It’s hardly surprising that marketers know, love and live by value propositions. After all, creating and disseminating value propositions is one of marketing’s most important activities.
Of course, a value prop is much more than just the features and benefits of a particular solution or service. It comprises everything that wraps around your product and creates the total value for your end customer. And if you sell through an indirect channel – for most of us, that’s tech – the wrap includes your channel partners’ input.
But all too often, during the journey to the customer, something awful happens to the value prop that marketing has so lovingly crafted. Important parts are discarded, meanings are changed or misunderstood, and the value prop starts to unravel. And ultimately, if it doesn’t engage the channel partner, it doesn’t resonate with the customer.
When you’re selling through an indirect channel, you can’t afford to ignore your partners, or simply try to impose your ideas. The people you work with have a big role in creating value. And value props that are just ‘parachuted in’ gain little traction in the field. The secret to success lies in helping your partners identify and define their own value proposition.
So, how can channel marketers ensure their message cuts through and makes it easy for the customer to choose their solution? And can they achieve that while simultaneously tapping into that very powerful resource: their channel partners?
The answer is a resounding yes: providing you remember the four steps to creating a compelling joint value proposition.
1. What’s the value-add?
Learn what your partners’ customers are looking to achieve with your products and services.
The closer you get to real customer feedback, the better placed you’ll be to help your partners craft their own version of your value proposition. But don’t just blunder in – give your partners ownership of the process. After all, they hold the direct relationship with the customer.
2. Make it personal
Off-the-shelf value props rarely work well with channel partners, because the value they add varies from partner to partner. So you have to spend the time to understand each partner’s strengths and weaknesses.
It may seem time-consuming, but the effort you put in now will pay dividends later. Once a partner has a unique story to tell end customers, the bond between you will become much stronger. And remember that ‘mindshare’ – keeping your solution front and centre with both partner and customer – is crucial.
3. Teamwork
Marketing knows the solution inside out and does a great job of shaking out the key messages.
But while harnessing that expertise, remember that however good the team may be, when indirect sales are involved, marketing will never be as close to the customer as a motivated, informed channel sales person. That’s why your channel managers are there to interpret marketing’s direction and help formulate the value props that work for the sales teams on the ground.
This fresh approach – teamwork, rather than top-down – will enable you to write a tailored value proposition for each partner. If you create a partner value prop that can be easily tweaked to deliver for a specific customer’s needs, it will also help you build a better, more profitable relationship with each of your channel partners.
4. Who have we left out?
Don’t forget the voice of the customer. Yes, we got their input in step one, but unless your partners play back your joint value prop in the customer’s own words, you’re throwing away one of your biggest assets.
When customers can recognise their needs, fears and desires in your joint value prop, you and your channel partners will make real impact. And because no two customers (and no two partners) are exactly alike, stay flexible when you craft the value prop. Leave room for a bit of tailoring.
Do’s and don’ts
- Don’t assume your channel partners understand how to write a value proposition. Some do, quite a lot don’t.
- Actually, don’t even assume they fully understand what value they add. Partner principals get the big picture, but the salespeople often work with a narrower focus.
- Do enlist the help of marketing when you’re coaching partners – they understand the product or service and can help ensure the key points are retained and promoted.
- Do listen to your channel – sometimes, the market doesn’t reflect what marketing would have you believe.
