What Is Channel Strategy? What Marketers Should Know. What Is Channel Strategy? That’s where channel consultants like Ober come in. “We really do invest a ton more than other companies do in their partner programs,” she says, “to ensure they are getting the most out of it to help grow their businesses.” What Can Marketers Learn From a Channel Consultant? Building Your Own Channel Strategy Not all marketers work for agencies, but many of us are responsible for positioning our respective products and services as solutions for our target audiences. How can you provide solutions to your customers that they, in turn, can share with and provide to their own networks? There’s a “relationship-building aspect” of every marketer’s job, she explains, even for those who don’t work with customers directly. A Marketer’s Biggest Pain Points The thing about HubSpot’s Agency Partner Program -- one that even I’m guilty of forgetting -- is that its channel consultants work with marketers, day in and day out. “Marketers can and should make time to keep their finger on the pulse of the industry [they work in], connect with peers, and read up on trends.” A Similar Skill Set Finally, I asked Ober, “What else can marketers learn from a channel consultant?” To answer that, she pointed to many of the skills required of her job that overlap with those most crucial to a marketer’s success.
Be honest. Do you know what your non-marketing colleagues do all day?
Sure, you might have a general idea of what your co-workers in sales, finance, and HR do, at least categorically. But it seems that many of us — myself included — have those days, weeks, and months when we’re so bogged down in our own daily hustle, that we become a bit oblivious to what everyone else around us is working on. After all, that’s probably why the phrase, “put your blinders on” exists.
But while a colleague’s job might look different from our own, there’s actually quite a bit that we, as marketers, can learn from them. One of those things is channel strategy.
That’s why I recently sat down with my colleague, Adrianne Ober, a Channel Consultant here at HubSpot. After speaking with her about what she does every day — and about the most important knowledge she’s gained in this role — I’ve realized that there are a lot of channel strategy lessons that marketers can apply to their own work.
So, what did we learn? Read on to find out — or listen to our interview with Adrianne by pressing “play” below.
What Is Channel Strategy?
A channel strategy, according to TechTarget, “is a vendor’s plan for moving a product or a service through the chain of commerce to the end customer.”
In many environments, this kind of channel strategy takes the form of a reselling program — here at HubSpot, we work with Marketing Agency Partners who not only grow with HubSpot software but also, teach their clients how they, too, can be more successful with it.
That’s where channel consultants like Ober come in. “My role is a combination of an account manager and an implementation specialist,” Ober explains, but her day-to-day work encompasses much more than that. “Our focus is to work with our new Agency Partners, to onboard them to the program and support their reselling and delivery efforts.”
Reselling programs aren’t exactly uncommon, especially within tech companies, but what makes Ober’s job different is its true partnership nature. “We really do invest a ton more than other companies do in their partner programs,” she says, “to ensure they are getting the most out of it to help grow their businesses.”
What Can Marketers Learn From a Channel Consultant?
Building Your Own Channel Strategy
Not all marketers work for agencies, but many of us are responsible for positioning our respective products and services as solutions for our target audiences. For example, HubSpot’s Marketing Software provides automation solutions for marketers — what solutions does your organization offer?
In a way, channel strategy could be described as a formal approach to word-of-mouth marketing. How can you provide solutions to your customers that they, in turn, can share with and provide to their own networks? Ober challenges and encourages marketers to ask that question, find the best answer, and make it a reality.
There’s a “relationship-building aspect” of every marketer’s job, she…
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