Business-to-business (B2B) companies provide products or services to other businesses, not individual consumers. Examples include suppliers, business service providers, and companies developing solutions for internal operations. High profits in B2B markets depend on more than great offerings or competitive pricing though. According to the good folk over at Motivation Excellence, the hidden factor powering market dominance is channel partner engagement.
Who Are Channel Partners?
Channel partners include the assorted businesses that help sell, use, or distribute offerings to end-user clients. Some common channel partners are resellers, dealers, service providers, technology integrators, brokers, consultants, affiliates and advisors.
Partners represent multiplied exposure through their independent networks and niches. Their recommendation lends credibility to clients evaluating options. Optimizing how these partners connect offerings to customers is pivotal to B2B profitability.
Clarify Expectations
Channel partner engagement starts by clarifying program parameters for recruits. Outline support levels based on requirements, revenue potential and strategic value and define processes from initial expresses interest to ongoing coordination.
Set performance guidelines for elements like sales volume minimums, marketing participation, and training standards and put tiered rating systems tied to perks and progress metrics in place. Spell out both underlying expectations along with available tools to hit benchmarks.
Provide Resources
Equipping partners accelerates their productivity. Supply brand guidelines, selling points, product documentation and training. Toolkits with customizable content make presenting and pitching easier while reinforcing branding.
Update private portals with sales collateral, co-branded templates, product guides and FAQs. Ensure resources stay current by highlighting critical new developments and offer marketing support funds or creator access by request for qualifying partners only.
Cultivate Connections
Nurturing productive working relationships leads to greater collaboration. Sales and marketing staff should build bonds through regular check-ins via phone, webinars, and in-field visits if feasible. Address questions, gather feedback, and inspire innovation.
Hosting annual partner conferences fosters peer engagement. Gather top performers to network, demo latest offerings and convey roadmaps guiding advancement. Awards recognizing important contributions build loyalty by showing partners their role matters.
Incentivize Outcomes
Hard numbers determine bottom lines, so directly correlate desired performance with rewards. Offer incremental commission rates for incremental deal sizes that apply automatically. Volume rebates make profitability climb through sheer activity strength. Market development funding helps prime emerging opportunities and categories.
Public recognition programs with perks convey elite status based on annual sales growth, retention percentage, referral rates and client satisfaction benchmarks met. Presidents Club levels, awards and trips make excellence extra motivating.
Evaluate and Adjust
Consistently study channel partner engagement metrics to pinpoint improvement areas. Examples include partner acquisition numbers, active percentages, retention risk factors, profitability analysis, and earned incentive percentages. Survey partners about their program experience and future focus areas.
Use insights to guide evolving channel strategies. Add coaching for newer recruits and develop joint offerings meeting shared customer needs. Shift portal content for relevancy and refine incentive structures pushing lagging indicators. Review support levels and ease friction slowing partner business.
The Outsized Impact
Channel partners engage customers from new angles as their reach and credibility drives immense influence on purchasing decisions. Strong programs make selling easier through better information and incentives in a collaborative community. Partners pass savings from rebates, co-op advertising and other support to their shared end-user base.
The combined goodwill, customization and cost management of the channel team shapes the market far beyond a company’s individual capacity. Dedicated engagement empowers this multiplier network to unlock its fullest potential.
Conclusion
Business success relies on partners beyond one’s walls actively recommending products and services. Clarifying expectations, providing helpful resources, cultivating connections and optimizing incentives ensures maximum dedication to mutual growth. Evaluating approaches fosters an expanding culture of channel partner engagement that powers market dominance.