Making Channel Strategies Pay

Regardless what’s going on in the broader economy, you still have significant control over your own channel relationships.  You can still make them stronger and more capable of delivering results.

Even in the most commoditized industries including high tech distribution where resellers and channel partners are loyal to the distributor with the lowest price, there is room for improving the service your company delivers to channel partners.  Consider the fact that there are many services companies and a manufacturer expanding their distribution channels right now – in the midst of the nearly daily onslaught of bad news – and one realizes that a company’s reaction to these broader economic factors is much more important than the factors themselves. Instead of letting the daily litany of bad news paralyze your company for investing in and making your channels more aggressive, focused and passionate about getting to shared goals, consider taking the following steps:

• Take a hard look at pricing workflows in general and how you can automate special pricing requests (SPRs) specifically.  This is an area two high tech distributors were able to automate for their resellers, netting average gains of nearly 80% (AMR Research).  Typically distributors and manufacturers who offer SPRs on sales deals staff this area with only Sales Operations Managers, many of which ending up working 80 – 100 hour weeks this time of the year to keep up with all the SPRs.  Automating this not only saves these valuable employees an all-nighter or two at the end of your fiscal year, it also means you’ll be able to respond that much faster to pricing requests and win business.

• Use Team Selling To Tackle Sales Opportunities.  Instead of pointing fingers about whose fault it is why there aren’t enough sales in this last quarter of the year start gang-tackling sales opportunities and consider using Web-based team selling applications that give you the opportunity to collaborate between dealers, distributors and your sales management. Many customers, especially in commercial accounts, are changing their purchasing priorities.  Time to get in front of them with a sales team and figure out what really matters to them right now.    

• Face time is the best investment there is with your top 20% of distributors and dealers right now.  So much has been written about automating the sales process, including Web-based applications to serve each specific segment of your distribution channel as well.  Automating service responses to the lower 80% of the channel is a great way to save on costs, while freeing up your best direct sales reps to work with the top 20% of accounts.  Want a hedge against the broader economic factors in play right now? Get your best sales reps in front of your best distributors and work very hard at understanding their business better than ever before.  The company’s were seeing gaining sales despite this economic downturn are those that see a direct link between face time with the top 20% of their customers and their attaining the role of trusted advisor in their products’ area of expertise.

• Be more passionate about serving your channel than any competitor. Your customers want to win.  They want to get out of these broader economic times as much if not more than you and your company does.  If there is one thing any channel partner needs right now is the sense of their services and manufacturers they represent are in their corner, fighting for their success.  Want more mindshare in your top accounts?  Use Web-based collaborative tools to bring all the resources your company has to the problems your customers have is a great step in the right direction.  Use Web-based applications to free up your best salespeople to invest valuable face time with your most profitable customers – as your competitors no doubt are also targeting these accounts with a greater intensity than ever before.

Time to get passionate delivering exceptional service to your customers, including automating Special Pricing Requests and developing entirely new approaches to using Web-based collaborative and team selling applications.  Automate serve to the lower 80-% of your channels and get face time with the top 20%.

Bottom Line: It’s all about earning the chance to serve again and being a trusted advisor; using Web-based apps to accomplish this goal can be done, now. 

Coutersy – Louis Columbus, Perfect CEM

The Journey of Life

I am of to the most important journey of my life today. Not sure what will be the result or how it will impact my future. Scared……. .but have to take this journey. This journey may define a new meaning of relationships for me. I hope god has something good install for me.

Have a happy weekend !

Time to Make Value Propositions Real Again

Many value propositions have grown irrelevant with the passing of each day in the uncertainty of this economy.  The assumptions, market conditions and industry conditions many unique value propositions were created to capitalize on just aren’t applicable anymore.  Yet you can find many examples of companies using their marketing departments to shout these unique value propositions even louder, as if raising the volume will make them more relevant.  It’s not time to spend more on blaring out the same old message to prospects; it’s time to re-think the fundamental value any given product or solution delivers in this economy. 

Frugality Is The New Black

It’s time to get real about the value delivered to customers who are now seeing the world as a fundamentally different place and will continue to for years to come.  Frugality is the new black.  Coupons, once seen as inconvenient, have increased in use from 67% to 83% dependent on which ICOM Information & Communications study you review.  The value propositions created when conspicuous consumption was the norm are quickly becoming irrelevant in this economy for the majority of consumers.

Selling to businesses is even more complex, as the status quo that many unique value propositions were based aren’t relevant anymore either.  Today the majority of businesses have the top priority of retaining customers first, trimming costs and staying viable.  There’s been a complete re-ordering of priorities.  The trouble is unique value propositions of companies selling into these companies still don’t reflect what’s really going on with their prospects and customers. 

