How to Create a Differentiated Partner Value Proposition?

Companies tend to spend a lot of effort to maximize the value they can provide to their respective clients, but the value they offer their channel partners is often an afterthought.  Creating partner value within your distribution chain is critical to having a successful indirect sales channel. Channel savy companies find ways to differentiate from their competitors through their channel programs and offerings.  Any partner recruitment effort will be dependent on establishing a well differentiated partner value proposition.  Assessing and defining the key elements of the partner value proposition is critical, a spider chart like the one that follows can help clarify the critical elements of that value proposition and where the key points of differentiation exist.  

Following are some key areas to consider as you think through the value to your partner channel:

1. Net Margin - Economics is the most critical element of your partner value proposition, while Net Margin is not the only element of the economic model it is an important one and an element that is usually apparent. That said you probably want to look at broader economic measures like partner ROI when you communicate the economic value of a channel partnership.  
2. Market Growth - Enabling your channel partners to identify and participate in key growth segments can be a huge value add to your channel partners who may not have the resources to identify and develop certain markets on their own.  
3. Reduce Costs - This comes in two flavors: cost reduction and cost avoidance.  Value add services can reduce the cost for your partners, especially in areas like sales and marketing support.  Cost avoidance comes in by minimizing administrative costs and reducing unnecessary investments that are critical to channel sales growth. 
4. Marketing Support - Marketing support sometimes gets minimized to marketing funding, while marketing funding is important there are other ways to differentiate partner offerings through marketing.  Market intelligence, prospect lists, marketing content, social media support, and assistance in building marketing plans are all ways to provide incremental partner value. 
5. Sales Resources - There are various ways to deliver sales support to your channel partners, including sales collateral and tools, proposal support, and technical sales resources.  Depending on your products and the channel sales model you can determine where you can provide the most value in enabling channel sales.  
6. Skill Development - Developing the marketing, sales, and technical skills within your partners is a critical element of any partner program; this is also an area where partners really look for assistance to grow their businesses. 
7. Barriers to Entry - This is an area that requires consideration and can cut both ways.  What I mean by that is there are times you want to reduce barriers to entry and there are times when you want to preserve barriers to entry to protect profitability.  Either way you need to consider the impacts.

While this is certainly not intended to be an exhaustive list  and there may be other areas you need to consider, hopefully it prompts your thought process as you think through your partner value proposition.  It is critical to test your perceived value proposition with current partners and potential partners to validate both the elements of your value, your ability to deliver, and your relative position to your competition.