This or That? Cause This is Where it's At!

Music and style are defining qualities. We all identify with the music and style of our teen years. I am a product of the 1980's, so I love 80's music and style (short shorts and mullets excluded)! I have a son that's made it his mission to drag me into this decades current music and style. "Dad, don't be that dude that got on the 80's bus and never got off!" Over the years Grant would play everything from Techno and Dubstep, to Hip Hop and Pop to ensure I was up with the times. I even attended a RAVE. Yes, I was the 50 year old in the back looking completely out of place! Like most changes, I didn't really appreciate his music at first because I couldn't relate. Funny thing though, over time I learned to love his music. After a few years I was truly into it. I've come to enjoy the change and the father son bonding experience!

So what does this story have to do with channels? Just as Music & Style continues to evolve, the Channel is evolving beyond traditional Reseller Models to Ecosystems and Platforms. As my son would say, "we need to get off the 80's bus and get with the times or risk being left behind". Today's post discusses the changing landscape of the traditional Reseller Model. With our theme being "keeping up with the times". Let's use lyrics from the Hip Hop song (The Choice is Yours ) as a metaphor. The chorus says "You can get with this? Or you can get with that? But, this is where it's at!" I never knew there was such wisdom in Hip Hop Music :-)! So, let's explore Ecosystems (THIS), and Channels (THAT), and define your Strategy Stack! (WHERE IT'S AT)!

YOU CAN GET WITH THIS (Ecosystems): It seems 2022 is the year of the Ecosystem! The traditional channel function is being replaced by the concept of Ecosystems. There seems to be a lot of confusion around the definition. I've seen a number of events, posts, and webinars trying to demystify what constitutes an Ecosystem. So what's an Ecosystem? Well, that depends on who you're talking to. Here are a few definitions I've come across lately:

• EY: A partnership between 2 or more entities that creates more value than any individual participant could create on its own.?Ecosystems platforms orchestrate technology, data and relationships.
• PartnerHacker: A B2B Ecosystem consists of all networked accounts and contacts linked to the commerce and information they share. B2B Ecosystems manifest in the form of Partners (accounts) and Communities (individuals) that either directly or indirectly benefit the end Customer (user) of the B2B Ecosystem parent. Partners are companies with a shared commercial interest. Communities are individuals with a shared professional interest. The environments in which they interact are defined by markets and often (but not always) segmented by vertical (industry), horizontal (persona), segment (size), and territory (geography). These components are linked through flywheels of commerce and information.?(Jared Fuller)
• Gartner: An interdependent group of actors (Enterprises, People, Things) sharing standardized digital platforms to achieve a mutually beneficial purpose.

As you can see there's a real effort to define what constitutes an Ecosystem. So let me simplify it. "An Ecosystem is your Smartphone." Your Smartphone houses all of your Contacts (Relationships), Applications (Technologies), Business Partners (Partnerships), Operating System (Processes) and Data (Information) to help you achieve your desired outcome (Communications, Banking, Google, Collaboration, Entertainment etc.).

To me an Ecosystem is: All inputs (Relationships, Processes, Technologies, Partnerships and Information) working in support of a mutually beneficial desired outcome (See image below). I recognize this is a very simple definition and there are probably a number of better ways to define the term. But, whatever our industry decides will dictate the scope of our programs, enablement, partnerships, platforms, tools, roles and routes to market in the future.

That's why defining the term Ecosystems is such a hot topic! It's all about the changing landscape of technology consumption models and the need to redefine and augment the function of the traditional channel. With the move to Cloud Markets and SaaS, everything has gone digital and there are several companies banking on Ecosystem Platforms (Building the Smartphone) as the future of channels. Platform providers such as Pronto and Partnershipleaders are all in on building the one-stop shop for Partner Ecosystems. Think about a platform like Pronto, that's built to automate and streamline your partner operations functions which include Activating, Operationalizing, and Optimizing a Partner Ecosystem. It's like Linkedin, Amazon, Saleforce and Facebook coming together to support your partner sales function. These new platforms allow for Recruiting, On-Boarding, Sales Enablement, Marketing, Networking, News, Partner Collaboration and Market Place to operate at the speed of the internet! Ecosystem Platforms are creating the Apple Store for the channel community! This is why defining Ecosystems is such a hot and important topic and why so many companies are getting with THIS!

YOU CAN GET WITH THAT (Channels): What does this move to Ecosystem Platforms mean to the traditional channel? For starters, it means change. As Cloud based Solutions and SaaS Consumption Models continue to progress and the evolution of Gen Xers into leadership (See Gartner Report: "Five Ways the Future of B2B Buying will rewrite the Rules of Effective Selling") We will see more marketplace purchasing of solutions. Using the cell phone analogy, the traditional fulfillment channel is the Flip Phone of old, while Ecosystems are Smartphones. Will this change happen overnight? No! There's still tremendous value Resellers bring to strategy execution, identifying new opportunities, establishing brand preference, building relationships, layering services, etc. But if you're building a new channel, Ecosystem Platforms and Cloud Markets have to be part of your planning process. In fact, Channel Services companies like PartnerReady are building their service offerings to help companies define high performance GTM models using all three routes to market (Resellers/MSP's, Ecosystem Platforms, Cloud Markets). The point is this, the traditional channel is still foundational for creating new demand, leveraging relationships and developing new opportunities for early stage technologies. However, as platforms become more relevant, there will be a shift in the way we create partnerships, educate customers and fulfill demand. So you can get with THAT (thinking of traditional Reseller routes to market), but over time the current state of the Reseller Model will not be WHERE IT'S AT!

