The channel marketing strategies research brief defines three channel marketing concierge service models and explains how to determine which model fits best on the basis of a supplier’s level of partner marketing support and channel marketing resources.

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Research Brief
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of briefs on channel marketing concierge
services.
A concierge service is often provided to residents of an apartment building
or guests of a hotel, hospital or other facility. The concierge arranges specific
services and provides assistance to meet residents’ or guests’ needs. For
example, a hotel concierge often helps guests procure theater tickets and
restaurant reservations and arrange visits to local attractions.
B-to-b suppliers that choose to implement channel marketing concierge
services to improve partner demand creation efforts and channel marketing
ROI should assess available operating models and select the most effective
approach. In this brief, we define three channel marketing concierge service
models and explain how to determine which model fits best on the basis of a
supplier’s level of partner marketing support and channel marketing resources.
One: Automated
Automated concierge services involves the use of automated platforms,
systematic processes and workflows to improve participation and partner
demand creation efforts. This model can benefit suppliers with limited scope or
budget to deploy managed concierge services. By leveraging channel marketing
and management technology (CMM), partner relationship management and
traditional enablement, to-partner communication and nurture techniques,
suppliers can develop continuous scalable demand creation programs for
partners. Suppliers can automate mundane tasks (e.g. logo and collateral
requests) that are often serviced by valuable field resources, as well as
promoting demand creation campaigns as they become available to partners.
• Key considerations. An automated approach requires a combination
of technology and defined processes. At minimum, it requires a CMM
platform, which enables partners to select, create, deliver and track multi-
touch marketing programs. Partners must be enabled to use the platform
through a combination of tactics (e.g. marketing training/certification, videos,
infographics, webinars, how-to guides) and a to-partner communication
strategy to promote awareness and participation. Processes should be
developed for notifying partners of new demand creation programs.
Suppliers must also recognize that since participation is partner-led, this
approach requires localization of to-partner and through-partner content.
Channel Marketing Concierge
Services: Deployment Models
Channel marketing concierge models
help channel partners enhance
demand creation efforts
Suppliers seeking to deploy channel
marketing concierge services should
assess three operating models:
automated, supplier-led and
agency-led
Include channel marketing concierge
services in partner marketing
enablement, training/certification
and onboarding processes

2. Research Brief
© SiriusDecisions. All Rights Protected and Reserved. 2
• Advantages. This model provides greater scale, coupled
with reduced costs due to a decline in the manual effort
required to support multiple partners directly. Suppliers
that have scant resources or a narrow scope in a particular
geography or market can benefit from this approach, which
provides the ability to support partners where the supplier
has no presence. This model also can be deployed quickly,
especially if the supplier already has a CMM platform, which
typically leverages cloud-based software platforms and
requires no recruitment or development of new resources.
• Disadvantages. Automated concierge services require
a degree of self-service by partners, and adoption of
automated marketing campaigns requires continuous
engagement tactics (e.g. incentives, communication,
training) to drive participation and maintain impact.
Suppliers should develop enablement tools (e.g. marketing
training/certification, videos, infographics, webinars, how-
to guides) and participation programs (e.g. incentives,
to-partner nurture campaigns) to meet this challenge.
Align with partner account managers and enable them to
promote the service to partners and drive participation.
Automated deployment cannot be left to run itself; suppliers
need to monitor and measure automated concierge
performance to determine success aligned to KPIs and
concierge goals and take corrective actions as required.
Two: Supplier-Led
Supplier-led concierge services may involve the development
of a partner demand center, which is a central or regional
hub of shared channel marketing services, infrastructure and
processes that enable suppliers to bring partner demand
creation programs to market by leveraging corporate assets,
resources, best practices and internal resources, all of which
free up valuable field resources. Partner demand centers are
often regionalized to support local partner requirements, allow
local language support, address partners’ local/cultural needs
and factor in regional/local partner support requirements.
Suppliers also can look to channel marketing, field marketing,
channel account management, inside sales and partner help
desk resources to serve as a channel marketing concierge.
• Key considerations. Suppliers must account for the costs
and resources that need to be redeployed or recruited, as
well as the processes and systems needed to support this
model. This model is often quicker to deploy, since items such
as system access, integration and concierge enablement are
not as challenging. However, the partner demand center is
often reserved for top-tier partners and does not provide the
scalability and benefits to all partner tiers, since resources are
limited. This leaves many partners without support that could
be contributing to pipeline. This can be remedied by providing
automated concierge services to lower-tier partners.
• Advantages. One major advantage of this approach is
that in-house resources have direct access to corporate
marketing functions and deep understanding of the
supplier’s offerings, the buyer’s journey and buyer personas,
and require less enablement. Alignment is often already
established with corporate demand creation as well as
channel sales, and the joint planning process for through-
partner marketing efforts is aligned. Each staff member
typically works with fewer partners, so he or she can develop
a deep understanding of a partner’s business model, which
enables more effective support and the ability to guide the
partner through the marketing planning and execution
process. Suppliers that deploy supplier-led concierge services
should develop targets and compensation plans that align to
concierge objectives (e.g. impact on financial goals, partner
demand creation program adoption and participation,
market development funds (MDF)/co-op fund utilization,
number of partner-generated leads) and should reward
partner concierge managers who achieve these targets.
• Disadvantages. Suppliers that deploy supplier-led services
should assess the operating costs of establishing and
maintaining them. Internal channel marketing resources may
not necessarily have the demand creation expertise required
to drive successful end-user demand through partners, so
suppliers should enable channel marketing personnel if
competencies are lacking. Operating costs (e.g. headcount,
systems, commission, incentives) can be high, depending on
the scope of concierge efforts. Assess whether the total cost
of the service over a three-year period is economical and
within established budget. Suppliers sometimes leverage
existing functions (e.g. partner help desk, inside sales) to add
scope for marketing support. While this may reduce costs, it
is less effective: Since the role is a shared one, the marketing
focus and marketing capabilities may be limited, with an
undeveloped marketing skill set.
Three: Agency-Led
An external managed channel marketing concierge service
is provided via channel technology vendors and/or channel

