ChannelCandy Whitepaper

2. Is it time to take your Channel Mobile? As we begin 2013, mobile technology is already shaping up to be the story of the year. Smartphone penetration has exploded to 60% in the United States – and closer to 85% when looking at technology channel professionals. In addition, 25% of people also own a tablet – likely double that in the Channel. The numbers are dizzying; Apple is forecasted to sell almost 1.7 million of the iPhone 5 per day in December world-wide and is marching towards 1 billion iOS units sold by 2015. Android is selling even more, activating close to 1.5 million units per day. This is forecasted to double by later this year. Mobile is a truly disruptive technology – it has been driven primarily out of the consumer market and will impact almost every part of a company’s operations in 2013. This includes sales, marketing, customer service and yes, the Channel. There are more than 1.5 million mobile apps on the market today. When looking at business apps, most are offering very simple functionality and seem to be focused on garnering consumer attention. This isn’t unlike the evolution of the web in the late 90’s. Websites evolved from simple online brochures with gimmicks such as spinning logos, to comprehensive business enabled portals. Mobile is now starting down that evolutionary path and 2013 will be the year where new and novel use cases will be tested. Using technology benefits such as location, motion adaptive, social-awareness, calendar access, cameras and speech, these apps will be much more automated and predictive than a browser ever could be.

3. How do you take advantage? Marketing has led the early charge for consumer facing mobile apps. Many apps today are merely PR-based initiatives. Much like the early web, savvy businesses don’t have to be convinced of mobile's tremendous potential – and they will drive innovation. One thing we learned very early on the web was that static homepages created an experience gap with users and they didn’t return. Without fresh content and the ability to actually do something productive, attracting users was a one-time proposition. We see that today with companies creating apps that are not much more than shiny brochures. Driving engagement, sharing key sales and service enablement tools and real-time information are critical in today’s Channel environment. The old vehicles are just not working anymore at the same level of success – less and less people are opening emails, portal usage is at an all-time low, and even webinar and tradeshow attendance is down. While we are still in the early days for mobility – it is a perfect time for vendors, distributors and associations to jump ahead of the curve and build a useful app for their partners.

4. The decision to buy vs. build a mobile app can be a tough one. Many internal mobile development teams are focused on the core product or service and don’t have the expertise or cycles to build an effective channel app. Conversely, getting the app developed by a local boutique firm wouldn’t scale with the interactivity, security, channel tools and process integration required. Typically, most partners would download an app – curious to assess its utility – and quickly delete once the app is deemed to be irrelevant. Much like the early web, active usage will only be driven by dynamic content, interactivity and utility. Fundamentally, companies will have to align their mobile partner strategy with their business strategies. Leveraging mobile partner communication will save costs and drive new revenue with sales enablement and training. Partner satisfaction will also be higher Designing from the partners perspective is important. The ability to easily stay up-to-date on products, programs and other key information in one place, combined with access to sales tools such as configurators, product selectors, quoting and deal registration will be a game changer. Adding a social element where partners can comment, like or dislike adds real-time feedback for vendors.

5. A New Solution hits the Market ChannelCandy is an Enterprise Mobile Platform designed for vendors to communicate and engage with their channel partners on the go. Running on virtually every mobile device, it puts real-time Partner Program highlights, news, alerts, and sales tools in the hands of the channel. Many of the top vendors, distributors, franchises and associations have chosen ChannelCandy to power branded Mobile Apps for their members and partners. Why a Branded Mobile App? Today, Channel program information is sent to Partners by email, newsletters, webinars, telesales and consumer social media. A Web Portal then acts as a catch- all library for storing program details, sales enablement, incentives, education, certifications and technical information. Tremendous amounts of time and energy go into creating materials that are stored in these portals, but they receive little traffic. CompTIA recently conducted a survey and found: Less than 5% of channel partners regularly use vendor portals. 17% open Vendor emails, only 2% click or take any action.

