CRM - January 2008 - (Page 30)

fine-tuning the channel AND YOU CAN’T JUST DIRECT THEM BY REMOTE CONTROL BY MARSHALL LAGER a single vertical, there can be differences: Business-software vendors, for example, typically operate through VARs, but there are a number that use retailers. The companies best able to take advantage of indirect sales are those “who understand what they do well and what they don’t,” according to Jim Dickie, a partner with research firm CSO Insights. “They must have the maturity to ask themselves, ‘How do we hand off business to somebody who excels in what we don’t?’” It might seem redundant to say so, but if you have a channel, you need a channel program. There’s no point entering into business arrangements with a vendor that doesn’t provide information and support. WHO NEEDS A CHANNEL? In August 2006, AMR Research reported Channel partners deserve and demand that an estimated 70 percent of compa- the same support structure that you pronies earn most of their revenue through vide to your own direct sales force.“When indirect channels such as dealers, agents, a rep comes back from a meeting, he has value-added resellers (VARs), whole- a piece of paper; we want it to be an order, salers, and distributors. Different verti- but usually it’s a to-do list,” Dickie says.“A cals, of course, have different approaches: direct rep has the info to act on the list, Auto manufacturers operate through in- and knows whom to call. The channel rep probably doesn’t.” dependent and comPartner support is petitive dealers, for Your partner program should so necessary because instance, while inbe dynamic—a living, customers demand surance companies breathing, evolving organism, more than a simhave local agents not a static portal where the ple transaction—the authorized to sell “partner stuff” goes to die. value-added part of policies. Even within www.destinationCRM.com THEY’RE NOT EXACTLY EMPLOYEES, AND THEY’RE NOT QUITE CUSTOMERS, BUT YOUR CHANNEL PARTNERS CAN BE EQUALLY IMPORTANT— t he title of this magazine is CRM, not PRM¸ but the two concepts—different as they are—deserve to be considered together. Both, obviously, are about managing relationships; both can lead to great success if handled well, or disaster if bungled; both have a number of technology solutions built around making the respective processes easier. Most important, channel partners fill a crucial void: Customers who purchase your product or service through the indirect channel see no real distinction between you and your partners—the partner, in effect, is you, or at least your immediate proxy; and that partner is basically your customer contact. CRM’s purpose is to manage direct sales engagements between a salesperson and a buyer. The process involves collecting and sharing data throughout the customer lifecycle, from lead to prospect to close, and becomes, by the end, one-toone in nature. PRM, on the other hand, is designed to manage business relationships between multiple independent partners and a main vendor, a one-to-many model. Thus, PRM is about aligning business processes across the entire value chain: vendor, partner, and customer. These two disciplines can (and should) work together, but they are not the same 30 thing, according to the founder of channel management software provider BlueRoads, Axel Schultze, who examined the CRM/PRM disparity in an “Experts On Call” article in this magazine back in 2004:“Comparing the difference between managing customer relationships and partner relationships is similar to comparing the difference between a bus and a plane,” Shultze wrote. “Both are designed to carry passengers from one point to another. However, a bus is designed to travel on land, and a plane is designed to travel through the air. Putting wings on a bus will not make it fly.” CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | JANUARY 2008 http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - January 2008

CRM - January 2008 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Facebook's About-Face On the Scene: Oracle OpenWorld 2007 CRM Market Set to Double Customers, Meet your Makers Required Reading Oh, Behave! Fine-Tuning the Channel Listen Up! The Master Piece Flying High on Customer Service Let's Get Digital The Big Rigs Get Revved Up Putting Asia in Your Pocket Secret of My Success Connect Re:Tooling Pint of View

CRM - January 2008

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