One of the objectives of a manufacturer is to become a preferred supplier for channel partners. Ease of doing business and round the clock support are just two aspects which contribute to reaching that objective. Every manufacturer selling through channel partners should have a partner portal, a secure website which enable a manufacturer to share information with channel partners. Partner portals help share information such as sales presentations, product information, competitive analysis, marketing material and more. In addition a partner portal allows for process automation, for example marketing budgets, deal registration and lead distribution. Sales-, order- and configurator tools can also be integrated into a partner portal to further support channel partners doing business with a manufacturer.
To keep channel partners using a partner portal certain factors should be taken into account:
- Keep content current – when you show old content your channel partners will think that you do not maintain your website and cannot trust the information they find. You do not want your partners to download a sales presentation of a product that is old or a pricelist which is outdated.
- Keep content relevant – content should be relevant to channel partners, only add content channel partners benefit from
- Clear structure for your content and tools – categorize information and tools so they are easier to find, don’t turn you partner portal into a maze, to help find the right content provide an extensive search option, for example include filters to search by product, category, content type and a free search option.
- Easy access (automatic login option, remember password option) – channel partners participate in multiple partner programmes and will not be able to remember all passwords, allow then to log in automatically when they revisit your website.
- Provide different levels of access – the information requirement of partners is not the same. When selling into different markets (business and consumer market for example) channel partners require different information based on their customers focus. The same applies to different levels in a partner programme, don’t overwhelm partners with sophisticated sales tools and other content when they sell a manufacturers product occasionally. Strategic channel partners on the other hand appreciate more specific information and manufacturers may decide to allow certain channel partners only to access a marketing campaign.
Consider these 5 points before launching a partner portal. Make sure information is up to date, relevant and easy to find. In addition provide the right amount of information to each type of channel partner.
If you want to find out more about the mktgSUITE partner portal solution visit www.channelexcel.com where you can view a presentation about our partner portal and request a demo.