BUT THIS IS WHERE IT'S AT! (DEFINING YOUR ECOSYSTEM STRATEGY STACK): As I was prepping for this post, I reached out to?@Gary Levy, a highly accomplished Channel Chief formerly Channel Lead for both Avaya (America's) and Oracle Communications (World Wide). Gary could teach a master class on channel strategy so I wanted to get his take on Ecosystems versus Channels.?Gary's take is spot on "Ecosystems are the future and they're an exciting development in the world of Partnerships. Solutions, leveraging marketplaces, that are equipped with a comprehensive Partner Sales Strategy that includes planning for Marketing, Market Development, and Partner Selling will be the ones that realize the full?potential of the Ecosystem to generate new demand." In other words, we still need to build and enable our solutions Partner Sales Strategy regardless of our solutions route to market.

So how should we include Ecosystem Platforms as part of our partner planning process? We start by defining our Solutions Ecosystem Strategy Stack, because THIS IS WHERE IT'S AT. What's an Ecosystem Strategy Stack? It's the Collaborations that support your Partner Sales Play and the Positioning options available to market and sell your solution to your Target Market (See illustration below).

It's the blending of your traditional Reseller, Alliance, Cloud Market Provider and Ecosystem Platform under a common sales and market development strategy. We need to define every company, resource, information, technology and partnership opportunity that supports our solutions sales journey and build Sales Plays leveraging each element of the Ecosystem in support of generating new sales. We should view each element of our stack as a tool in our sales toolbox and define its job and function in our sales creation process. So how do we create our Solutions Partner Sales Play? Below is a process I use to help companies define their Ecosystem Strategy Stack and develop compelling Sales Plays.

Developing an Ecosystem Strategy Stack starts with the customer. We start by defining an?Ideal Customer Profile (ICP),?then we map the Ecosystem that supports the customer. We want to understand:

• Who services and supports the customer?
• Where do they go for information?
• What influencers do they follow?
• Where do they go for education??
• What Websites do they frequent?
• What Associations are they a part of?
• Who do they buy from??

We map the Value Chain of the Customer as the starting point to define our Partner Ecosystem.??In today’s channel, we need to look beyond selling channels and define strategies to include influencer channels and referral channels.?The Value Chain of the Customer (VCOC) exercise was pioneered by my colleague?@Ed Sullivan of @PartnerReady?and is a great way to start a Customer-Centric Channel, defining the support Ecosystem of the customer. The customers Ecosystem and Buyers Journey is the basis for developing both your Solutions Sales Play's and your Partner Ecosystem. Working from the customer backwards helps to refine your Recruiting, Routes to Market, Partner Program and Partner Development Strategies.

Looking at the?Buyer’s Journey Arc?in the above illustration.?What if we applied the same customer-centric approach to building Sales Plays??In the ideal state of the channel, we want to define the Buyer's Journey and backwards engineer our Sales Plays to teach our partners to Identify, Reach, Influence, Develop, and Expand sales for a solution based on a formal demand creation process.?This new model connects the Partner Program, Partner Recruiting Process, Partner Development, Sales Enablement and Demand Creation Processes together creating a connected channel strategy under a common Ecosystem vision. We now have a connected and enabled selling strategy to encompass the entire channel sales development process. We have a defined Ecosystem Strategy Stack.

SUMMARY: There's quite a lot of discussion on Ecosystem versus Channel and it's more important than ever that we explore new partnering models and enablement approaches. "Keeping up with the times" is essential in this new world of partner sales. There is a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on new market approaches by developing your Solutions Ecosystem Strategy Stack and leveraging Ecosystem Platforms as the Apple Store for indirect channels. As we are in the middle of a number of transitions in the world of partners, it's important that we take a step back and start to look at how we leverage all the tools available in our tool box to capture market share for our solutions using the partner community. Finally, I recognize there are a number of Ecosystem elements I didn't touch on in this post, such as Partner Collaborations and Market Places, etc. The point is, it's an exciting time to explore the power of Ecosystems in your partnering strategy. So in closing, you can get with THIS or you can get with THAT but DEVELOPING YOUR SOLUTIONS ECOSYSTEM STRATEGY STACK IS WHERE IT"S PHAT!

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Craig

SPONSOR: Today's post is sponsored by the RevenuePlaybook Program. If need help with defining your Ecosystem Strategy Stack. Channel Force Inc. and our partners can help. We offer a suite of programs and services designed to help companies and channel account mangers grow their channel sales revenue. To learn more about our programs, please visit https://ecosystem.partnershipleaders.com/accounts/sp/channel-force-inc or message me using InMail.