B2B companies are increasingly relying on indirect sales channels to reach more customers, but many channel partners are struggling to provide the necessary customer experiences. As companies cede more control of customer relationships to partners, the risks grow. To strengthen these relationships, companies must innovate with partners, listen to understand their needs, and align on an operating model focused on customer value.

1. Copyright © 2017 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.

2. Copyright © 2017 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.
B2B companies are expanding their indirect sales
networks to reach more customers and generate
more sales. That growth strategy will work only if
channel partners adequately respond to customers’
changing preferences and behaviors.
And that’s getting harder to do.
Many channel partners are struggling to deliver the
customer experiences that are needed.
LET’S GROW OUR
RELATIONSHIP.
OR NOT.
57% of B2B
companies are
planning to
increase their
number of channel
partners next year.

3. Copyright © 2017 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.
As B2B companies expand their sales networks,
they cede more and more control of the customer
experience to their channel partners.
That’s enormously risky.
One wrong move and the entire customer
relationship crumbles.
IF WE’RE NOT IN THIS TOGETHER,
WHAT’S THE POINT?
75+% of B2B leaders believe customer experiences will be
even more important in the years ahead.

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All channel partners are not created equal. 20% of partners account for 60% of
a B2B company’s revenues.
The problem: B2B companies are inadequately supporting, incenting and
encouraging underperformers.
IT’S NOT YOU. IT’S US.
25% of channel partners drop from the typical B2B network
each year.
50% of partners require 10 months or more to reach desired
levels of productivity.
80% of CSOs provide marketing and lead-generation support.
Yet, 57% of channel partners find these services off the mark .

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WHEN TRUST IS GONE,
EVERYTHING’S GONE.
Any breakdown in trust across the value chain can
have a devastating effect on sales and brands.
Sharing insights about customers is a critical first
step to rebuilding trust.
Only 20% of channel partners, on
average, attain trusted partner status.

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Growth requires that B2B companies transform
partnership models into ecosystems that are not
marriages of convenience, but meaningful
relationships to which all parties are committed
and invested. Above all, it calls for an operating
model based on trust.
ALL FOR ONE
AND
ONE FOR ALL

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SUPPORT, STRENGTHEN
AND FUTURE-PROOF
PARTNER RELATIONSHIPS
WITH THREE ACTIONS:

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1.Innovate alongside partners to expand financial opportunities for all ecosystem
participants. This requires B2B companies to follow new rules:
LEVERAGE CONNECTIONS AND DATA FLOWS TO ENABLE VALUE-ADDED
SERVICES
RETHINK CORE COMPETENCIES AND LEAVE THE REST TO PARTNERS IN
THE ECOSYSTEM
PLAN FOR HYPER-RAPID SCALE WITHOUT
TRADITIONAL CONSTRAINTS
MOVE FROM PHYSICAL PRODUCTS TO
AS-A-SERVICE MODELS
CREATE AN EXCELLENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND EXAMINE
LOCATION INDEPENDENCE
EMBRACE A MINDSET
OF ”CONNECTED GROWTH”

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LISTEN AND
RESPOND2.
Ecosystem partners are more than
“vendors.” They are co-creators of value.
In the most successful B2B sales
ecosystems, B2B companies take the time
to understand their partners’ businesses
as well as they understand their own.
That allows them to zero in on what each
partner values and needs to succeed.
70% of chief sales
officers are trying to
gain greater control
over their ecosystems
through rigorous
vendor management
practices.
This may not be wise.

10. Copyright © 2017 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.
ALIGN AND IMPROVE
A NEW OPERATING MODEL3.
Successful ecosystem operating models
are designed to exceed consumer
expectations and increase each
customer’s lifetime value.
For B2B companies, that means delivering
incentives, sales coaching, and real-time
deal shaping support to strengthen
customer relationships and loyalty. It also
means creating closed-loop feedback
mechanisms to ensure the ecosystem
continues to grow and co-create value.

11. Copyright © 2017 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.
Learn how B2B companies can salvage their indirect channel
relationships—before it’s too late. Download the full report here:
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B2B CHANNEL PARTNERS
CAN THESE RELATIONSHIPS BE SAVED?
JOIN THE
CONVERSATION: