How to Win at Channel Management

Updated: November 12, 2022

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Channel management is a term that you will hear a lot in the sales and marketing industry. It is defined as the process a company uses to develop its marketing and sales techniques to create the most expansive customer reach possible. It refers to the methods or outlets for marketing and selling these products. 

Creating a public channel is to foster a close relationship between the customer base and the product. You must set clear objectives when establishing your channel management solutions. This article will teach you how to define your strategy to reach and satisfy consumers. 

Goals of Channel Management

Channel management is a method of selling and providing services to a target customer within a channel. The purpose of these techniques is to enhance communication between the business and its customers. 

To reach out to a customer segment, you have to distribute your channels according to the customer’s persona. You have to understand their needs, motivations, and their buying patterns. 

Once you understand your customers, you can create a customized marketing plan.

This plan contains outlines of your goals, strategies, products, sales, and marketing schedules.

The main goal of channel management is to create a direct line of communication between the business and customers. It can identify which representative of the population is in each channel. Then it can determine the appropriate products to pitch to the population.

If a company is successful, the managing team can learn which marketing channel is appropriate for that group of customers. 

Other than setting precise tasks for each channel:

  • Set clear procedures for managing the channels 
  • Identify which products are suited for which channels
  • Create distinct sales and marketing strategies for every channel that meet the actual needs of your target group

Types Of Channel Management 

The main types of channel management include the following elements.

Channel Architecture

These are the primary components of your channel. It details the pathways through which a product moves from the producer to the consumer.

Channel Strategy

This part outlines the detailed plan for sales and distribution. An example is developing a breakdown of your plan to obtain a market share.

It can also be the action plan for improving your online sales channels.

Channel Design

How will you create new channels? For example, to expand customer reach, you can link up with specific brand influencers to review your product.

Sales Management

This is your plan to manage your sales and your marketing partners. For example, what incentives have you planned to increase the sales volume?

Channel Conflict

Conflict within a group of people is inevitable. If the conflict is undermining the channel operations, then it must be resolved immediately. 

When you are designing the channels, you must plan custom solutions so that the action of one channel does not undercut the roles of the other.

For example, your social media advertising methods should not sabotage the efforts of affiliate marketers.

Relationship Management

As the name suggests, it involves managing channel relationships over time. You will create relationships by taking a product to the consumer. For example, with manufacturers, vendors, marketers, and so on.

Brand Experience

The brand experience should be uniform across all channels. But, how do you plan to achieve this? 

You may have online and physical store locations. Your customers should feel appreciated online as they would in a physical store.

Understandably, certain services are better offered in-person than online—for example, spa products and services. While your physical stores may not have any problem with this, the online stores need to be creative.

They can offer the same good experience online with exclusive offers.

Sales and Operations Planning

This strategy involves timing the supply of specific goods or services when there is demand. This strategy works for seasonal products and services, such as holidays or events. 

Revenue Management

What are your plans for maximizing revenue while selling off your entire inventory? The answer often lies in dynamic pricing.

For example, summer wear retails at full price during the beginning and peak of the season.

When the season is nearing an end, you can have a sale to make room for winter clothing.

Distribution

As a business owner, you must deliver to two groups of people. You are accountable to both your channel partners and customers. It would help if you managed product logistics in a way that benefits both parties.

Partner Channel Management

We have discussed many aspects of a partner program in channel management. A partner channel uses third parties to market your business and increase the profit via indirect sales.

The partners can be affiliates, entities, distributors, or even other brands. The distinguishing characteristic of these partners is the commission for each sale directed to your site.

You cannot work with everyone who offers to promote your brand. There is such a thing as finding the right people to work with.

This is where partner channel management comes in. It vets and sustains the relationships with the right partners for your company brand. It also maintains your brand relationships with the customers. 

Partner channel management strategies, customer relationship life cycles, media strategies, and partner sales targets.

How To Properly Execute Partner Channel Management

Most companies fall short when maintaining partner relationships well enough to be successful.

There are telltale signs that your company’s partner alliance is taking a nosedive. 

  • There is a disagreement between the channel teams on how to conduct their business relationship. The sales and production teams must be on the same page.
  • When the partners considered top-notch underperform.
  • It is impossible to calculate the Return On Investment because of the unclear rules in the customer value delivery system.
  • Lazy execution of sales and marketing strategies react rather than drive business outcomes.
  • The partner channel is more focused on its targets rather than recruiting new clients. 

There are five strategies that business leaders overlook when it comes to channel relationships. These strategies help manage your partner ecosystem with appropriate partner approaches. 

This way, you’ll guide a team that’s driven towards goals aligning with company objectives. 

1. Strong onboarding matters

Onboarding is the period where you and your partners get to know each other. Every member should be familiar with their partners and their roles. 

During strong onboarding, give your new partners a big dose of your company’s values and culture. 

Show every new partner what the company is all about. Take the opportunity to help everyone figure out what their role is in the company’s big picture. 

Take this opportunity to educate your partners on the products. Discuss the benefits of joining, channel design, and the company’s financial health.

2. Set Channel Goals 

When you set a goal, make sure that everyone knows what it is. You can’t expect your partner to achieve your company goals if they do not know what the goals are. 

At the start of your business relationship, define your goals and expectations you expect from a partnership.

The partnership must be beneficial to all the parties involved. 

3. Relationship Management

To build a successful business, you need to create a partner program that will make this happen.

Create an open line of communication with all your partners. Partner relationship management resources such as PartnerStack will help.

Create a data-sharing platform, such as Slack Workspace or Enterprise Grid. This is how everyone can compare notes and also manage the information flow.

A good relationship with your partners fosters a long and beneficial relationship with your company.

4. Share Results

Media campaigns have an impact on the channels you run. Monitor the outcomes with all your partners. 

Analyze the outcomes and search for new business opportunities and room for improvements. 

5. Hire the Right Team

Anyone could be willing to join your affiliate program or even market your products motivated by the promise of a commission. You need a team that sees beyond pure financial gain if you want to have groundbreaking success. 

Strong partner channels depend on a skilled management team. The role of a management team is complex and may include the following:

  • Bring in new partners
  • Run media campaigns
  • Monitor and present results
  • Ensure that the company targets are being reached

With the right partners on board, these five partner channel management tips will help each channel to align with the company objectives. 

A well-organized channel management system lays the groundwork through which the company can successfully adjust to evolving market conditions.  Channel management can be an asset to the company’s success. 

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