Are channels and alliances important enough to your organization to have a seat at the executive table?

Many companies are increasingly turning to alliances and channel partners to meet their fiscal goals. The average high-tech company generates between 60 - 80 percent of its revenues through indirect channels and resellers. Donna Coallier, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, notes that “Companies are using alliances more and more because they can open the door to new business opportunities at less cost, and with greater speed and lower risk than traditional M&A or even internal growth initiatives. Half of the senior executives interviewed said alliances are vital to their business today, and that number grows to 65 percent when they look three years out.”

Long gone are the days when a company was helmed solely by a chief executive officer. Recognizing that executives in C-level positions are uniquely positioned to motivate, direct, and enact the strategic priorities under their auspices, many companies now employ any combination of a CIO (chief information officer), CMO (chief marketing officer), CTO (chief technology officer), and COO (chief operations officer). When a company creates a C-level position, it sends a strong message—both to its employees and to its potential partners and customers—that the subject area is a critically important strategic priority. In today’s tough economic environment and with channel generated revenue making a more significant impact to achieving revenue goals, can establishing a new C-level position, the chief channel officer (CCO), help fuel company growth and increase profitability?

When an organization begins to experience significant contributions to its success from its channel strategy and alliances, is it time to institute a chief channel officer (or chief alliance officer)? With direct and regular interaction with the executive team, is a CCO is better able to influence decisions that drive the business and shape corporate strategy at the highest level? Channels and alliance touch all facets of the organization – from sales, marketing, training, professional services, technical support, to finance. Would the position of CCO ensure that alliance and channel strategies integrally support and are aligned with corporate goals?/p>

Tell us what you think about the role of chief channel officer – Come BLOG with us and share your feedback! Should there be a c-level position (a corporate officer) for channels and alliances? What are the benefits? What are the roadblocks?

¹ Gartner and Booz Allen Hamilton study

Amazon Consulting recently completed an engagement at Liebert where we conducted an audit of Liebert’s current channel sales program and developed a framework to effectively reach their target audience. Liebert’s channel program was focused on selling surge protection systems to information technology groups (IT) in North America. The program had approximately 1,500 reseller partners, divided into two categories whose focus was on mid-sized to large companies. Liebert had also engaged with a distributor to extend their reach to more Value Added Resellers (VARs.) To download a copy of the entire client spotlight please go to /news/liebert.shtml

CCI is a leading provider of software and professional services that enhance communication and increase the return on investment (ROI) and measurability of sales and marketing programs for companies that sell through direct and indirect channels. When working with CCI, companies are able to communicate more clearly with internal and external sales and marketing channels, for mutual success. Founded in 1983, CCI brings over 20 years of experience to our client projects, including a wealth of best practice knowledge.

CCI web-based software and CCI professional services allow companies to plan, implement, manage, and measure successful, revenue-generating programs across all channels and geographies. CCI’s suite of software and professional service offerings – combined with our experience and technology – help companies streamline sales and marketing programs, including sales incentives, spiffs, rebates, co-op, market development funds (MDF), brand and awareness campaigns, demand and lead generation, lead distribution, POS and ROI calculation.

To find out more or to contact CCI please visit www.CCIonline.biz

Designing Effective Partner Extranets

• Do you feel that your partnerships could be more successful if you were able to automate some or all of your partner / channel sales processes?
• What factors should you consider when deciding which solution is best for you?
• What functionality should you prioritize?
• Where do your needs and your partner’s needs fit in the spectrum of available options?
• How do you drive internal and external adoption?
• What are the pro’s and con’s of buy vs. build?

Automating partner program elements such as marketing claims, lead distribution and registration, and partner profile information can increase your efficiency and effectiveness. However technology solutions such as PRM can be daunting to evaluate, plan and prioritize.

We offer a number of services to design, build and deploy an effective extranet solution to your partners including:

• Partner focus group and survey research
• Partner portal priorities and functionality plan
• Launch, adoption and measurement programs
• Site structure & workflow process definition
• Site maps, navigation and architectural design documents
• HTML design and programming
• User interface and administrative database development