Partners expect and need a simple way of working with vendors and that needs to be available 24/7 with assets and resources where partners can self-serve. So even the smallest vendor needs a portal and the tools to make working with them easy.

In a recent survey of Channel Marketing Professionals, surprisingly 34% of respondents had neither a portal or the tools to provide a smooth partner experience. These respondents were not small start-up ISVs but leaders of a global technology businesses.

What was less surprising was the comments from those who had answered YES, they had a portal and PRM, as they still reported significant deficiencies in what it was providing for them and their partners. Some of the key issues were:

• It lacks easy tracking, reporting, and integration.
• It lacks support for an MDF program.
• Content cannot be tracked in terms of who is engaging with what content.
• We don’t know who is adopting which campaign.
• There is a lack of a proper branded experience.

This isn’t meant to alarm you, but just to let you know you are not alone.

Despite being in technology, some IT vendors still have a long way to go to provide a good partner experience. Often, they take the approach; “We can build it ourselves” but that only detracts their precious development resources from being focused on their own product. And why would you, when there are perfectly good solutions in market today, for a Portal and PRM that will deliver what you need.

Here at 7Demand our team of experts know a good portal when they see one and have years of combined experience when it comes to mapping requirements to solutions. We can help you achieve speedy time to value, with a functional solution. Partners will come back time and again because it’s easy to find what they are looking for.

Channel First – there is a great phrase ‘We are a channel company not a company with a channel’ which simply explains the priorities to being a true channel centric business. You only have one opportunity to make a good first impression with new partners, so make sure it’s a good portal, as partners have choices and will go elsewhere.

7Demand are experts in demand marketing.  We create and manage customer campaigns, and empower Partner Marketing teams to match the campaign sophistication of their customer marketing peers.

Our team of strategic experts spot opportunities, working alongside sharp tactical specialists to get the job done. This combination is brought to you as a managed marketing service.

With 7Demand, you can tap into a vast network of global specialists who are not easily found elsewhere, harnessing the proven methodologies developed through years of experience in B2B marketing leadership roles.