How do Channel Partners Help Businesses Grow?

Opportunities increase when you help others win. A little win for your partner is a little win for you, right? This is exactly what channel partners do.

In this article, I wrote about channel partners, their types, and benefits of having them onboarded to your business.

Who are Channel Partners?

Channels partners are the business partners who can help manufacturers and vendors from any industry grow from the scratch. The process starts from providing the vendors with valuable services, selling products required for them to grow, and contributing to the business model in every way possible. They preferably bridge the gap between the technology manufacturers and vendors.

From delivering software & hardware services to selling and manufacturing products for businesses, channels partners have got you all covered. Channel partners take a massive chunk of your work and make the job much simpler and more comfortable for your business.

Channel partners contribute to businesses in various ways from producing more leads to the system, exponential growth in sales, creating workflows, streamlining processes, creating a whole organizational development plan, and improvising the strategies.

A true partnership is a win-win rather than a winner-take-all proposition

— Frank Sonnenberg

Types of Channel Partners

There are five different types of channel partners.

• OEM or Original Equipment Manufacturer
• System Integrator
• Distributor
• Value-Added Reseller
• IT Consultant or MSP (Managed Service Provider)

Let me explain each of these types in simple words.

OEM or Original Equipment Manufacturer

OEMs or Original Equipment Manufacturers are the ones who manufactures and sells a product on behalf of a brand or with their own branding.

System Integrator

System Integrator is the one who buys the software, hardware and other components from different vendors and bundles it as a complete or customized solution, and sells it to the businesses.

Distributor

A distributor is the one who acts as a mediator between a manufacturer and a vendor. At times, the distributor gets things done for vendors from creating a GTM strategy to selling all their products, both online and offline.

Value-Added Resellers

Value-Added resellers are the ones who buys or purchases a product or a technology, adds value to the product, creates and expands the accessibility, makes the product more beneficial, and sells the final version of it.

IT Consultant or MSP (Managed Service Provider)

A Managed Service Provider or IT Consultant is the one who consults the IT infrastructure of a company and provides IT solutions and advice to the vendor.

Benefits of Channel Partnership

• Channel partnership helps you with increased sales and revenue
• It enables you to reach a better audience
• It enables you to reduce your marketing spend
• It allows your organization to have proper accountability
• It allows you to connect with the right audience
• It helps your company acquire new leads
• With channel partners, you can create a more extensive customer database

Conclusion

If you have an early-stage startup or just starting to work on a business plan, it’s time that you take your business high with the right channel partners and grow much faster than it takes.

Good luck! I’ll see you in the next one :)