The relationship is strong and solid as the parties seek further improvement
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., August 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Relationships between technology vendors and their channel partners are on solid footing, even as they work through issues related to compensation, communication and technical support, according to new research from CompTIA, the nonprofit industry association information technology (IT). and workforce.
Two-thirds of IT businesses surveyed for CompTIA’s “Partner Experience Trends 2022” characterize their current vendor partnerships as “very strong, growing in engagement” or “strong, stable in engagement.” But there is a caveat. Partners today are much more selective about who to work with and what that special relationship experience should look like.
“Channel partners enjoy a much greater choice of vendors to connect with in a market that has expanded in the cloud era,” said Carolyn April, senior director, industry analysis, at CompTIA. “More choice means more opportunity to find the optimal fit. Proactive sellers understand they need to step up their game and optimize the experience for partners or watch them go elsewhere.”
In the past two years, 50% of channel firms have dropped a vendor due to poor partner experience (PX) practices.
While individual channel firms will have their own views on what is important, they are almost unanimous in the belief that PX is a top priority. The CompTIA report finds that 35% of channel firms say they will only work with vendors that provide a seamless partner experience, while 57% consider PX important enough that they will accept only minor deficiencies in it even from a sales partner from which they are generating revenue. .
“Ease of doing business covers many aspects of the relationship, from quick technical support responses to transparent pricing and compensation information to effective communications overall,” said April. “Each of these areas shows signs of improvement, but works remain a work in progress.”
Nearly 40% of channel firms said vendors are reworking compensation models to reflect a changing market where many channel partners are selling fewer products and more complex services. Channel partners still derive a significant amount of their overall revenue through seller compensation.
The shift to more cloud-based and service-oriented work has also increased expectations among channel partners for vendor technical support that is readily available, easy to access, and robust in response and resolution. Nine out of 10 partners say a vendor’s technical support process is an important or moderate priority for them.
Effective vendor communication is another channel partner expectation, with more than eight in 10 identifying it as an important or moderate priority. Marketers have responded by offering diversified communications across multiple channels, social media, video and gamification.
Vendors are changing other aspects of their partner programs to better match changing expectations, whether it’s adjusting compensation and benefits programs (cited by 38% of vendors), revamping how they find partners (33%) and adding training around consultative selling (30%).
“Smart marketers are constantly looking for ways to proactively build partner interest and loyalty,” April concluded. “They understand that the personal touch still matters.”
Channel partners include managed service providers (MSPs), commercial integrators, solution providers, value-added resellers (VARs), and other firms that market and sell technology solutions to a manufacturer or service provider through a partnership relationship.
CompTIA’s “Partner Experience Trends 2022” is the result of a survey of 400 US-based IT businesses. Two research briefs on the survey are available at https://connect.comptia.org/content/research/partner-experience-trends-2022-research-brief and https://connect.comptia.org/content/research/partner -experience-2022-vendor perspective.
About CompTIA
The Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for 5 trillion dollars the global information technology ecosystem; and about 75 million industry and technology professionals who design, implement, manage and protect the technology that powers the world’s economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy and market research, CompTIA is the hub for unlocking the potential of the technology industry and its workforce. https://www.comptia.org/
Media contact
Steven Ostrowski
THE COMPANY
[email protected]
+1 630-678-8468
SOURCE CompTIA
