Channel performance management revolves around managing different channel partners for a sales organization. Complex multi-channel structures need it due to the number of people, processes, and roles. Channel performance can be measured through multiple dimensions using effectiveness, efficiency, profitability, productivity, and equity.
Different channels hold different purposes in the value chain, but they need to support all the business process services. An increase in the number of channel partners makes it difficult to ensure that each partner performs their primary role effectively. But data transparency can help with channel performance management. Some tips to improve channel performance management using data transparency are as follows:
Reward Upcoming Steps
When partners respond well to programs and promotions, you should consider rewarding them in real life. Leverage digital transformation to win over partners through quick and correct payments. Contemporary channel discussions often recommend doing away with incentives and promotions as partner types change.
But rewarding sales achievements lie at the core of being in sales. Qualifying for technical certification is valuable for a technical team. Achieving the metrics of a marketing campaign is fulfilling for committed marketers. These achievements help channel partners to feel elevated from within.
Therefore, the value of promotions and incentives should not be underestimated. If you track partners’ performance using appropriate data and reward their benefits, you will make them more productive. When incentives translate into tangible benefits, channel performance grows further.
Sort the Partners based on Performance
You can always cut out channel partners who aren’t performing consistently. But some inconsistent channel partners might still be valuable to your digital operations in some way or the other. In that case, you should think about segmenting your partners into two groups.
Data transparency will help you identify the long tail partners. You will understand which partners are capable of attributing your business levels. The remaining partners will be niche, small or specialist but still play a crucial role in your channel ecosystem.
Polish Your Existing Partners
A lot of people think that recruiting new partners is the best way to enhance channel performance management. But upskilling your existing channel partners turns out to be more successful in the long run. You should recruit more channel partners only when you have utilized the full potential of all your existing channel partners.
Besides, working with your existing channel partners offers you the potential to use your budget on other parts of your digital process operations and truly leverage the digital workforce. Transparent, real-time data will help you better understand how each partner is working and what can be done to make them more productive. Identifying sell-in and sell-out data and coordinating them with channel partners is a way of making partners productive.
Closing Thoughts
Data transparency for channel performance management can help you obtain daily, weekly, and monthly performance reports. With data transparency in channel performance management, companies can improve their demand planning and sales and marketing strategy in local markets. DigitalCOLLEAGUE from HCL Technologies is one such integration that can accelerate your organization to a great extent and ensure perfect transformation of channel performance management.
