How to Balance Key Stakeholders and Channel Partner Needs

My Journey in ICT Channel Marketing: Invaluable Lessons for Career Growth

In the world of ICT channel marketing, it can be quite tricky to balance the needs of key stakeholders and channel partners. On the one hand, stakeholders want to promote their products and services through the channel. On the other hand, channel partners have their own businesses to run. As someone with a career in the ICT channel, I wanted to share my learnings and a few golden rules to help anyone in one of these roles.

The first step is to understand who your channel partners are. If the budget is limited, reach out to a few channel sellers who have willing partners to have a chat about their business priorities. It's important to approach these conversations with the intention of understanding their challenges and needs, rather than what you need as a vendor.

By gathering this information, you can create personas that will help you better serve your channel partners. To learn more about how to conduct these exploratory interviews and find key questions to ask, click here.

Now on to the Golden Rules

1. Avoid wasting your channel partner's time. It may seem obvious, but in the midst of numerous tasks and requests, it's tempting to simply push through content without considering its clarity. (On reflection, I have done this myself to just get the task done). However, if you don't take the time to simplify messages from your stakeholders or ask them to simplify their messages for your channel partners, it can lead to unsubscribed contacts and confusion within your channel.

2. Understanding your Subject. To effectively convey your message and generate results, it is crucial to understand the subject and provide a clear and concise overview to your partner channels. This involves reviewing the content and actively engaging with the user experience by clicking on links and reading through the material. By ensuring the coherence of your message and the effectiveness of your call to action, you can simplify the process for your channel partners. Consider including a brief and simplified paragraph at the beginning of the content, allowing them to quickly scan for the key information necessary for their business. Remember, these Businesses are busy with their own operations, so any effort to minimise the time they spend on non-sales tasks will be greatly appreciated.

3. The Give Gets. One important aspect to consider is clearly explaining the benefits for the channel partner. I would often ask this question to my stakeholders, and many of them had trouble providing a clear answer. It's actually quite simple - how will the partner make money or be affected financially by the information we're sharing? This relates to Rule 1, but it's surprising how often people just want to send out content without a specific purpose.

4. Not just digital – Real Connections. When it comes to channel marketing, the key thing I've learnt is that it's all about building relationships. Partners invest part of their business into yours, so they want to know who you are and if they can trust you to help them. It can be overwhelming to think that everyone will be calling you, but it's important to be accessible. Building trust means letting people get to know you. I've received calls from partners after sending out communications, and even if I couldn't give them an immediate answer, they were okay with that as long as I directed them to the communication and call to action. This ties back to Rule 2 - understanding the content you send out. So, when a partner calls, see it as an opportunity to better understand your audience rather than just more work.

Having a successful career in the ICT channel marketing industry requires careful consideration and thought into who your channel partners are. In my experience, all of these golden rules can help create an atmosphere where both sides can get what they need leading to mutually beneficial results!