[vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”0″ top_padding=”4″ bottom_padding=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image media=”88600″ caption=”yes” media_width_percent=”100″ media_ratio=”one-one” alignment=”center” shadow=”yes” shadow_weight=”sm” image=”830″ img_size=”large” uncode_shortcode_id=”160565″][/vc_column][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ position_vertical=”middle” gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ width=”3/4″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”172097″]
Sticking to what you know: on the one hand this could be considered a sensible approach, especially in times of uncertainty, but for anyone with an unsatiable commercial appetite, it’s a sure-fire way to rapidly hit reverse whilst those around you steal a march on your commercial success. Why is it then in the IT channel we see, all too often, vendors choosing to stick with the resellers that they know, the ones that they’ve always worked with, the ones that present the apparent ‘quick solution’?
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”3″ top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”2″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”298545″]More often than not, the larger vendors opt to work with just 10 or 20% of the largest reseller partners. I get it, it makes sense; we have all been guilty of adopting a ‘better the devil you know’ approach whether that’s because of familiarity or simply the perceived time that’s involved in researching and then understanding and appreciating alternative options. In doing so, though, do we realise what we’re missing out on?
For those vendors who stick with the status quo, they’re effectively cutting out 50% of their potential market reach. It’s not unreasonable to surmise that, collectively, the partners not being reached and engaged with in fact equal the size and value of the small percentage that are.
Of course, the rationale for this approach is clear as many wise people have cited over the years: people (and businesses) choose the paths that grant them the greatest rewards for the least amount of effort.
Sticking to this belief, however, could prove fatal. Can you be sure that your competition hasn’t already forged relationships with the broader channel of partners, that your message is reaching the widest possible customer audience? In short, if you’re sticking to what you know, what you’ve always done, then NO you cannot be sure of that at all. What’s more, I’d be pretty certain that your competition IS making strides to extend its partner reach and in doing so, strengthening its end-user base.
Once you’ve realised this and chosen to act on changing things for the better, the path ahead can be daunting. The UK alone boasts somewhere in the region of 10,000 resellers, MSPs and VARs, extend that to EMEA and the figure rockets to 250,000. Successfully engaging with all those, communicating to them in a meaningful way, measuring the value of each of those relationships with genuinely insightful and real-time data can be a hugely complex and time-consuming process.
Thankfully Consenna has probably the most unrivalled network of channel relationships in the IT ecosystem. We’ve been there, we continue to work there, and we know how to reach the widest partner audience in a meaningful way. Indeed, based on our depth of experience, we’ve built solutions to support vendors and resellers alike. In short, we can deliver your message through the broadest possible partner network and in doing so extend your overall reach to end customers – can you afford not to be doing this? I very much doubt it…[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]