Last month, Channel Maven Consulting had the exciting opportunity to co-sponsor and attend
Over the three days of presentations and workshops, a wide array of topics and industry best practices were covered. We shared and learned about everything from Partner enablement, to evolution of IT, to managing channel conflict, to gamification and everything in-between. By the end of the three-day event, one thing was abundantly clear: the channel has changed and continues to change. And with those changes come certain industry trends that cannot be ignored.
Here are three of the major takeaways from this year’s Channel Focus:
SMB is the New Black
In his keynote presentation, HP’s Stephen DiFranco kicked things off with a discussion on the evolving channel landscape. You can follow Stephen DiFranco on Twitter here. This topic echoed throughout the following sessions and workshops. With everything shifting to the Cloud at an accelerated pace, the channel has shifted, too. Where IT companies typically targeted large Enterprise, they’re now expanding efforts to capture SMBs. Why? With fewer compliance issues, smaller networks, and quicker sales cycles, SMBs are more agile when it comes to adapting to the cloud. As more and more SMBs are
Flexibility
As the channel evolves and programs encompass a diverse partner portfolio, there are different needs, requirements, and support for each Partner type. In turn, a “one size fits all” Partner Program doesn’t always work. As CA Technologies’ Alyssa Fitzpatrick noted in her session on Channel Conflict, for Partners and Vendors to be successful, programs have to be proactive instead of reactive. A flexible program is a provision for the future – cloud isn’t the first disruption to the IT space and it certainly won’t be the last. You can follow Alyssa Fitzpatrick on Twitter here.
Communication is key
communicate in a way that best fits a Partner’s specific needs, whether it’s through email, newsletters, social listening, or good old-fashioned phone calls. The communication channel, the cadence, and the subject matter often vary depending on the Partner type. It’s also important to note this isn’t the IT industry of yore; Partners have options and tend to go where they receive the best level of support. And communications is a driving factor when it comes to support, enablement and mutual success.
But it doesn’t end there. Just as Partners expect Vendors to communicate in a way that resonates with their needs, Partners need to communicate to their clients effectively, as well. With 94% of B2B buyers performing online research before making a purchase decision, it’s more crucial than ever for Partners to have a professional, active, and available online presence. In her session on Social Media Enablement, Channel Maven Consulting’s Heather K. Margolis stressed how important it is for Vendors to help Partners build, engage, and nurture relationships on social to successfully market, and ultimately sell, Vendor products and services to end-customers. You can follow Heather K. Margolis on Twitter here as well.
Did you attend this year’s Baptie Channel Focus? If so, what were your key takeaways? If not, we hope to see you next year and here are highlights from 2015 on Storify.
Photo Credit: Beta News, Terra Libre City
