Google is one of the most renowned examples of a successful business with a channel partner program. Google started building its business with channel partnerships with better-known brands of the 1990s, i.e., AOL and Yahoo.
While Google itself has surpassed both its channel partners, now it occupies an important position as a channel partner for thousands of big and small businesses across the world. This is the power of channel partnerships.
What is a Channel Partner Program?
A channel partner program is an initiative in which one company partners with another to increase their collective reach and revenue. Both companies focus on selling the products/services of their channel partners along with their products. The stronger the partnership, the higher the profits generated by them.
The concept of channel partner programs has been growing more flexible and innovative as the competition grows for more business. Most established brands have driven success stories through their channel partners. Channel partnerships, once established, can be a powerful source of growth for your business.
Successful channel partner programs inspire growth and customer loyalty for brands. However, to devise a superb channel partner program, you need to understand the basics of channel partnerships.
Also, build more clarity about brand goals from the partnerships to ensure continuous and meaningful engagement. Here’s more on this:
In a channel partnership, the brands use other companies to sell their products to create a customer base and boost their revenue. Although efforts are required from both companies included, these partnerships are worth it when used rightly.
Advantages of Channel Partner Programs
Here are some reasons why you need to have channel partners:
Expand Your Reach
Expanding your brand’s reach can be very costly and requires effort through marketing. But when you have a channel partner with a good customer base, they can expand your footprint quickly. Your brand visibility grows immediately as they mention your brand in their newsletters and display your marketing campaigns on their websites.
Along with your existing customers, you get a wider reach as their customers also get to know about your brand.
Generate More Qualified Leads
Your goal as a brand is to generate more leads and increase your revenue. When you partner with companies with a relevant customer base, your lead-generation efforts become more effective. Therefore, you should identify channel partners already working with your ideal customer base.
For example, a company selling hardware products can partner with a company providing software services. Both brands can focus on selling each other’s products along with their own.
Reduce Customer Acquisition Cost
You now have more people to promote your brand at no extra cost. Hiring more salespeople to boost your sales is okay, but it also increases the customer acquisition cost. With channel partners, your partner’s sales team also promotes your product. Thus, you can multiply productivity without raising your fixed cost.
Stronger Relationships with Your Customers
Building relationships with your customers from scratch requires a lot of effort. However, with the customers you gain through your channel partners, you only need to capitalise on an existing relationship. These customers trust you more as they have more reference points for your brand.
Boost Revenue with Indirect Sales
Along with the direct sales that you are making from your end, channel partners help you boost your revenue with indirect sales. Channel partners sell your products/services to their customers, which adds to the profits for your brand. Many companies generate more revenue from indirect sales than direct ones. So, having channel partners can be much more beneficial than you might be expecting.
Bring More Excitement to Your Channel Partner Program
Your channel partner might have other channel partners as well. So, what motivates them to focus more on your brand than others? It can be a channel partner loyalty program. You can offer them cash back, incentives, gift vouchers, or discounts on wholesale products as loyalty rewards.
Leading reward companies in India can help you gamify your channel partner program and monitor the program’s effectiveness. The key is to encourage your partners to have you on top of their priority list.
Channel Partner Programs with Rewards
Channel partnerships with valued and equitable rewards can help you:
- Increase your sales exponentially
- Grow your consumer base at zero extra cost
- Grow your revenue faster
- Instantly expand to new markets
With so much potential, it only makes sense to reward your channel partners equitably for their contribution to your growth. That does not always mean throwing cash at your partners for the revenue they bring in but rewarding them for their loyalty and commitment.
Reward companies like RewardPort can help you execute and gamify your channel partner program for superb engagement. Incentivising the effort of your channel partners is one of the best ways to maximise your benefits under the partnership.
You can use the rewards platform of RewardPort to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your program. The fun element of your program and valuable rewards for completing the milestones can set your channel partner program ahead of your competition.
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