Software Channel Survey Results – download now!
As you know, we’ve done a survey on how the crisis is impacting the channel distribution in the software industry. We’ve looked at the results and – although not statistically representative (survey conducted on the internet on a self-selected sample)-, they make an interesting reading, showing some trends and providing tips & solutions for channel challenges.
Frankly, I was (pleasantly) surprised to see how much weight both ISVs and resellers give to joint marketing programs, measuring, efficiency, communication… obviously no one can afford to pay lip service to these actions, they are for real.
Encouragingly enough, vendors and resellers acknowledge the same top channel challenges and consider similar solutions for tackling problems.
Top of the list solution: increase and improve communication (discuss problems and show stoppers).
There are, inevitably, differences further “down the list”… some for instance relate to margins: 80% of resellers mentioned they decreased, while 78% of ISVs mentioned they stayed the same.
Here are other challenges worth mentioning:
ISVs
- Lack of/ little visibility over final customers
- Lack of interest from reseller partners to push products
Resellers:
- Clients demanding faster delivery and fulfillment
- End-of-month/ quarterly sales reports difficult to collect and aggregate
- Competition with vendor’s online shop/ affiliate sales
- Vendors pushing products, not solutions – difficult to match client needs
Another finding I wanted to share was that while channel challenges for small and big companies follow the average trend, solutions show a clear focus amongst small companies towards the online channel, while large companies concentrate on ways of increasing sales via the reseller channel.
Well, download the full report to find out more.
