Channel Conduit of the Week:
- Small gestures that make big impacts on channel behavior
- Commonsense reminders that make the difference b/t you and your competition
- Elements that should be considered in a Channel Incentive Programs
Text with your Channel Partners
We text with our spouse, our kids, our parents, our best friends, and everyone we care about, right? What about our channel partners? Just by sending simple texts, we can connect with our channel partners and really make an impression. Think about when you get a text from a friend that says, “Thx for having us for dinner. We had a blast and can’t wait til next time!” Even though it might seem silly, or inconsequential, that little message actually can have a big effect on our thoughts and feelings in relation to the person who sent it.
Now let’s be honest: If that same message were to come to us in an email, it would still serve as a nice gesture; but I think we can all agree, there is a BIG difference between receiving an email (in an inbox of 3000 or more messages) versus receiving a personal text right to our phone.
If you follow my Move The Channel blog (and if you’re reading this now, I assume that you do), then you know that my personal preference, when it comes to methods of appreciation, is a hand written note. But if you’re writing a hand written note more than a couple of times a year to the same person, it might start to get a little creepy. . . .
A text, on the other hand, can be a great, quick, and easy way to say “Thanks,” maybe for opening up a new door, or maybe for doing a great job on a recent sales presentation. Another perfect occasion for a thoughtful text message would be as a follow-up to something you recently discussed with them, such as “hope you had great time at the NASCAR event. How was it?”
Try and connect in a new way with channel partner customers. If you’ve used text messages to connect with your channel partner in the past, send me a note and let me know about it. Or just text me.