Channel Partnering

Channel Partnering

A channel partner is a company that partners with a manufacturer or producer to market and sell the manufacturer's products, services, or technologies. This is usually done through a co-branding relationship. Channel partners may be distributors, vendors, retailers, consultants, systems integrators (SI), technology deployment consultancies, value-added resellers (VARs), and other such organizations.

Co-Branding

Co-branding refers to several different marketing arrangements. Co-branding, also called brand partnership, is when two companies form an alliance to work together, creating marketing synergy. The term co-branding is relatively new to the business vocabulary and is used to encompass a wide range of marketing activity involving the use of two (and sometimes more) brands. Co-branding is an arrangement that associates a single product or service with more than one brand name, or otherwise associates a product with someone other than the principal producer. The typical co-branding agreement involves two or more companies acting in cooperation to associate any of various logos, color schemes, or brand identifiers to a specific product that is contractually designated for this purpose. The object is to combine the strength of two brands, in order to increase the premium consumers are willing to pay, make the product or service more resistant to copying by private label manufacturers, or to combine the different perceived properties associated with these brands with a single product.

Co-Branding

This is an example of a bank co-branding with a Starbucks.

Value Added Re-Seller

A value-added re-seller (VAR) is a company that adds features or services to an existing product and then resells it (usually to end-users) as an integrated product or complete "turn-key" solution. This practice occurs commonly in the electronics industry, where, for example, a VAR might bundle a software application with supplied hardware. The added value can come from professional services such as integrating, customizing, consulting, training, and implementation. The value can also be added by developing a specific application for the product designed for the customers' needs that is then resold as a new package.

Rules to follow when implementing channel partnering:

1. Provide an explanation or introduction to your partner marketing program as soon as a new partner is signed up, including what resources are available.
2. Understand what your partners do, how they sell, and how they will re-sell your solution.
3. Be proactive and reach out to your partners to get feedback and provide help in planning campaigns.
4. Help your partners with tips on best practices for list segmentation (customers that are good targets based on your experience) for your solution.
5. Have a plan for reaching out on a quarterly basis to your partners and ask how you can help them promote your products.
6. Keep your partners updated on changes to the program especially as new materials become available.
7. Give your partners access to collateral materials such as printed or digital marketing materials, training videos, webinar recordings, and other marketing assets as early as possible in the program; reach out to make sure they were able to access the materials or to see if they have questions.
8. Follow up with your partners after campaigns and ask how they did and what you can do to help next time.
9. Provide your partners with content snippets about your company and solutions that they can use on their websites and social channels.
10. Ensure your partners are using your content correctly and following your brand guidelines.

Some things not to do include:

1. Don't assume your partners will be as fluent as you are in what your solution does.
2. Don't assume you are the partner's priority; it is very likely that you are only one vendor among several with whom the partner deals.
3. Don't keep the partner in the dark; make them one of the first to hear about new product releases and other important information.
4. Don't assume the marketing folks at the partner company are as savvy as you or your team.
5. Don't forget that partner marketing materials are important to help sell your product; therefore, they need to be updated as frequently as your direct channel materials.
6. Don't make your partner co-op programs too confusing or restrictive; after all, you want your partners to keep providing programs to promote your solutions.
7. Don't expect your partners to be social-media savvy or to understand how to use social channels.
8. Don't wait for your partner to reach out to you with questions or to plan a campaign, make sure to routinely talk to your partners.
9. Don't let your partner marketing collateral and resources go stale, keep them fresh and your partners are more likely to pay attention to them.
10. Don't take your partner for granted.