Marketing Planning

Case Study #7: Tripling Revenue with a New Channels Marketing Program

CHALLENGE: Existing Educational Services business from a major computer vendor's Reseller channel was very small. When compared to the percentage of channels business from the overall hardware and software business, it was clear that this services business was under-performing. In addition, major resellers, including distributors and Value-added Resellers, were complaining about the difficulty of selling training services and products.

SOLUTION: Carol interviewed key resellers and sales people to better understand partner needs and also examined existing reseller contracts and processes to identify areas for improvement. She then created and implemented a comprehensive marketing program, which included a straightforward pricing model, simplified administrative processes, and a detailed promotional campaign. The promotional campaign included direct mail, sales tools and sales training.

Services revenue from the reseller channel tripled in one year from $.5M to $1.6M, and partner participation increased from 16 to 85 the first year. The program was so well received that it was used by a model for other divisions in the company, to improve their revenue from resellers.