Date: March 15, 2023
Author: Steven Kellam
In our previous two blog posts, we covered how vendors can significantly enhance the channel partner experience by creating great content that’s personalized and usable, as well as connecting with them in the ways that that make it easier to do their jobs. We’re now moving on to the third C of StructuredWeb’s “5 Cs,” which is communicate. It’s impossible for vendors to offer a superior partner experience without the ability and the tools to meaningfully and purposefully communicate with their partners.
While communication between vendors and channel partners seems rather obvious, it’s not always done well, and many times deployed without the partners’ specific needs in mind. These communications mishaps by vendors can create barriers to effectively keeping partners engaged and empowered so that they can in turn amplify that communication to end customers.
By actively engaging with channel partners and understanding their needs and challenges, vendors can create a stronger, more collaborative relationship with their partners and dramatically improve the partner experience and can help vendors build trust and credibility with their partners and enable them to work together more effectively to achieve mutual success.
Effective and efficient communication with channel partners is critical for vendors for several reasons:
- Achieving Sales Targets: Channel partners play a crucial role in reaching out to customers and selling the brand’s products and services. Effective communication with channel partners helps ensure that they are well informed about the brand’s offerings, sales targets, and promotions, which in turn helps them to effectively sell and meet the brand’s sales targets.
- Brand Image: Channel partners often act as the face of the brand and represent it in the market. If channel partners are not well informed about the brand’s offerings or are not able to answer customer queries, it can negatively impact the brand’s image in the market. Effective communication with channel partners ensures that they have a good understanding of the brand and can represent it positively to customers.
- Product Knowledge: Channel partners need to have a deep understanding of the brand’s products and services to be able to sell them effectively. Effective communication with channel partners can help the brand to ensure that they have up-to-date product knowledge and are aware of any new product launches or updates.
- Relationship Building: Channel partners are an important part of the brand’s ecosystem, and building strong relationships with them can lead to better collaboration, increased loyalty, and ultimately higher sales. Effective communication with channel partners can help to build and maintain these relationships.
To-Partner Marketing is What Partners Are Asking For
Channel partners all agree that when a vendor invests in To-Partner Marketing they can create a more collaborative and fruitful relationship – leading to increased trust, loyalty, and satisfaction. That’s because when partners have access to educational resources, training, and other marketing collateral and automated tools – all in one convenient place – partners feel more empowered to better market products and services, which leads to increased sales and revenue for both parties. This is another win-win for the channel. Essentially, when partners feel like they’re being invested in through a proper To-Partner marketing effort that optimizes the partner experience, the result is a stronger, more successful, and mutually beneficial relationship between vendors and partners.
Partner Portal Offers One-Stop Communication Hub for To-Partner Marketing
A partner portal is the must-have tool for partners to improve communication with vendors. These one-stop, automated hubs provide centralized access to the information and resources partners need to sell their vendors’ products or services, including product information, sales training materials, marketing resources, and a forum to ask questions and share best practices. A partner portal can help to improve communication with vendors by offering a single source of information that is easily accessible and up-to-date. Most importantly, partner portals improve the overall partner experience that has been proven to translate into increased ROI and sales. What’s not to like.
A Delightful Partner Experience Begins and Ends with Effective Communications
StructuredWeb’s “5 Cs” model identifies communication as the third crucial element for vendors seeking to enhance the channel partner experience. Effective and purposeful communication with partners build trust, improve partner experience and ultimately achieve mutual success. And a frictionless and comprehensive partner portal helps to bring it all together.
