BROADCASTS.com

b"If your organization has built a patched-up partner management system by adding applications (or objects) to your existing CRM infrastructure, then it\\u2019s likely you are investing enormous resources to answer basic business questions. This is where a purpose-built partner relationship management (PRM) platform can significantly improve your business performance while reducing cost. How does it work? That\\u2019s what we will explore in this article.\\nUntil recently, most companies selling through the channel relied on automating their partner management workflow by using their existing CRM infrastructure instead of deploying partner relationship management (PRM) automation. However, when you try to manage certain program-related activities\\u2014things like marketing, lead management, incentives management, training and so on\\u2014with this kind of patched-up infrastructure, you will encounter three main problems.\\n\\n\\n \\tLack of data flow \\u2013 When you use an object-based (i.e., application-based) approach to expand your current CRM system as a PRM platform, it makes the flow of records\\u2014and therefore business intelligence\\u2014very hard to develop. This, in fact, is the fundamental reason you are not realizing your business performance, because your infrastructure is failing to give you the right information at the right time.\\n \\tEnormous maintenance costs \\u2013 Every time you want to make any addition or change to a part of the platform, you have to worry about what components you will end up breaking. Also, limited IT resources prevent you from making the changes you need to keep moving forward as your channel evolves and changes are required. This can quickly make your organization\\u2019s channel infrastructure obsolete.\\n \\tPoor partner experience \\u2013 If you have six different applications (yes, we have seen it) patched to an existing CRM infrastructure, it is highly likely that each of these applications have their own business logic flow and therefore different user interfaces. It becomes a nightmare for a partner to learn all these different apps.\\n\\nIf you are reading this, nodding your head and saying, \\u201cYes that's us, but we can never get out of this mess\\u201d\\u2014well, the reality is that you can get past the mess, provided you have courage, vision and true commitment. But how?\\n\\n \\tCourage \\u2013 To truly get out of the tangled web that you have woven over the years, you first need to muster organizational courage. Yes, I know. It's not easy, but the best approach is to engage multiple executive sponsors (cross-functional) and have this conversation. Lay out examples of poor partner experience, IT costs and change-management issues, but most importantly explain how these issues are affecting the organization\\u2019s ability to make the right decisions and perform at an optimal level.\\n \\tVision \\u2013 Once you have been able to muster executive support to start an evaluation process of what the end state could be, reach out to vendors like ZINFI and analyst firms to build a vision of what your PRM infrastructure should look like. Focus the discussion on key business questions you need to answer on a dynamic basis and the objectives you need to satisfy. Don\\u2019t get carried away looking at PRM features. Instead, begin by prioritizing key processes that are ripe for automation.\\n \\tCommitment \\u2013 This is where a fully funded plan can make your vision a reality. When you have cultivated executive sponsorship, and you have created a vision of the end state and how it can drive profitable growth and a much better partner experience, now you need to focus on how to get there step by step. Your CRM didn\\u2019t get tangled up overnight; likewise, you can\\u2019t expect to untangle it in a quarter. Have a clear four-to-six-quarter implementation plan and then go at it in a focused manner.\\n\\nOnce you have a migration plan to transition from your existing patched-up CRM system to a unified partner management framework using PRM, then you will need to focus on a few additional details regarding the sequ..."