The reseller group is an extension of your salesforce and your company. The first impression of your product is a direct result of how the reseller personnel represent you to prospective customers. The reseller salespersons loyalty is to the reseller and the goal is to forge a relationship that equates the interests of the reseller with your company in the salespersons mind. A great channel program has a formal "onboarding" program for the first 90 days.
The optimal balance between price and features depends to some degree on your intimacy with your audience. Direct key accounts for which your products are an indispensible part of their business provide you with a deeper and more profitable relationship per sales hour than a channel customer. They are more likely to require services and pay you to build custom features. Potentially those features have broad appeal and can be built into your channel product. An indirect channel customer will use the "more is better" approach when the purchase price exceeds their value perception. The channel customer perceives more risk so demands reassurance in the form of additional features, just in case. What do you allocate engineering personnel time to, key account or channel driven features?
The more you know about your competition, the easier it is to identify your "blue ocean*". Differentiation and cost are two important factors, but your target market does not have to be a Magellenic discovery. If company A manufactures a swiss knife, you can manufacture a single use knife. If company A manufactures a legally restricted auto-opener for police and emergency personnel, you can manufacture a legal assisted-opening hawksbill knife. Your competitors resellers might welcome cross-sell product with different customer profile appeal.
* © Kim & Mauborgne, 2005Strategic partnerships can be constrained by your indirect channel. Your preferred partner might be in direct competition with your VAR's existing product line. Your partner might already have a relationship with your VAR, complicating the compensation model.
There are mature and immature markets. Global and local markets. Custom and DIY markets. Luxury and mass markets. Expanding and contracting markets. Market type and stage identiification is crucial to a successful indirect go-to-market plan.