When trying to explain complex situations and ideas, my best tool over the years seems to be the metaphor. The latest “professional parable” I unleashed on the team was the assertion that creating strong marketing messaging is like making sausages; you really don’t want to watch the process, but the end result seems to be pretty good.

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It’s not an overly original metaphor, but in this case it seemed pretty accurate.

Over the past 12 months, we’ve taken on the challenge of creating a simple definition of how the channel ecosystem works. We wanted to be able to explain to a client (or potential client) exactly where their strengths and weaknesses lie within the channel. Simple intentions, right?

You would think, that being as immersed in the channel as we are, this would be a pretty straightforward undertaking. That’s what we thought … until we really tried to break it down.

Talking with clients and colleagues, the channel seems to be something everyone in our space has thoughts on, and has a wealth of knowledge about. But when you asked them to define the channel in a simple fashion, you’d get a lot of head scratching. That is certainly what we did. But after chopping up the scraps, grinding the details, adding some home-brewed spice and applying years of experience in making fine channel morsels, we came up with a simple way to define the channel ecosystem. So if anyone asks you to define the channel ecosystem, just give them these four stages.

• Go to Channel: This is essentially the blueprint that outlines your success within the channel. Most organizations will have a solid idea of what that blueprint looks like, but for emerging companies and companies new to the channel, this is your starting point.
• Partner Acquisition: This is step one in your channel engagement. At this point, you want to find the right partner, in the right situation, to sell the right product, to the right customer base. And it’s not just adding names on a roll-call of companies; it’s finding a partner who is ready to sell your stuff RIGHT NOW!
• Channel Development: You have partners, now what? This is your time to really delve into the channel. It’s this deep-channel engagement that enables these partners to accelerate sales and become more than “just another partner.” This is when partners can scale their programs and become a part of your top tier.
• Channel Support: Everyone likes bringing in new business, but don’t forget about your tried and true partnerships. In this stage of the ecosystem you fortify your channel by filling gaps in the relationships with partners to drive incremental growth. It’s at this point where you optimize, maximize and make the relationship more efficient. In other words, take care of those who take care of you.

So there you go – that’s the channel ecosystem. These four simple stages of the lifecycle give you a chance to define where you are, where you have strength and where you have weaknesses; a useful definition to have, because as with all ecosystems, if you have breakdowns in one area, the rest will follow.

Now what about channel engagements within each stage? Well, that’s a whole new set of sausages.

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