Exploring the Nature of Channel Partnerships

Due to the obvious complexities of today’s business climate, many B2B companies rely on channel partners to distribute and advertise their products. When these bonds are strong, they can provide many advantages and competitive advantages. If they don’t, they’ll be a drain on cash flow and, eventually, the brand.

What are channel partners?

A channel partner is a firm/vendor that sells a technology manufacturer’s or other vendor’s products and services. Devices, conventional software, as a Service, and cloud computing solutions are examples of this technology.

The channel partner is a member of the vendor’s indirect sales force, which means they offer the vendor’s products and services while remaining independent. They may also offer goods developed by themselves and products and services provided by other suppliers. They are a critical part of B2B businesses in today’s market, where there is cutthroat competition.

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Types of Channel Partnerships For B2B Businesses

1. Channel Value Added Resellers 

The most well-known channel partners for B2B businesses are channel VARs which also go by Solution Providers. Simply defined, channel resellers take your product, increase the profit margin, and offer it to end consumers with extra value in various ways. They might be localized partners with a specific geographic focus or national partners with adequate reach to handle a larger consumer base. Others focus on vertical markets or niche sectors like healthcare or petroleum. Solution providers can considerably enhance your sales volume by offering your solution to their current client base. They are also more open to adopting new technology, which helps small businesses get their products and services to market more quickly.

2. Service Delivery Partners

Reselling a product or software is not something service delivery partners do. They add value to the end-user by offering various services, ranging from pre-sales advice through installation and managed services and tailoring the solution to the end user’s specific requirements. A service delivery partner, for example, might assist in configuring a patient management system to meet the demands of plastic surgery clinics. Service delivery partner channels can improve the appeal of your company’s products by lowering the cost of implementation and increasing their value and relevance to a specific market. These channels also hasten product absorption by the end-user, resulting in increased future sales and customer satisfaction.

3. Fulfillment Partners

Fulfillment partners can assist your business with the administrative and contractual issues of selling large quantities of your items. Unlike delivery partners, they don’t bring considerable value by providing high-touch, bespoke services, but they can manage order fulfillment for a large volume of transactions at a cheap cost. Sales can be greatly increased while administrative expenditures are kept low. Through existing contracts with the government or other buying consortiums, the correct fulfillment partner may also be able to offer your items to markets that are hard to get into.

4. Managed Service Providers

Managed service providers, sometimes known as MSPs, are companies that manage a customer’s IT infrastructure and end-user systems remotely, usually on a progressing premise and under a flexible monthly subscription. While a delivery partner simplifies the initial setup for the end-user, a controlled service provider provides continuous services that alleviate the end user’s load. By removing the technical and administrative resources necessary by the end-user to operate and maintain your software solution, a channel provider of this kind can make it more appealing to a wider range of end-users.

5. Strategic Partners

Strategic partners may fall into many different types of channels, but what distinguishes them is their capacity to generate considerable income and provide value to your company’s strategy. They may be suited to various partner kinds, and their position may change over time as your company’s capabilities and ambitions change. A fulfillment partner, for example, could be able to assist your firm in expanding nationally while simultaneously providing managed services that boost client lifetime value.

6. Global Systems Integrators 

Hardware, application, networking, and storage solutions from many vendors are combined by global systems integrators to create computer systems. Accenture, PwC, and IBM Global Services are just a few examples of such providers. They are huge enterprises designing and implementing multi-vendor solutions for some of the world’s largest corporations, such as Boeing. Systems integrators can help B2B businesses into the lucrative corporate sector, while channel resellers can assist you to sell to small-to-midsize businesses.

One of the best and efficient strategies to boost B2B company growth is collaborating with one or more channel partners. If you’re ready to try out new marketing-sales strategies, there’s a vast range of partner models to pick from.

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