Square Pegs, Round Holes – Channel Partners
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Square Pegs, Round Holes – Channel Partners

R&D, related to both the improvement of existing products and the introduction of new market offerings, is the main engine that drives the growth of manufacturers. If that weren’t true, we’d still all be sitting at our 64MB PCs juggling stacks of 3.5-inch floppies while multitasking on a myriad of projects. While “new and improved” will remain the mantra of marketers forever, the distribution of new product offerings must be carefully managed to be successful.

Put on that characteristic Dirty Harry look and pose this: “With all this excitement about your new widget, you have to ask yourself a question. Are my existing channel partners equipped to sell our new add-on products and/or those that have absolutely nothing to do with our traditional offerings? Well, are they punk?

That’s how it is. Time to get tough.

As R&D is an important component of manufacturers’ lifeblood, new offerings also create dynamism at the reseller level. Complementary products stimulate additional sales to existing customers and can entice hesitant prospects to opt for products from one manufacturer over another. They can also provide VARs, integrators, and other high-touch channel partners with the ammunition to better demonstrate their technical expertise in configuring complex end-user solutions. In a perfect world, all of this is true.

Because we live in an imperfect world, you may find that your new add-on offerings, or brand new products, are the proverbial square pegs to your channel partners’ round holes. To do? Your choices will require a fair amount of research and financial investment.

This does not have to be as daunting as it may seem at first glance. Chances are good that your closest and best reseller friends will have little difficulty incorporating new complementary product offerings into their sales efforts on your behalf. They know your widgets inside and out. And because end users recognize them for their technical expertise and overall reliability, these channel partners should have little difficulty extolling the benefits of their new secondary offering. This is pretty obvious.

Partners that leverage more for their consultative expertise with end users may be less inclined to give their new offerings the kind of time and attention they’ve devoted to their core product lines. You may need to open up those portfolio threads a bit in the form of MDF or other introductory promotional incentives or programs.

If “normal” promotional programs don’t light the fire under such resellers, the agent and direct marketing channel may represent better conduits for your new complementary products. If so, your investment will be in educating them on the selling points, as well as providing financial incentives to set your new widget apart from your competitors.

When your R&D activities result in the development of new and different products, you may well need to develop new relationships to achieve maximum sales. No doubt its larger and more dependent channel partners, at least on the surface, will be more than willing to offer their entirely separate new product line to end users. But unless you provide them with what can become prohibitively expensive incentives to be proactive, you may also have to bear the cost burden of an underdeveloped market and lost potential sales. It may be best to work with a new partner to market your new offering and, in the process, keep your existing resellers happy through new or improved incentive programs.

The introduction of complementary or entirely new products is essential to the continued growth of your business. Just be careful managing your channel associations in the process.

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