Marketing is a vital aspect of operating any business, however, running regular campaigns can drain budgets resulting in channel firms not considering it as a priority. Reseller ME examines how partners can secure vendors’ market development funds and use it efficiently.
Partners have access to vendors’ Market Development Funds (MDFs) to, as the term suggests, grow the market and create demand generation. However, most often than not, these funds are not used as effectively as they should be and partners also grapple with understanding how to acquire a bigger share of the resources. A worldwide channel survey done by ZINFI Technologies, a Unified Channel Management (UCM) innovation provider, revealed that 60 percent of market development funds (MDF) are not used on a quarterly basis. According to the company, the 40 percent of the cases where the funds are claimed, it is usually by the larger partners who possess the knowledge on navigating the MDF approval process.
Graham Porter, head, Channels, Middle East, Veeam, says that in most schemes, vendors allocate a percentage of their revenues from the previous quarter to distributors, allowing them to do joint marketing with their resellers around a vendor’s offerings.
“While some vendors spend their entire MDF in this manner, others have a two-tier approach where they sell directly to their largest partners and the smaller ones buy from distribution,” he says. “In this case, the majority of the MDF goes to big partners as it becomes a simple reward for the revenue they generate and the training and marketing they are expected to do based on their status level.”
Therefore, with direct access to the vendors and in-depth understanding of the schemes, big partners do get more than their fair share, he says. What about those smaller partners who liaise with distribution?
According to Porter, “MDFs are viewed as a black art to many players in the channel.”
Most partners believe that vendors have the funds available to jointly develop opportunities for their products. “However, it’s hard to see where it is and how you can get to it,” he adds.
This story is from the November 2017 edition of Reseller Middle East.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 2017 edition of Reseller Middle East.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Distinctively Different
In a competitive marketplace, only those firms who dare to distinguish themselves through innovative initiatives and ensures they are at the forefront of change can hope to flourish over the next decade. Janees Reghelini caught up with Ramkumar Balakrishnan, president, Redington Value, to discover how the firm aims to redefine distribution.
Serve To Lead
In a landscape where margins are increasingly declining and hard to sustain, partners are discovering that services offer an opportunity to supplement their business. Reseller ME speaks to experts to learn how the channel can differentiate through a strong services offering.
Seek The Silver Lining
Jan Ursi, EMEA director of channel, Nutanix, advises channel partners to create digital services based on cloud technologies that can benefit organisations.
Public Promise
As a publicly listed firm Avaya International’s first priorities are to enable partners to maximise the accelerated innovation it aims to bring.
Akyumen Inks Partnership With Dubai's Sands Distribution
Akyumen, manufacturer of electronic and mobile technology products globally, has signed up Sands Distribution as its GCC distributor, as part of its global go-to-market strategy.
Deploying Software-As-A-Service
In the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, third-party providers host applications and ensures it is accessible to customers. As one of the main categories of cloud computing, SaaS along with Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) performance have been driving growth over the course of last year.
Optoma Signs Up Redington For The Gulf Region
Optoma, a global projector brand has appointed Redington Gulf, the regional services and solution provider for manufacturers of IT, telecom and digital lifestyle products, as its authorised distributor in the Gulf region.
The NotPetya Outbreak
Mohammad Tabbara, senior systems engineer, UAE and Channel, Infoblox, discusses the recent ransomware attack and how channel partners can help customers to stay on top of their cybersecurity solutions.
A Fine State
Recent Gartner report revealed that governments in the Middle East and North Africa markets are expected to spend $11.6 billion on IT products and services in 2017. In such a scenario, we speak to experts to discover how resellers can customise their offerings and approach to be the preferred partners for the regional government sector.
Turn A Profit
Sustaining profitability is one of the key issues that Middle East channel players continue to have today. Profitable partners are essential to the success of a vendor’s business. But with declining margins and difficult market conditions, resellers are increasingly finding it hard to be lucrative. Reseller Middle East speaks to channel managers to learn their strategies to ensure partners are profitable.
