Just Whose Job Is It To Create Demand? It's The Channel's Role, Of Course

This is a complicated subject and not one I can fully explore in a single column. That said, however, the answer to the question is that it is the channel's job to create demand. If you don't believe that, then your business model is in trouble.

Of course, it isn't solely the channel's job. Finished goods manufacturers have a role to play, but if you expect them to handle demand creation on their own, then you really ought to be looking for a going-out-of-business sign.

Solution providers need to understand that while vendors engage with the channel for a number of reasons, first and foremost it's because the channel can help with demand creation. But many solution providers don't realize this. Many times, if a manufacturer asks what it can do for a business partner, that solution provider will respond "create demand."

Interestingly enough, manufacturers that truly understand the channel and how to leverage it understand this principle better than many of their channel partners.

As Orlando Ayala, the head of worldwide sales at Microsoft, said to me earlier this year: "We understand that in small business our channel partners make more technical decisions for the customer than we do."

I couldn't have said it better, except to note that this theory also applies to partners that service midsize and enterprise clients. The trouble is that solution providers often don't realize that they are creating demand in the normal course of their business, which includes understanding a client's problem, providing needs assessment, recommending the best solution, and installing and supporting it. Once in an account, solution providers are forever making their customers aware of new technologies and solutions to problems the customer may not even know exist.

Solution providers that don't understand this role shouldn't be upset when manufacturers push to sell direct. If you believe that the entire spectrum of demand creation should be left up to the manufacturer, then why would you expect the vendor to hand a sale off to your company if it has done all the work?

Many channel organizations are so busy resolving technical issues for their customers and selling them effective solutions that they don't sit back and think about the part they play in creating demand.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't universally true. I know hundreds of solution providers, and the ones I talk to most often understand the demand-creation role their business plays and are passionate about it.

I'm writing about this because I believe if a solution provider doesn't understand this role and can't articulate what it truly needs from manufacturers to support that function, then it shouldn't expect them to deliver.

What solution providers really need from vendors are tools that make the sales and support process more efficient. Solution providers can find sales opportunities; what they need are tools and knowledge to close deals quickly. They need to understand a vendor's product line and future product road maps, receive technical training and so forth. They also need aids such as white papers on technical matters and what's happening in the end users' market.

If more solution providers realized that it's their job to find opportunities and pushed suppliers to provide the tools to help them close deals faster, they collectively could push the market forward much more quickly.

Make something happen. I can be reached at (516) 562-7812 or via e-mail at [email protected].