From Businesses, The Need For Brutally Simple Value Propositions Is Emerging

No one wants to hear about adjective-laded claims that can’t be backed up either with case studies or measurable results. What they do want are solutions to the big problems of retaining customers, managing suppliers more profitably and turning overlooked areas of their companies, like aftermarket parts and services, into a bigger profit center quickly.

For the small high tech distributor, when demand precipitously dropped off mid-2008, all that matters today is gaining training and insight into how to bundle products and create new solutions fast to sell more  For manufacturers it’s about getting quotes out right the first time, or getting a handle on how to turn aftermarket products sales into a profit center.  For an enterprise software company it’s about selling to the five dominant roles they have found make or break their sales cycles. 

Putting the Value Back Into Value Propositions Needs To Happen Now

Let’s face it, entire industries are being reordered by this economic downturn.  All that is really going to matter is what tangible, pragmatic value you can bring to prospects and customers to reduce uncertainty and increase their ability to compete.

It’s time to quickly move towards defining new unique value propositions that address what really matters to your customers and prospects, despite how engrained your existing value propositions are in your company.  Consider the following steps to get the value your deliver better aligned with what your customers really need right now:

• Get to the heart of what matters most to your customers now by tackling their biggest problems for them – even if there is no immediate revenue opportunity.  Get out and take the pulse of your customers, go visit them, and if you sell to other businesses, go and get customer retention programs started immediately.  If your company is going through a slow time, invest your extra time finding out where the difficult, tough-to-solve problems are for accounts and tackle them head-on.  It may not lead to immediate revenue, but it does lead to two great things: trust in your company’s expertise and lessons learned on how to redefine what makes your company unique today.

• Decide on the one niche or segment to dominate then accelerate product development, engineering, service and support all in this area. Nearly very company I’ve spoken with has gone through some level of chaos over the last six months, some less than others.  The same holds true for your competitors.  In that chaos there is a lack of focus.  Time to choose the one segment, even market niche, your company wants to dominate coming out of this downturn and gain a product generation or two on competitors, strengthen support and services, and go after reference accounts now using retention programs.  GE is a master of this, as their CEO Jeffrey Immelt often discusses this strategy at conferences and webinars.

• Rewriting unique value propositions is never a one-and-done exercise.  This isn’t only about marketing; it’s about working to get your company better aligned with what your customers need now. Staying in step with their unmet needs is all that really matters.

Bottom line: The last six months have brought more change than the previous six years to many of your customers; it’s time to re-think value propositions to make sure they still matter. 

Courtesy – Louis Columbus, Perfect CEM

Social Media Leads the Future of Technology

By Martha Lagace at HBS Working Knowledge

Internet connected televisions, social media, and the power of simplicity were all cited as launch pads for future innovation in technology, according to a panel of experts that convened at Harvard Business School as part of the HBS Centennial Business Summit in October.

And though advertisers love the Internet, to what extent they can capitalize on these transformations remains an open question.

HBS professor David Yoffie moderated the session on "The Technology Revolution and its Implications for the Future," with panelists James Breyer (HBS MBA '87), partner of the venture capital firm Accel Partners; Susan L. Decker (HBS MBA '86), president of Yahoo! Inc.; and Eric Kim (HBS MBA '81), senior vice president and general manager of Intel Corporation's Digital Home Group.

The first computer, the ENIAC, cleared the path for future innovation in the late 1940s, said Yoffie, who set the context for the ensuing discussion. Today, millions of Web users generate free content, and we are witnessing an "explosion" in video and cell phone use, he continued, with more than 100 million smartphones already in use. In addition, there is the phenomenon of virtual worlds, where approximately 217 million online players interact.

This is an evolving landscape, with much growth remaining, Yoffie said. Of 6.5 billion people in the world, about 1.5 billion have Internet access, more than 300 million have broadband access to the home, and 3 billion have cell phones, a growing number of which offer Internet access.

What these statistics suggest is that "the most precious currency today is information," said panelist Jim Breyer, an early investor in Facebook and a director of Wal-Mart Stores. "Each year there is more information created on the Web than in all the previous years combined. Investment initiatives are around participating in the information flow. We [at Accel] are interested in companies that help us understand how to structure information, communicate, categorize some of that self-generated information, and then act on it."

A sticking point currently for businesses is spanning the gap between the physical and the digital world, he continued.

"Right now there are significant problems understanding how to take what we are getting at point of sale in the physical world environment—very valuable info on customers—and how to integrate it with all the information that is being generated on the Web. To date, there is no company that allows one to take quickly all this information 'in the cloud' and integrate it with the vast arrays of information in the physical world."

Difficulties aside, Breyer said the promise of technology meant that innovation to solve a problem could arrive from any quarter: prominent companies, nonprofit enterprises, "two students in a dorm room, or mothers or fathers after they have done their school pickups." He continues to be impressed by businesses that start with little capital—anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000—yet get to scale quickly and build new applications on the Web.

