Enabling Reseller Success

Is it a waste of money to finance reseller advertising programs?

You must strike the right balance between investing in strong national or regional advertising campaigns, and allocating funds for individual resellers to run their own smaller, local campaigns. Occasional ad hoc advertisements by individual resellers do not always provide a high return on investment. However, if individual local campaigns are well coordinated and planned, they can be extremely effective.

How tightly should the use of reseller identity be controlled?

Reseller identity is a component of your company’s overall corporate identity and branding. It should therefore be used consistently throughout the reseller network. Some resellers may argue that their own identity is more important; these resellers may wish to modify your material. In such a situation, you need to stress the benefits to the reseller of being considered part of a widely recognized brand.

Is it better to fund specific marketing projects, or to maintain a general reseller marketing fund?

This question usually indicates an underlying lack of trust between the two parties. Some companies are concerned that general marketing funds will simply be funneled straight into reseller profits and thus yield no marketing benefit. These companies tend to exercise strict control over how the funds are spent. When a high level of trust exists, however, companies depend upon resellers to use their local knowledge and leverage the marketing funds most effectively.

Why don’t resellers take responsibility for their own training?

Larger reseller networks often do operate their own training programs. However, the purpose of a reseller training program is to improve the performance of reseller staff in selling your product. Resellers should be considered an extension of your own sales operation; thus, training is an important factor in enabling their success.

Appreciate the Importance of Support

Resellers play a vital link in the supply chain. However, to operate effectively and successfully sell your products, they need support. Determining and providing the right level of reseller support has a number of important benefits. Doing this well, for example, can:

• contribute to high levels of customer satisfaction;
• make the reseller the preferred choice locally;
• focus the attention of sales staff on customer requirements;
• improve the reseller’s competitive position;
• support the effective launch of new products.

Resellers have the market awareness and experience to deliver added value, and they play a leading role in providing products and services to your extended customer base. These important partners should have access to your full range of products, services, and support.

Think Carefully About the Scope of Support

When designing an effective reseller support program, it is important to consider a broad range of support services. These may include, but are not limited to, those listed below.

• Advertising. You can include resellers in your own advertising programs or allocate marketing funds to individual reseller advertising campaigns. Such advertising typically generates awareness of resellers among small and medium-sized enterprises and features the reseller logo.
• Authorized Reseller Logo. Resellers can benefit directly from the strength of your own brand name. A reseller logo lets partners use the power of your brand as leverage, and helps them to differentiate themselves from their own competition when communicating with potential customers. The logo might be used in brochures, direct mail, directory listings, exhibitions, trade shows, Web sites, etc.
• Joint Marketing. You can help resellers by driving business in their direction. This can be as simple as generating leads or running reseller advertising campaigns. You could invite resellers to appear or exhibit jointly with your company at trade shows or other industry events. Or, consider involvement in marketing campaigns aimed at specific market sectors or individual customers.
• Financing. The availability of financing can help resellers to market your products and services more easily to a broader audience. You can often help resellers close a deal by offering financing terms to their customers.
• Services. Sometimes resellers do not have all the necessary skills or resources to provide the required service and support to a particular customer. In this case, help them to deliver services by filling the gap with your own resources in design, installation, or maintenance.
• Sales Training. Sales training should be a structured process designed to help your resellers increase sales. It can be delivered in a variety of ways—in your own training center, on the reseller’s premises, or remotely through the Internet or other media. At a minimum, sales training should assist them in: identifying key customer business issues; understanding the benefits of your offering; creating a solution based on your products and services; and offering compelling, well-supported sales presentations.
• Technical Support. Technical support can be crucial, particularly when your products or services are complex. It must be easy for resellers to access your technical support systems. You can provide support tools and information specific to the reseller network in a controlled access area of your own Web site.
• Business Education. A business education program can help your resellers keep up with the latest developments and maintain their product and business skills. The course offering might cover such topics as: executive/management development; leadership training; product marketing or presentation skills; and sales and marketing tools.
• Sales Leads. A formal lead generation program simplifies lead management and consistently delivers qualified leads from a single source. You might generate leads through your own national advertising or direct mail programs, and direct these leads to the appropriate local resellers. It is important to monitor lead management and ensure that leads are used effectively.
• Helpline. A helpline connects resellers with your resources, skills, and experience. It enables resellers to quickly obtain information they may need to provide a quick response to customer inquiries. When establishing a reseller helpline, consider various forms of contact, such as telephone, email, or live chat.
• Online Presence. Promote your reseller network to prospects and customers on your own Web site. By providing a directory and links to individual resellers, you can direct prospects to a local partner and increase resellers’ opportunities for new business.
• Rewards and Incentives. Reward programs encourage resellers to do more business with you, while incentive programs can increase revenue for both parties. Some reseller reward programs provide business development funding equivalent to a percentage of the revenue generated from sales of your products. Resellers can use this funding for a wide variety of approved market development activities.
• Certification. Like rewards and incentives, certification programs can help to improve reseller expertise and performance. Certification can be offered to resellers who meet specified targets in terms of sales, training, skill level, investment, technical resources, and other factors essential to business success. Certification typically earns a reseller special privileges, status, or other benefits.
• Business and Market Information. Keep your resellers well-informed to help them increase their business. These partners should be given fast and easy access to information on products, availability, prices, sales, order tracking, incentives, marketing campaigns, market research, etc. Additionally, enable them to order publications and marketing materials as needed. Leverage your Web site to make this critical information available electronically, 24x7.

You Don’t Offer Consistent Support

Many companies are faced with last-minute reseller requests to support a specific marketing program—for example, a one-time advertisement or a local trade show. While this may seem important to the local reseller, it may have little impact on the overall success of reseller marketing. It is better to provide funds and support for a marketing program with specific objectives.

You Don’t Make Enough Funds Available

Reseller support is often assigned low priority in the overall marketing budget. In this situation, little funding is stretched thinly and achieves very little. If the available budget is low, consider concentrating on a small number of more focused campaigns.

Noone Manages at Local Level

Some companies provide funds or marketing material to resellers with no assistance or follow-up. The results are often poor and inconsistent throughout the reseller network. To maximize the impact, provide usage guidelines and/or appoint a manager to work with resellers in developing and managing local programs.

You Communicate Poorly

Resellers frequently complain that they are ill-informed about national marketing and advertising campaigns. As a result, they miss opportunities to benefit locally from those campaigns. To better leverage such campaigns across your entire business, it is important to keep resellers current with all of your company’s marketing activities.

Web Site:

American Marketing Association: www.marketingpower.com