6. Information is usually sent to and filtered by a “Vendor Champion” (doesn’t reach sales, marketing and technical teams directly) Partners who use Vendor programs are the most successful and profitable. 85% of Channel professionals own a smartphone, tablet or both and use them regularly for business. At ChannelEyes, we’ve talked to hundreds of Solution Providers and they all agree that it’s impossible to continually read and disseminate key vendor information. The average Partner deals with at least 10 vendors and distributors; each sending multiple communications per week. There’s no easy way to constantly review all of the vendor portals, read all the newsletters or emails – decide what is important - and then notify the people in their organization who need to know. How will this improve my Channel communications? A Partner app will be the single place for Channel Partners to see a snapshot of new vendor channel information, news and updates every day. They can control the programs they need to follow, filter the information based on their job role and join the conversation. With 85% of professionals inside Partner organizations carrying a smartphone or tablet, it is a unique way to communicate at a personal and consistent level. One of the results of the mobility trend has been the extension to the traditional business day; not only are devices being used during the day, at customer locations, they are used just as much at night and on weekends.

7. A Partner app will improve: Channel Sales Enablement– by delivering the tools and resources necessary to make your Channel act as an extension to your own sales team. Vendors can even send motivational messages to drive the sales cycle forward! Channel Education– publishing rich media such as videos, whitepapers, case studies and certification courses, Vendors can raise the level of knowledge and capabilities of your Partners. Channel Incentives– Partners admit that they leave money on the table because they don’t regularly stay up to date. With a mobile app, they can set alerts and be notified each time a new incentive can drive new behavior. Channel Tools– by customizing the app with external tools such as configurators, calculators, quoting tools, deal registration and product information, Vendors will drive better sell-thru, stronger options and accessories attach, as well as more robust program participation. Technical Updates– keep your Channel Partners up to date with tech bulletins, service fixes and other critical updates in real-time. Technicians can customize the app to receive push notifications and collaborate with other members of the community, leveraging the wisdom of the crowd.

8. Getting Started With ChannelCandy The development of the app is largely turn-key. The team at ChannelEyes creates and designs the app with initial guidance from the Vendor. The branding of the app, including logos, colors, splash pages, as well as collecting information sources such as Twitter, RSS, blogs, industry magazines, news, etc. The initial consultation takes between 60 and 90 minutes and focuses on defining roles and responsibilities, collecting marketing assets and outlines the process around integration with the Apple and Android stores. “time from initial consultation to delivery of the app is 6 weeks.” Discussions around customization of the app start during this consultation session. Outlining the tools, resources and special links to be included in the app, as well as development resources required. ChannelEyes will submit the app into the Apple App Store as well as Google Play Android Marketplace. The app will also be deployed as a mobile website, allowing usage on other mobile platforms such as Windows and Blackberry. The time from initial consultation to delivery of the basic app is 6 weeks. Customizations will take longer and will depend on the complexity and development work required.

9. How the app works The app will be downloaded by your Partners from the App Store for their device. The Vendor logo and colors will show up as an icon on their home screen. As with other apps, future improvements and feature additions will be made available and automatically updated. The notification feature will be active showing a red circle including the amount of missed messages on the upper right side of the app icon. When the Partner clicks on the icon they are taken to a security sign on screen. Vendors can easily manage authorizations at the Partner organization level, saving time and ensuring that only trusted people are accessing your information. There are several ways to manage Partner invitations to the app, including a Partner Pass unique code, whitelisting, or by Partner request. After the security screen, the Partner will access their main social wall. Here they will see a snapshot of Vendor’s new channel information, news and updates. They can control the programs they need to follow, filter the information based on their job role and engage with questions or comments. The Vendor has the flexibility to include content sources such as Twitter, RSS, blogs and industry news. These highlights can quickly be scanned by the Partner and selected for more information. This drives more traffic to Web Portals, marketing sources and landing pages.

10. Customizing the app ChannelCandy is a platform that can be easily expanded to include the tools, resources and enablement features to drive new levels of engagement by Channel Partners. There are several options for incorporating new functions into the app: 1.Link directly to mobile ready pages (ex: HTML 5) 2.Build forms that can transfer information securely back to the Vendors internal systems (example: deal registration) 3.Build mobile features directly into the app Other ways to customize the app are to change the log in screen and add advertisements into the social stream. Announcing new products, programs, or co-marketing with another company is possible within the app. The ChannelEyes team will work with the Vendor on different custom options and recommend solutions that blend a great Partner experience with cost effectiveness. ChannelCandy Pricing Pricing is on a yearly subscription model and includes hosting, upgrading and maintenance in the App Stores. The price is based on how many Partner companies that will be using the app and supports unlimited users within each of the companies, unlimited posts, content sources and logins. Learn more at: http://www.channelcandy.comor call (518) 915-1188