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The Terror that strikes the city of “Dreams”

While we Salute our Brave Heroes, there is yet another day when Mumbai attack survivors recount horror and its day of funerals leave behind an outraged nation with grief and anger as India reckons with its "9/11". Mumbai’s nightmare ends after 59-hour siege with Commandos mop up last of Mumbai militants, and Mumbai slowly coming to terms of this horrific incident.

Terrorists stayed in room 630, had many visitors, and shamefully helped by Mumbai locals had a Target to kil 5000 people. We are now asking questions like Is Al-Qaida behind Mumbai terror attacks? Or did Dawood provided logistics but for sure that the Terrorists very familiar with the hotel setup and were `instructed to “Kill till death”`!. Government is saying that they have "Enough proof" of militants taking orders from inside Pakistan! and initiating Steps for better coastline security post Mumbai attacks.

The slight hope news coming out is that the Death toll in Mumbai attacks revised down to 174 and even one of the Taj tragedy survivors stich up rift, cancel divorce . It is very unfortunate that we even had to loose that number. Assault on India's fabled city of dreams has made people to feel helplessness, angry, frusturate, and asking : How much is too much?

Mumbai 26/11: eye-openers, hopefully for us as individuals and for the so called political leaders of the nation. One immediate reaction for a ruling party is that the home minister Shivraj Patil has steped down and P Chidambaram to be new home minister.

The Terror attack has now prompted for new hotel rules, however Oberoi still maintiaing that Security and hospitality can't go together.

I am sure that we all will have to live with Mumbai attack and its aftermath but also should take time out to Pay tributes to bravehearts and wonder What to do when terror attacks?

Six Tips to Build Your Brand

A wonderful article by Nathan Eddy about building brands with the help of new age marketing.

Social networking tools such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and others offer SMBs new ways to build communities and your brand. Here are the best ways to build both at the same time.

In today’s business climate, money is tight and competition is fierce. The Internet and 24-hour news cycle flood our brains with information and advertising. But how much of it sticks?

The midmarket business owner needs to spend advertising money wisely to make the maximum impact—that’s obvious. But what about Web 2.0 technologies such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn? How do you build an online community and keep it from falling into neglect? In an age where communication is everywhere, how do you best extract feedback from your clients? It’s a big, bad, branded world out there, but here are some tips that won’t break your budget and build a brand that puts you ahead of the pack.

1. It’s Not (All) About Money
Enterprise companies across the globe spend money on advertising at a rate that suggests saturation is the key to visibility. But is it? To those of us who can’t walk through Tokyo, London or New York without seeing Golden Arches and Nike Swooshes, the answer might seem "Well, duh." But for many, if not most, SMBs don’t have the advertising budgets to erect Blade Runner-scale neon billboards. The SMB owner must look to innovative marketing opportunities in order to build the brand without breaking the budget.

“I’m in the process of launching a new business of my own,” says BL Ochman, a Web and blog marketing and branding consultant who runs What's Next Blog. “It’s about creating a community and letting people know who you are and asking for input. That’s just not going to cost any money to do.”

Build an audience by engaging people, Ochman suggests. The more you do that the less you need to spend on advertising. Unless that audience is in place, however, a marketing budget is indispensable. “Unless you have people already engaged, you better think about how you’re going to drive traffic to the site, and unless you already have an audience you cannot do this without money,” she says. “An overnight success still takes 11 years.”

2. Web 2.0 Is Your Oyster
If you give customers and potential clients an interactive forum, your company's name (and logo) is at the top of their minds. Ochman suggests setting up a blog and offering fresh content in an interactive environment. Keep in mind, however, that there must be a reason for an online community to grow -- it's not something that can be forced. SMBs can easily make the mistake of thinking, “If you build it, they will come.” Keep content and conversation original, and foster an ongoing dialogue by raising questions and proposing solutions in an informal setting. “You need to concentrate on your niche,” she says. “There’s a difference between buckshot and a targeted approach.” Ochman says the top three most important online networking tools are Twitter, LinkedIn and the blog community. “You cannot succeed in any business if you’re not in that [blog] community,” she says. “They’re much more influential than social media, frankly.”

Michael Alter, president of Glenview, Ill.-based SurePayroll and architect of the recent survey, “Small Businesses Harnessing the Power of Social Networking for Business,” says SMBs need to choose the social media that best fits their market. “Go out and hire yourself somebody who’s between 22 and 35, ask them how they communicate and let them communicate your brand for you online,” he says.

3. Harvest Feedback from Your Clients. Directly
The Internet has made expression of opinion easier than ever. This can be a good and bad development. Many company Web sites now come equipped with blogs where visitors can leave comments and other forms of feedback. However, there's a big difference between allowing a customer to punch in an opinion and taking some time to speak -- yes, speak -- to the client directly. While the Web essentially comes with an integrated feedback loop, a phone call or an office meeting is your personal extension of the brand. And no matter how you cultivate feedback, Ochman says it’s absolutely critical, even if the feedback is negative. “Companies are afraid: What if they say something bad?” she says. “You should be so lucky that someone tells you what they don’t like, because most of the time they walk out the door and they never come back.”

