Is It Possible to Manage Brand In A Channels Organization?

If you’re attempting to market through a partner channel it’s likely that your carefully constructed brand message has been diluted. Many brands that leverage a channel suffer by being separated from the final buyer by two or three levels. The partner ecosystem tends to reuse the brands material with much less consideration for the voice of the brand or the customer-centric goals of the manufacturer. The partner community is more concerned with their relationship with the customer, not necessarily the relationship of the customer with the brand. This is a problem for a company that recognizes that their success channel or no channel, is directly tied to their ability to create an emotional connection to their brand. So it is a challenge, but worthy of overcoming. Companies that succeed in differentiating the brand through the channel see the following benefits.

• Top of mind in the channel.
• Partner Loyalty.
• Customer-Centricity.
• Increased sales, market-share, partner-share etc.
• Quality Control.

Achieving these goals is not easy, and requires careful planning and execution. The good news is that many brands are succeeding. In simple terms the most successful companies are applying disciplined processes, leveraging centralized tools and automation where appropriate. The end result is a channel that is able to market better and faster, while marketing extends controlled materials that differentiate the brand.