« Bad Behavior Begets More Resistant Readers | Main | E-Mail Marketing: Coming Of Age?? »
March 29, 2007
VARs: Know Your Value; Vendors: Know Your Partners
Back in 2000, Michael Hammer created an editorial in Information Week in which he wrote:
“The notion of a distribution chain is becoming obsolete; in its place is arising the notion of a distribution community, a group of companies that collectively create value for the customer. There's room in this community for many companies besides the manufacturer, as long as they are ready to rethink their roles in customer value terms.”
Fast forward. On March 21, 2007, Jessica Davis penned an article titled "Changing Channel Influence" for ZiffDavis' Channel Insider Website in which she explored evolving programs for measuring not only absolute sales by channel partners, but also the influence value of smaller VARs. This subtle but very critical concept illustrates the changing dynamic between modern manufacturers and their channel distribution partners.
In the evolving, customer-driven world of marketing, mindshare for complex decisions is influenced by many factors, one of which is the tangible presence of a local reseller who will be there to support and service the product. Introducing Hammer's original concept, VARs and dealers increasingly need to think about what their real "value" in the market is. Consultative support value is a huge factor in many markets, and that value is typically overlooked by many channel support programs.
Good article to review.!
Posted by jcioban at March 29, 2007 8:39 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.freshsqueezedmarketing.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/51.
