What is a Channel Management System?

Peter Ganza, Director of Marketing at Magentrix, recently sat down with our resident Channel Coach, Paul Bird, to answer some of the most common questions individuals have been asking online.

What is a channel management system?

Paul Bird: “Channel management systems are technology platforms that help people manage all of those channel partners and all of the products, services, training or collateral they would have to consume in order to sell the product. Now going back 15 years ago, channel management was basically Excel. Today, you have a lot of these self-serve portals that can do everything from bringing new channel partners into the system, training them and getting them ready to sell your product and then bringing them the tools and marketing collateral they would need to be successful.”

What are the most common data points it pulls from in the back of the channel?

Paul Bird: “It really depends on the industry, the product and the service. If we look back to the real estate example, all of those data points for size of the house, cost, square footage, number of bedrooms - these are all data points you’re going to want to include in the channel management system. In the technology industry, this can be size of company, what the opportunity is for, what the size and scope of the opportunity is - all that goes into your channel management platform so that your channel management can leverage that data in order to help those channel partners be successful at the initiatives they’re taking.”

Channel Management Systems are also commonly referred to as Partner Relationship Management (PRM). In both cases they provide similar platforms to manage all things channel, alliances or partner program related.

Do you have anything to add to this topic? Feel free to share and comment below. What does your definition of a channel management system look like?

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