LinkedIn Group collaborates to deliver a very unique Channel Marketing Guides& RIMES Chart.

June 25, 2013 by

It wasn’t easy to organize hundreds of ideas from a network of thousands of people from all over the world. But we did it. Move The Channel’s unique Channel Marketing & Sales 1.0 eBook is now available for you to download exclusively on movetheChannel.com.

MTC 1.0 CoverWhat makes 1.0 the first of its kind? As most of you know, this project started over a year ago as a simple discussion in the Move The Channel LinkedIn group. It grew from there to an all-out deluge of ideas from all across the Move The Channel community.

As we began organizing all of the different ideas and channel best practices that were coming our way, distinct categories started to become clear.  These categories are what we now refer to as “RIMES” — Relationships, IT, Marketing & Communications, Enablement, and Sales — and they are what we at Move The Channel consider to be the pillars of any successful channel marketing campaign.

Our goal is to begin to create a line of literature that can be referenced as a valuable tool in the planning and implementation of any channel marketing program. We hope you find this guide to be useful and informative. You can download it right here at movethechannel.com

Enter your name and email address to download Move the Channel Guide and RIMES Chart

Name: Email:

Please provide feedback so we can continue to enhance the Guide & Chart. MoveTheChannel 1.0 is the first step in an ongoing line of literature about channel marketing and sales. Our plan with 1.0 is to throw a net around a wide range of industries and promote the basic tools that have been proven to generate success across multiple access points within the channel. Enjoy!
Move the Channel,
Travis
travis@movethechannel.com

Filed Under: Channel Incentive Programs, Channel Marketing Guide, Distributor Prospective, Global Channel Incentive Programs, Investing in Your Channel, Key Performance Indicators, Return on Investment, RIMES Chart, Smart Channel, Soft Benefits, Steps-to-the-Sales STTS, Tough Economy, Tough Economy - Smart Channel, Trackable Marketing Initiatives Tagged With: ,

Project Logo: Branding your Channel Marketing & Channel Incentives Programs

May 29, 2013 by

Today I felt moved to tell you how you can brand your channel marketing programs & events with the highest quality graphic design work at a shockingly affordable price.

I usually don’t blog about specific products or services, but Project Logo is so unique and salient that I felt compelled to share it with the entire Move the Channel community.  Project Logo was very much surprised when I asked if I could mention their name in this post.

project logo

As channel professionals, we work tirelessly to build the perfect partner program. We deliver channel incentives to our partners, provide them with a top notch enablement program, and try to position them to be as successful as possible in their respective markets.

Project Logo is a company and a website, but mainly it is an idea: to provide companies with a polished logo and theme at a cost that won’t break the bank. If you’ve greatly invested in the development of a partner program or event, then don’t you think it should be branded with the same quality as your own organization? After all, your channel activity is still a reflection of your business, is it not?

For a long time, channel marketing departments didn’t have additional budgets for such a branding effort.  To achieve a quality, professional look while incorporating a company’s high standards was a very expensive job.

But then along came Project Logo, offering a cost-effective design strategy for channel-related initiatives. Here’s how it works:

1)      Project Logo streamlines the design process through a 14-question online interview.  (you can view the questionnaire here and answer the questions for free).

2)      After you complete the interview, Project Logo analyzes your answers and develops unique insights into your business.

3)      From there, they begin designing multiple concepts for you to consider, after which you may choose your favorite and request any refinements to it that you may have.

4)      Finally, you will be armed with a logo and theme that can function in any newsletter, partner portal, or reward program.

If nothing else, you will find great value in simply going through the interview process (unbelievably, this is a free part of the service).

With as much effort, thought, and resources that often go into marketing your channel programs and events, it just makes sense to go the extra mile. Think about bringing a fresh look to your idea by branding and framing it in the light that it deserves. And make sure you’re doing it for the right price, too.

Does your channel marketing program brand and logo appropriately represent your efforts and the investments made into the program?

Filed Under: Channel Incentive Programs, Investing in Your Channel, Tough Economy - Smart Channel

What the Tough Mudder Taught Me about Channel Partnerships

April 30, 2013 by


Everest

On Saturday my team (Team AB) completed the Tough Mudder event in Mansfield, OH.  The Tough Mudder is probably the toughest event on the planet.   Don’t ask me to compare it to running a Marathon because it’s just different.   Marathons are individual competitions and a Tough Mudder is all about camaraderie.  Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. With the most innovative courses, 700,000 inspiring participants worldwide to date, and more than $5 million raised for the Wounded Warrior Project, Tough Mudder is the premier adventure challenge series in the world.   At the end of the course you are handed a beer and crowned with an orange sweatband.

Final SurgeWhy would anyone willingly subject themselves to something like this?  Well, personally I’m generally up for a challenge that pushes me to my limits.  The fact that this event has raised over $5 million for such a wonderful cause like the Wounded Warrior Project helps, too.  But the main inspiration was my good friend and fraternity brother Adam Black (AB) who continues to battle cancer.  Hence the team I ran with was called Team AB.

On the course I realized how important each of my teammates was to the collective unit.  Each person brought different qualities that enabled us to not just finish the challenge but destroy the course altogether.   Some might have been tempted to push ahead and finish before the group, but instead we all ran across the finish line with locked arms.

Our goal was clear: Team AB would complete the course together.

The channel could benefit a lot from this type of attitude.  If each partner, all the way through the channel, showed that level of commitment to the collective unit/solution, it would be an unstoppable force in the market.  I imagine the most successful channel partnerships have experienced some Tough Mudder-level adversity at one point or another.  Maybe sticking with each other through tough economic times or a strategic redirection is the Tough Mudder of channel adversity.

As a Tough Mudder, I pledged to:

  • Understand that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge
  • Put my teamwork and camaraderie before my course time
  • Not whine – kids whine
  • Help my fellow Mudders complete the course
  • Overcome all fears

Can a channel program learn something from the Tough Mudder Pledge?  What would be your Channel Program Pledge?

post mudder

Filed Under: About Travis, Channel Incentive Programs, Soft Benefits, Tough Economy - Smart Channel

Investing in your Channel in Tough Economic Times is Smart Business

March 25, 2013 by

Channel Conduit 2

In a down economy, a company’s first instinct is to cut back. And the “soft side” of business – including channel incentive programs – is often the first to be slashed.

But when you cut your incentive programs, you are sacrificing your future and missing a HUGE opportunity.

The fact is in a tough economy there is an amazing opportunity to build immense loyalty with the channel.  Profits aren’t where they were three years ago for anyone.  But your channel marketing rebate and marketing Development funds have helped your channel partners stay afloat.  (And it’s why they’ll still be devoted when things improve.)  Your partner’s sales people’s compensation is down about 20%.  (Think how much more those rewards means to them today)

That’s why more and more companies are choosing to step up channel incentive strategies in the tough times, rather than stepping away from it.  The ones that stepped up their channel incentive programs 5 years ago have taken market share and increased loyalty.  I’m not saying it’s too late.  It’s never too late to invest in your channel wisely.

Remember channel incentive aren’t soft, they’re smart.

Filed Under: Channel Conduit of the Week, Investing in Your Channel, Tough Economy - Smart Channel
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