tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48780853787247446112012-02-16T13:45:29.045+05:30STARkGrid: Power your Marketing Channel to the Exponential Power of kThis blog aims to help users implement STARkGrid in their respective organisations.
Feel free to join and follow. It is a free knowledge sharing initiative for those interested in marketing, channel management and competitive strategy.Sundarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08354748845467389286noreply@blogger.comBlogger81100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878085378724744611.post-45724277642478584652011-04-17T11:21:00.000+05:302011-04-17T11:21:35.080+05:30Losing a Real Star<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">One of the participants spoke about his Channel Partner, who would do all his business through the participant. Competitors kept targeting the partner. Over a period of time, the partner started doing a lot of business with the others.<br /><br />Effectively, the participant's 'Star under Control' or 'Real Star' had become a 'Co-Star'. This is the left-to-right transition (red arrow) along the grid that I explain in the presentation. That is obviously bad for you. Some transition is unavoidable. But you need to minimise such transition.<br /><br />Besides, you need to engineer the down-to-up proactive moves (green arrow) along the grid. Thus, while some 'Star under Control' or 'Real Star' transition to being 'Co-Star', ensure you are able to move some 'Star?' and 'Opportunity' upwards. This would ensure that you have a healthy mix of 'stable business' and 'competitive business'. </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4878085378724744611-4572427764247858465?l=starkgrid.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sundarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08354748845467389286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878085378724744611.post-19575191155313690072011-04-17T11:13:00.000+05:302011-04-17T11:13:34.761+05:30Identifying 'Low' and 'High'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">At a recent StarkGrid Talk, I was told that participants may not know how to identify whether the partner is 'low' or 'high' in other business. Fair point. Here is how you can handle it.<br /><br />1. Once a position of comfort is established, then partners are not averse to sharing information. They will not give you exact numbers, but will offer enough hints. Leading questions, brought up in a friendly format, are useful - Why do I get the feeling that you are doing a lot more ULIP than mutual funds? Or, Sir, your cheques have decreased - kya ho raha hai? Or, I told my boss yesterday that for Product X you always come to us. Watch the partner's face when you make these statements / questions. If he looks embarassed or tries to avoid eye contact, then you have your not-so-pleasant answer. <br /><br />2. It is always better to meet the partner at his / her work place. The posters that are put up, the discussions that happen amongst his colleagues or the telephone calls that the partner receives - are useful information.<br /><br />3. When you are at a cocktail event, watch for the people with whom the organisers spend the most time. These are likely to be the organiser's A category partners.<br /><br />4. In the retail industry, a mystery shopper is often used. The mystery shopper visits the partner as a prospective buyer. Feedback from the mystery shopper is an excellent indication of what products are being pushed and on what grounds.<br /><br />An experienced and observant person, over time, learns to form an opinion (market intelligence) about how much business is happening in his territory, and through whom. </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4878085378724744611-1957519115531369007?l=starkgrid.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sundarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08354748845467389286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878085378724744611.post-59254778167249476322010-10-28T11:45:00.002+05:302010-10-28T11:45:34.419+05:30Why the left half means "You Control Your Destiny"?The answer lies in the right half. Too many Channel Partners in the right half means that all the time you are either solving problems, or looking over your shoulder for moves by your competitors. Therefore, your destiny is NOT in your hands.<br /><br /><br />On the other hand, if more of your Channel Partners are in the left half, it means that you are either building stars of the future, or handling stars without being over-burdened by competitive thoughts. Thus, you are in better control over your destiny.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4878085378724744611-5925477816724947632?l=starkgrid.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sundarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08354748845467389286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878085378724744611.post-11188007687411932652010-10-25T23:21:00.000+05:302010-10-25T23:21:45.619+05:30Is the STARkGrid like a Horoscope?This question stumped me - but also got me thinking.<br /><br /><br />Like a horoscope, the STARkGrid too is based on stars and uses a combination of boxes. Your current grid profile is a result of your past actions - and suggests where you might be headed if you do nothing proactive - and also suggests proactive approaches to improve your future.<br /><br /><br />Here the similarity ends. The stars used here are not the stars related to your birth - they are names for different profiles of Channel Partners. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4878085378724744611-1118800768741193265?l=starkgrid.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sundarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08354748845467389286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878085378724744611.post-31920063643656071102010-10-23T10:43:00.004+05:302010-10-23T10:48:43.157+05:30How does the STARkGrid help in allocating responsibility to Channel Managers?