Alter agrees using social networks to solicit feedback is crucial. “Social networking is not so much about advertising as it is about feedback,” he says. “If you can start to do that now, the advantage you have as a small business owner is that most of your competitors are not.” Alter says if your business provides good service, you will get comments on your site that will drive more traffic than anything the company would post. “If you use [social media] to reach out to your existing customers, you can start to create a web from that,” he says.

4. Project Confidence and Leadership
The ability to project confidence and professionalism is intrinsic concept in understanding the importance of effective branding. The less money you can budget toward brand-building, for example, the more you need to consider how your brand can help position the company as the current (or future) market leader. While a good brand isn't built in a day, the combination of confidence and consistency lead to a powerful brand presence. Having a consistent strategy is a helpful way to do that (see next tip).

Offering a unique perspective to your client's problem also builds that brand awareness through leadership. If you think about every potential sale as a customer success story, then they become the best proof of why you're the right business to choose. “In the world of traditional ad media, you really want to be polished and buttoned-up,” Alter says. “They want to see professional-grade collateral. In the social networking space, professional looking doesn’t necessary mean polished. People are looking for accurate, straightforward information.” Conveying information in an honest sense will become increasingly prevalent, he predicts. “I think what you’re going to see on these social networking sites are advertisements that are going to be faster to market but less professionally edited,” Alter says. “In the social networking world, substance trumps form every time.”

5. Present a Unified Front
From the name of the company down to the corners of its logo, every element of marketing and promotion should tie directly into your core branding strategy. In essence, be articulate. Marketing slogans, sales pitches and the look and feel of your website should all dovetail with your brand strategy. A logos or catchy name is only a small part of that strategy. Giving your business a high-tech name with lots of X’s and Z’s may be a striking visual image, but does it tell the customer anything about how you will get the job done? By building a complete brand strategy, you cultivate an immersive client experience that fosters a professional relationship and most importantly, builds word-of-mouth—something Ochman says no amount of money can buy.

6. Go Bold, but Know the Risks
There is a time and a place for everything, and your business grows, so should the effort behind brand building. Today, risk-takers who post an outrageous YouTube video, or receive a glowing mention on a trendy tech Web site can catapult heretofore-unknown companies into the stratosphere. It might be tempting to embark on a risky but potentially rewarding marketing push. However, buying a booth in a trade show might be equally effective. Garnering laughs on YouTube doesn’t always translate into gathering business. As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold, but be sure you scale your efforts in accordance with growth.

“When you’re dealing with social networking, you have to realize that you are not in control,” Alter says. “You better deliver on what you say, because if you do, you’ll be fine. If you are trying to push yourself in a place you can’t support, that’s where you can get burned.” Ochman agrees, and stresses the strength of your community is critical as well. “Bolder is always better if you can back it,” Ochman says. “This is a long-term commitment. You can’t build your brand with one stunt. Before you get bold, you better build up your community so that somebody’s listening.”

Terror Attack…Yet Again!!

This is becoming a ritual for Indian news channel with “Breaking News” providing information about yet another terrorist attack. This is a most horrendous attack that I am unfortunate to witness. I wish I could have elaborated on the attacks but currently my personal feeling is of helplessness disgrace and frustration.

Is this what our society across the world wants to evolve into? I am sure most of us don’t, but is this a “remote control phenomena”. Today my friend introduced me to this term - “remote control phenomena”.

When I see such young people becoming terrorists, just like the terrorists who are in their early 20’s that have attacked Mumbai today, makes me wonder and some way indicates the lowering level of patience in all of us. We want to achieve that house, that car, that religion, that aim………….and all that NOW… just NOW……without showing any level of endurance.

So the remote control phenomena explains that the movement we are interrupted by an ad in our viewing we just want to change the channel NOW. We virtually want everything with a remote control. Are we loosing our individualist level of patience and hence more prone to external factors to determine our acts?

Currently as Mumbai bleeds the tolls looks like 125 dead involving policemen, local people, foreigners and 327 wounded, cricket tour canceled, and so on. Even the most identified places in Mumbai likes of Taj & Oberoi Hotels attacked. Terrorists comes from the sea, starts firing on roads then hijacks a police car and openly fire on the people on the street before seizing various properties……It seems to be a plot of a typical Hollywood film.

While I am reluctant to articulate this post but is this just what I want to do – get frustrated, ashamed, disgrace and so on. I guess not. We as individuals need to combine the power to fight these killers without any caste, creed and religion. These killer does not belong to any religion they are simply terrorists.

My thoughts and prayers with all.