Research from BT Wholesale claims that the channel has a marketing skills shortage.
The comms giant found that 73 percent of channel partners were experiencing a shortage of in-house marketing and finance skills and 89 percent felt there were challenges in maximising brand awareness.
The research found that the top business priorities in the channel over the next 12 months will be generating new leads, attracting fresh prospects, and increasing revenue from existing customers. However, these require decent marketing and branding, which reseller lacked.
Channel partners were listening to customers, with 55 percent reporting that business plans were shaped by their feedback, and a similar percentage looking at industry trends. Guidance from vendors and fellow partners was also useful.
The importance of transparency and simplicity was ranked highly by 65 percent, who felt this mattered more to customers than other factors, such as value for money and the ease of use of the technology being bought.
Faye Dominey, head of marketing at BT Wholesale, said the channel wanted growth.
“They are looking for long-term partners that support them in growing their businesses through innovative technology, which means it is more important than ever to know customers inside out and to have a consultative two-way relationship”, she said.
