Partner Program Technology And Services Companies Form Channel Marketplace

The Channel Marketplace, an online and human-driven resource that enables technology vendors to access solutions and expertise that address their indirect go-to-market opportunities and challenges has been formed by a group of 10 channel technology and services companies.

The Channel Marketplace features a concierge service, in which real people will help technology vendors and channel professionals identify and connect with relevant and appropriate solutions in the community.

“Our vision is to create a better experience for channel leaders as they look for solutions to address their channel needs,” stated James Hodgkinson, marketplace founder and CEO of member company Webinfinity, a provider of SaaS-based channel solutions. “Through the Channel Marketplace concierge process, technology companies are guided to the combination of solutions and services matched to what they need when they need it.”

The Channel Marketplace provides access to the solutions and experts of  the member companies. Each of the 10 participating companies contributed their solutions and resources to the marketplace and are providing thought-leadership in the marketplace’s blogs and access to their experts.

“Online marketplaces are growing in popularity as they provide a unifying experience for customers looking for solutions,” said Larry Walsh, CEO and chief analyst of The 2112 Group, a channel-focused business strategy and research firm and Channel Marketplace member company. “Our marketplace provides technology vendors selling through the channel with a one-stop resource for finding solutions that meet their needs by a collaborative group of market experts.”

“The entire point of the Channel Marketplace is to provide the community with a resource to help them build, automate, and manage their channels better,” Walsh told CMR. “We believe that the marketplace will help raise awareness of what’s available to vendors and what’s possible to make their programs better for their companies and their partners. And we also believe the marketplace will serve as a catalyst for getting to the right people with less trial and error.”

With the growing number of channel marketing and management solutions and services available to companies, selecting the right products to optimize a partner program can be “a confusing scenario,” said Hodgkinson. Without a filter like the Channel Marketplace, “to run and manage a successful channel program and use digital technologies, they almost have to put the jigsaw together by themselves.”

“We’re trying to help them expedite their purchase considerations when it comes to these types of channel products and services,” added Walsh. “And we’re trying to get to the benefit that they get to market faster with these resources, which results in a better ROI and performance on their channel programs.

The founding member companies of the Channel Marketplace represent  “a really tightly knit group of companies that enjoy a lot of synergy and working together to the benefit of our mutual customers,” said Walsh. In addition to Webinfinity and The 2112 Group, the founding member companies include:

• bChannels, a provider of channel insights, partner segmentation and recruiting, partner marketing, and PRM managed services;
• Is Inspired, a channel infrastructure consultancy;
• OneAffiniti, a through-channel marketing solution vendor;
• Perks Worldwide Channel, a provider of channel incentive solutions
• Signals, a partner management solution vendor
• Spark Your Channel, a marketing automation platform that enables channel partners’ sales and marketing teams to personalize and share vendor-provided multimedia content;
• Successful Channels, a provider of services to assess key improvement area, utilize best practices to design successful strategies, support implementation and measure performance, and;
• Vartopia, provider of channel automation solutions.

For more information about the Channel Marketplace, its services, and members, please contact the concierge service at channelmarketplace.com/concierge.