnerships between channel owners and partners.   The challenge will be how to be most effective with limited available resources on both sides to work at driving the most success and revenue.

Here is what we know is true that we can leverage.

In mature markets, like ERP, we know that target prospects are looking most for clearly differentiated, highest possible impact on their business bottom line.

What we need to do then is work together, to bring individual partner based, personalized prospect business impact to the spotlight.   This will not be easy, but we can do it.

At Frantz Group we have developed and matured methodologies to help the micro vertical channel partners reflect on the financial benefits that their custom fit solutions bring to customers.    We have learned how to help them form the words to fairly and accurately talk about results achieved in their real client situations. This is where effective technology lead generation can begin.

We help them place these benefits before the market in findable, compelling ways.    We help them stay on these benefits from the beginning of the marketing cycle to the end of the sales cycle.

The result is that often, with time, channel partners can grow in the current markets they serve and add new ones. They can be even more clear with their customers on impact of solutions they install ans drive higher customer satisfaction.To those of you immersed in either side of the channel, the essence of our message is it requires a team who plays together to win the channel revenue growth game.