Channel Acceleration
Creating the new pull marketing approach for your Channels.
The channel infrastructure of many organisations is something that has grown organically over time. In many cases these have today developed into something of an anachronism, where no one can clearly define the purpose or value each channel offers either to the customer, or to their own organisation.
Given the aggressively competitive state of the marketplace today, this situation is clearly adding risk and overhead to most companies, and not performing the task that was intended, that of delivering enhanced value to customers and to their own organisation.
ICDL's Channel Acceleration takes a fresh look at your channels, from the end user's perspective, and asks the fundamental question: "what extra value is delivered to my customers using this channel as opposed to any other route to market?".
The answers are then mapped into a series of models now proving to be successful in Channel Strategy, that of eco partnering, or even multiple eco partnering.
What is the key difference between this new thinking compared to the 'old' way? The answer is simple. New thinking starts from the end user's perspective, looking back through the various routes to market and asking the question "is there more value for me as the end user if I source through this route to market or that?".
Having started to think this way, the rest of the process falls into place:
What do the end users really want?
What channel strategy will make end users want our offerings rather than our competitors, and why?
How closely do these answers map to our existing routes?
What do we need to change to make this better?
Take Intel as an example. Not that many years ago, end users bought personal computers firstly based on their perception of the quality (Brand) of the PC manufacturer first, followed by a decision on what software they needed to get their jobs done. The choice of chip manufacturer didn't figure in the end user buying decision at all. Back then there were a number of chip manufacturers vying for market share.
Intel identified the eco system as a way to create net new demand at the end user level for their products and started a campaign to put the now well known Intel Inside concept to the forefront of people's minds. They achieved this by paying all PC manufacturers to put the Intel Inside statement and accompanying sound into all of their TV/Radio Adverts, and got their logo and the words Intel Inside in every paper/non audio medium. The result? The PC manufacturers accepted a poison chalice. Why? Because it is now more common for end users to specify an Intel PC with Microsoft than it is to worry about any particular manufacturer. Intel stood the established thinking on its head and established market dominance.
You can achieve similar results, even if you don't have the budgets Intel used to launch their campaign. How? Let ICDL show you how you can achieve this market leadership through your routes to market. Be prepared for some changes along the way though, because as we measure up your value from the end user perspective, there could be any number of areas where your current way of doing business may need to be adapted.
The results speak for themselves. Many of the worlds leading players have already adopted this way of working. Now is the time for you to engage, as the stakes are high. There isn't room for everyone to succeed in today's crowded markets, so make sure you are one of the winners.
Click on the links below to see how ICDL can start to help your organisation today:
- ICDL's full range of workshops
- See Typical Sales Challenges ICDL addresses
- Struggling to recruit quality Channel Managers?
- Ask one of ICDL's experts a question
- Arrange a Channel Acceleration review with one of ICDL's experts
Related downloads:
- Creating the High Performance Sales Team
- Re-Skilling the Workforce
- Selling through Channels
- Channel Dynamics
- Partnership Dynamics
Related workshops:
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