What is Channel Operations Management? Features & Benefits

Channel marketing teams depend on channel operations to administer MDF programs accurately, process co-marketing claims, and report the ROI of marketing investments across the partner network. Past a few dozen partners, CRM alone cannot model tier, MDF, certification, and joint account planning without heavy customization. A channel program without strong operations is a channel program that runs on heroics. Each of these workflows needs clear ownership, defined SLAs, exception-handling procedures, and documentation. “Operations is often only the reporting or budget decision-making part of the equation and never is on the sales call or builds the marketing programs,” says Martin.

• Every commitment a vendor makes to its partner community — deal registrations processed within two business days, commissions calculated accurately and paid within thirty days, onboarding workflows completed within ninety days of enrollment — is only as reliable as the operational systems and processes that fulfill it.
• Or perhaps marketing and sales hit their goals, but operations can’t deliver on promised partner incentives or service delivery timelines.
• The checklist of to-dos is long, but one to-do that must not be overlooked is setting up effective channel operations to meet the needs of the range of partners within your partner ecosystem.
• This typically centers on a PRM platform, with integrations into the vendor’s CRM, marketing automation, ERP, and learning management systems.
• “Breaking down silos begins with simple communication and regular cadence meetings across departments, but for best results requires defined workflows and processes,” said BuzzTheory’s Henderson.

Or perhaps marketing and sales hit their goals, but operations can’t deliver on promised https://ativanx.com/2021/12/24/blancco-wins-seal-business-sustainability-award/ partner incentives or service delivery timelines. Community Architect’s Martin notes that lack of visibility is problematic for channel operations, especially given their role at supplier organizations. In her experience, it’s critical for one leader to have ultimate responsibility for the operations, sales and marketing levers that drive revenue. Channel operations at many companies are closely tied to channel partner management and may encompass management responsibilities. Specific job responsibilities for the channel operations roles listed will vary among suppliers. Channel operations also must coordinate with various company functions, such as marketing, sales, finance, legal, IT and other departments depending on the organization.

At the same time, channel organizations must have a leader who is focused on operational excellence. “We’re providing the indirect sales team with industry-leading programs with focused partners to drive revenue.” “The partner does https://corporatenex.com/evolving-sales-marketing-trends.html not care if their contact is marketing, ops, customer service or sales,” says Martin. While the abovementioned scenarios may seem unlikely, they may occur if channel ops aren’t integrated appropriately with channel sales.

Four Best Practices for Channel Operations

Channel ops is responsible for maintaining data quality, resolving duplicates, standardizing taxonomies, and ensuring that reporting is built on reliable inputs. Our panel continued to beat the RevOps drum by recommending partner programs break down silos between channel operations and other departments. ZINFI’s unified business intelligence layer enables channel operations teams to monitor process performance metrics and commercial outcome metrics simultaneously within a single analytical environment. Automated workflows for deal registration processing, onboarding milestone tracking, incentive accrual calculation, and MDF https://safseo.com/partners-look-to-td-synnexs-incoming-ceo-for-ai-leadership.html claim routing reduce manual administrative effort. Process performance metrics include deal registration approval turnaround time, SLA compliance rate, incentive calculation error rate, payment processing turnaround time, partner onboarding milestone completion rates, and MDF claim processing turnaround time. The channel ops team owns the technology stack that supports the partner program.

Data management

This typically centers on a PRM platform, with integrations into the vendor’s CRM, marketing automation, ERP, and learning management systems. Channel ops defines and maintains the workflows that partners and internal teams follow. “Breaking down silos begins with simple communication and regular cadence meetings across departments, but for best results requires defined workflows and processes,” said BuzzTheory’s Henderson. At Aryaka, for example, channel operations work closely with the channel sales team to build cohesive programs to recruit partners.