Jul/Aug 19 - ChannelVision Magazine

channel management Changes in the buyer journey, how- ever, brought by fragmentation in mar- keting and new and emerging digital platforms, have pushed channel execu- tives toward new strategies for channel engagement and new measurements of program effectiveness. More than half of channel execu- tives recently surveyed by 360Insights, for example, said they are now using non-revenue-based key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge the health of their channel programs. What’s more, 70 percent of those using these non-tra- ditional KPIs say they have a significant impact on reseller earning power. “By migrating from purely revenue- based reseller scoring to a more ho- listic Management Business Objective (MBO) approach, many brands are aligning reseller performance more closely with activities that move the reseller toward larger goals,” said the 360Insight study. Among those utilizing non-revenue- based scoring methods, the most commonly used KPIs include reseller engagement, pipeline size and growth and co-op/MDF usage. “These findings are in line with our expectations,” said 360Insights. “En- gagement demonstrates that resellers are more likely to use the support avail- able to them from brands, while pipeline and co-op/MDF usage indicate reseller success in building a robust marketing and sales engine of their own.” A mix of KPIs that tie directly back to earnings, such as customer satisfaction, renewal rates, new logo sales and deal registration, rounded out the list of most commonly used metrics. The research also uncovered some shifts in the marketing tactics employed by channel executives. Few brands were promoting social and content marketing via the channel just a few years ago, said 360Insight researchers. But these meth- ods are rapidly gaining steam against other promotional techniques. Social syndication, for example, currently is be- ing employed by 59 percent of channel executive respondents, while content syndication is employed by 46 percent, and retargeting is used by about a third. Beyond the BottomLine W hen it comes to measuring the ultimate success of a channel program, it’s hard to beat hard dollars. Indeed, revenue attained and growth in those revenues remain the primary means of determining the effectiveness of channel initiatives. By Martin Vilaboy Channel mangers look to non-revenue KPIs to measure success 48 Channel Vision | July - August, 2019