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Research Brief
marketing services providers (e.g. external marketing services
agency). By outsourcing the service, suppliers can accelerate their
partner demand creation efforts, as well as gain greater scale
to support the entire partner base and drive channel growth.
• Key considerations. Suppliers hampered by internal
resource challenges (e.g. no CMM platform, limited creative/
design scope) or limited field/centralized representation
should consider this option. Working with an external
provider that already has the desired capabilities can
accelerate partner support services and fill marketing or
technology gaps, as well as improve partner execution
capabilities using proven marketing tactics. For suppliers
that have invested in channel marketing technology, external
providers are typically platform/technology agnostic and
can integrate into existing infrastructures or workflows,
as well as drive partner participation and adoption of
through-partner marketing campaigns. For suppliers that
have no local market presence, or that seek to extend into
new markets, managed concierge services often provide
multilingual support and localization services that extend
their ability to support partners globally.
• Advantages. One advantage of this option is increased trust
from partners in terms of information sharing. Partners are
often reluctant to share information (i.e. customer data,
opportunities, leads) directly with suppliers due to concerns
about how their data may be used by the supplier or other
partners. They are more comfortable sharing information
with third parties they trust to provide ROI insights. External
concierge provider personnel often have marketing
expertise and may have existing relationships with partners
within the supplier’s program. Their understanding of a
partner’s go-to-market and demand creation approach
equips them to accelerate demand creation adoption and
to recommend concierge services that are likely to result
in successful campaigns. External providers’ systems and
processes support execution and measurement of through-
partner demand creation campaigns. Since concierge
services are dedicated to partner demand creation, they
are proactive in reaching out to partners and developing
regular touchpoints and marketing performance reviews
to drive continual adoption of demand creation programs.
They also measure the results and report them to suppliers,
which helps demonstrate channel marketing contribution to
pipeline and return on partner marketing investment.
• Disadvantages. Suppliers may feel they have less control
over a service performed by a third party. A channel
marketing concierge manager should be assigned to ensure
regular meetings and performance reviews (e.g. weekly
at initial launch, then at longer intervals) and establish
reporting dashboards that the supplier can access to
measure performance and ROI. Ensure that service-level
agreements are set in the concierge service provider
recruitment phase (e.g. impact on financial goals, partner
demand creation program adoption and participation, MDF/
co-op fund utilization, number of partner-generated leads)
to enable suppliers to assess concierge service performance
and collect feedback from partners on their level of
satisfaction with these providers. Another consideration
is the charging model: Although most concierge agencies
charge on the basis of a specific headcount or number of
hours, additional variable costs may need to be negotiated.
These may include creative, design or localization services
or in-person partner coverage (e.g. travel, expenses), since
the service is typically supported via an internal telephone-
based team. Suppliers that wish to have in-person concierge
support should budget for additional costs and agree in the
setup process what those costs will be.
The Sirius Decision
Suppliers should present channel marketing concierge
services immediately after partners participate in partner
marketing enablement, training or certification programs,
when partners are likely to be motivated and eager to
participate. Awareness and enablement for these services
should be incorporated into all partner onboarding processes
so that new partners understand the support that is available
to them. Channel marketing concierge services should not be
considered a standalone service and must align to the other
steps within the channel demand creation roadmap to achieve
success (see the Core Strategy Report “Fast-Tracking Demand
Creation in B-to-B Channels”).