When I talk to channel IT vendors they almost always tell me how important their partners are to them.

They tell me 50%, 75%, and sometimes even 100% of their total business goes through the channel — the lifeblood of their business. Often times, a channel partner is where a prospective customer has the 1^st interaction with a vendor brand, product or solution.

Vendors mention customer relationships, sales and technical staffs, market presence, and other strengths when it comes to their channel community. Representing the vendor brand  in the channel, however, is all but a fairy tale. When I ask how these important business partners are representing the vendor brand to prospects and customers, the answers usually aren’t nearly as complimentary.

In a recent UBM Channel study, nearly two-thirds of all solution providers said they lack an internal resource for marketing.  Without sufficient marketing expertise on staff, how can vendors expect channel partners to do their brands justice?

What kind of impact does this have on the vendor brand?   If your channel is made up of hundreds, or even thousands of participating solution providers, then think about how many different ways your brand may be suffering. Because of the lack of resources in the channel, there is serious confusion in the marketplace.  Loss of sales? Other things you’d rather not discuss?

If you want your channel partners to “mirror” (pun intended) what you’re seeing when you look at your brand, then content syndication could be a good fit. Think about the value a vendor gains if their brand is consistently represented channel-wide! And what about value for channel partners?  By taking the effort of representing and managing multiple vendor brands and products out of their hands, partners would have more time to connect with customers, build pipelines and sell.

All of a sudden, the inconsistent brand image vendors have seen looking back at them from the channel begins to reflect a little more accurately.

Be Sociable, Share!

•