<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Let us say that in a Channel Manager's grid box, the major proportion of Channel Partners are of type Shining Star or Co-Star. This means that in the grid, 'competitive' box score would be high. <p$1><p$1>This is an indication that the Channel Manager needs to fight a lot more for business from the channel. </p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>If, by nature, the person is not a tough competitor, then he / she may not be able to deliver optimal results.</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br /><br /><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>When the employer sees a mismatch between the Channel Manager's personal profile (based on experiences / appraisal) and the Channel Manager's Channel Profile (based on the grid), then it is an advance warning that either the Channel Manager's performance will be sub-optimal, or he /she is likely to move on.<br /></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br /><br /><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>By using the grid for optimal allocation of Channel Partner responsibilities between Channel Managers, the company can get the best results out of its channel.</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4878085378724744611-3192006364365607110?l=starkgrid.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sundarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08354748845467389286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878085378724744611.post-45180677300163903062010-10-21T10:10:00.004+05:302010-10-21T10:19:03.418+05:30Why Channel Segmentation?<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Literature on marketing management wax eloquently about market segmentation / customer segmentation. As regards Channel Management, the different kinds of channels are written about - but less is mentioned about segmentation WITHIN a channel.</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br /><br /><br /><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>E</p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>xperienced and Savvy Channel Managers recognise the differences between Channel Partners who work with them. Accordingly, they customise their approach to Channel Partners. </p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br /><br /><br /><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>STARkGrid (<a href="http://www.starkgrid.com/">www.STARkGrid.com</a>) gives form to what these effective Channel Managers have been doing. It provides a framework for Channel Managers to assess their channel, segment it and adopt customised strategies for each channel segment.</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br /><br /><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Besides, by consciously creating channel segments, and grouping Channel Partners under the most appropriate channel segment, the organisation is able to work towards scalable solutions for each channel segment - instead of depending entirely on customisation by individual Channel Managers.</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4878085378724744611-4518067730016390306?l=starkgrid.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sundarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08354748845467389286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878085378724744611.post-90546536735772914092010-10-20T21:11:00.000+05:302010-10-20T21:11:44.117+05:30STARkGrid PresentationYou can download the presentation at <a href="http://www.advantage-india.in/STARk/downloads.html">www.advantage-india.in/STARk/downloads.html</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4878085378724744611-9054653673577291409?l=starkgrid.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sundarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08354748845467389286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4878085378724744611.post-59671339493269333902010-10-19T17:33:00.000+05:302010-10-19T17:45:57.634+05:30Need for STARkGrid Channel Strategy<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Product manufacturers and service providers need to use multiple channels to tap into the immense market potential for their offering. Channel Managers are challenged in handling Channel Partners, especially when they sell multiple brands and other competing products. How can Channel Managers get the best out of their Channel Partners?</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br /><br /><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>In a 3-factor model with 2 levels of measurement, an individual Channel Partner can have one of 8 profiles. Each of these 8 profiles calls for a different competitive strategy. Thus, by segmenting Channel Partners into these 8 profiles, the Channel Manager is able to use competitive strategies that are most appropriate for individual Channel Partners.</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br /><br /><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>The distribution of Channel Partners within the STARkGrid of 8 boxes throws up stark details of the strength of each Channel Manager's channel. It also helps the Channel Manager assess the fitment between his / her personal profile, and the profile of the channel they manage.<br /></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br /><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Re-assessing the grid strength every 6 months provides useful insights on where the Channel is transitioning; and whether the results of any pro-active strategies are visible.<br /></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br /><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Finally, the grid gives a stark message to Channel Managers - Are they in control of their destiny? Or, are competitors controlling their destiny?</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br /><br /><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1><p$1>Visit <a href="http://www.starkgrid.com/">www.STARkGrid.com</a> for further details.</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4878085378724744611-5967133949326933390?l=starkgrid.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sundarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08354748845467389286noreply@blogger.com0