The VAR Guy

As a channel and marketing professional I’ve worked with a bunch of different software tools for (1) marketing automation or (2) content syndication OR (3) social media monitoring.  But I’ve never seen a single tool that does all three things really well. Until now. Here’s the story.

As Channel Professionals we have a lot of responsibility.  It seems as if the work will never been done and partners will never have everything they need.  For that reason, we tend to fall into a way of doing things that can be detrimental to our channel program and more importantly, our partners. Here’s how to break free from your current routine.

Has anyone formed a Channel Support Group yet?  We all know that The Channel has always been seen as secondary to corporate activities and marketing. The Channel gets less budget for marketing activities or has to re-purpose the corporate marketing content that was not exactly partner friendly or has to defend their partners against channel conflict with the direct sales team.  It is a huge struggle and one that we, as channel professionals, take in stride. But is a shift starting?

I was involved in a  recent survey of 200 VAR’s and systems integrators — and the results showed less than stellar usage of Social Media platforms. Under 60% use LinkedIn and approximately 38% are using Twitter. Okay, not horrible…but how many of them are using it correctly?

Those of us who have worked for large companies know that “branding” comes with a 462 page document called The Branding Guidelines.  If you read the document cover to cover you would find out how much space needs to be open around a logo in a document or presentation, how the company’s name can and cannot be written, and how each and every product needs to be referenced. But can branding guidelines help small VARs? You bet. Here are four quick tips…

September was a whirlwind for me: several exciting client projects, bride’s maid (or matron, a term which I hate) in my friend’s wedding, moving my house, and several trips. All good things but just the same, when you’re wrapped up in what’s currently going on, you are not focused on building that pipeline or nurturing relationships or innovating around your current programs. I find the same is true with some channel organizations. How do you keep innovating when you’re busy maintaining your current programs? Here are six suggestions.

Sure, the Federal Reserve Chairman recently said the recession is likely over.  But is the channel feeling the rebound?  How has the recession impacted channel hiring? Here are some clues from Cisco Systems.

We all know the BCG matrix with Cash Cow, Dogs, Stars, and Problem Children — but how does that play out in reality?  How should vendors cater their partner programs to each of these product groups?

When I first used Vista I was, well, beyond frustrated.  Not being a technical person myself the only person more frustrated then me was my IT guy.  “Steve, it’s doing the thing again!” “Steve I lost the file I was just working on!” “Steve why can’t I find anything?”  You get the idea. The big question: Will VARs give Microsoft and Windows 7 a fresh look on August 16? Here’s the scoop.

Many of my posts have some information on how to design a program to attract a certain type of partner, but to truly differentiate your program you need to start with the end in mind. Don’t jump into creating a differentiated program without first deciding a) your target market, b) the type of partner you want to recruit to reach that target, and c) what that partner would want or expect out of a partner program.

When asked recently what’s the hottest topic in IT impacting the channel I didn’t have to think twice…the Cloud.  I wrote ‘What Does Cloud Computing mean for the Channel?’ a couple of months ago — talking about the ability for just about anyone to write an application in the cloud and market it.  Google, Force.com, and Amazon have made that a reality.  And the Cloud will certainly generate buzz at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference 2009 (WPC09). Now, for the big question facing VARs.

Somehow in the last few years the term “Reseller” has become an insult.  It’s not enough anymore to just sell a product, now to be a true Value Added Reseller (VAR) partners must provide services.  None of this is news but many partners are promoting themselves as a VAR when they may still be just a, dare I say it, Reseller.

Last week I covered channel recruitment from a vendor’s perspective. Now let’s  look at it from a partner’s perspective. While the vendors are looking to recruit new partners, the partners are analyzing the cost/benefit of taking on a new vendor’s product. There are more considerations than one would think.

When a vendor channel is in the early stages of development, their requirements for channel partners are usually only that they have a pulse. Fast forward 12 to 18 months, and a fledgling channel program involves 5% of partners who are actively engaged and 95% who sold once on a customer’s request and then disengaged. So what’s the fix?

A ton of partner relationship management (PRM) tools  and other technologies claim they can make your life easier and bring you closer to your partners. But are the tools intuitive and do they work? I’ve spoken to several companies about their offerings, and here’s a sampling of my findings.

Last week I wrote a post about vendor activities in social media that praised the vendors who do it well and criticized those that could use a little help. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t pushing the envelope to see who monitors their social media and who, again, could use some help. Within 36 hours of posting I received a comment from Cisco, a call from EMC, a question from Dell, and a call from Symantec. The responses prove vendors are plugged into social media. So what are they up to? Quite a lot.

By now, you know all about the social media hype: Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. But if you examine how some IT vendors promote their partner programs across social media, you’ll discover some vendors are very late to the game.

Some vendors pride themselves on the number of partners they recruit. Congratulations, are partners supposed to be excited about that? Welcome to our partner program! You now have more competition for your business then you did before you joined. I’m not saying vendors should have fewer partners, but let’s be reasonable: Don’t be so out of touch with your partners that you promote your partner list as a benefit to them. Instead, focus on these four secrets to success.