5 Measurable KPI metrics you should be tracking in your channel program

When companies focus on key performance indicators or KPIs, they think about revenue most of the time. While measuring your revenue is absolutely crucial, you have to know that it does not paint the whole picture of what is going on. Selling through channel partners isn’t as simple as managing your own internal sales team and you probably won’t have a clear picture of the pipeline your partners are managing. For this reason, you have to make sure that you are relying on internal metrics as much as possible.

Why Do Companies Set KPIs?

 

Companies use KPIs because it gives them the chance to see where they are making the most sales and it also helps them to know if there is anything they need to change.

 

Do KPIs Apply to Affiliate Marketing?

 

Absolutely. KPIs can certainly be applied to affiliate marketing, in fact, it is a fantastic way for you to measure how well one of your partners is doing. More on that later.

 

What are the Top Key Performance Metrics?

 

If you want to find out more about the top KPIs you should be using, then simply take a look below.

 

1. Sales Mix Analysis

A sales analysis is essentially a performance metric. It calculates the percentage of your products that have been sold, against the total sales you have made. A lot of companies have huge portfolios, so it helps to know what the most profitable products are.

2. Deals Registered

The amount of deals that are registered is critical if you want to measure how well your company is doing. Deal registration allows companies to gain some degree of visibility when it comes to how well they are doing and it also helps you to track your leads as well.  Deal registration gives you some level of protection and sometimes, it can indicate any discounts that have been given. While deal registration is very beneficial to a partner, it’s important to know that it also benefits vendors. If you track this performance, then you can attain an image of your partner pipeline.

3. MDF Effectiveness

MDFs are essentially marketing dollars that businesses will dedicate to their partners. Companies that are channel-centric tend to really benefit from helping the marketing campaign of their partners. The challenge is to put MDFs towards those who have the biggest ROI. Determine your ROI by calculating the amount you are allocating before you compare it against the results that are being achieved. You can create targeted programs by simply collecting as much data as you can after each initiative. The data you get will then reveal which marketing activities were the most effective, so you can double up and make them better.

4. Get New Customers

New customers are a critical metric that you should be using to see how your growth is doing overall. Even though reoccurring business is very cost-effective and of course, necessary to your business, it’s important to know that your success will rely on your ability to get more customers through the door. You should be upselling to your customers now, but you also need to be getting new ones because if you don’t then you may find that you end up stunting your business. Studies have shown that your top 10 affiliate partners are the ones who are driving the most revenue to your business every year, so it is vital that you focus on your partners getting more customers.

5. Joint Plans

Studies have shown time and time again that businesses that make joint-plans with their partners tend to do way better than ones that do not. You need to try and develop your plans on a yearly basis if possible. You also need to monitor the number of partners with who you have joint plans so you can use this as a barometer of your success.

 

What are the Best KPIs to Measure your Channel Engagement?

 

So now you know the basic KPIs you should be using to measure your overall success, it’s time to move on to the KPIs you should be using to measure your channel engagement.

 

Margins

Margins. If your partner is not making money with you then they will leave. If your margins are low and if there is no room for profitability, then it will not take long for them to disappear so they can find greener pastures.

Churn

We touched on this a little earlier. Both you and your partners have to be making a considerable time investment before the relationship begins to produce any ROI. If you are seeing a lot of churn with your partners, then you know that your program isn’t delivering and therefore something needs to change.

Log-ins

Communication is absolutely essential in every partner relationship. You should be seeing a regular amount of access to your portal. This is an indicator that you are posting very valuable content. If you see that your content is stale or just not relevant, then this will cause you to lose out on repeat visitors. If your portal is not up to speed, then you will lose partners as they won’t want to deal with all of the frustration.

Conference Attendance

Keeping track of your customer meetings is always an indicator of how proactive channel partners are. This is especially the case when it comes to selling your products. You can also gauge partner engagement when it comes to event attendance as well. They should be seeking industry events and if they are not actively attending your conferences then you know that you have a problem on your hands.

Content Downloads

Sales of your products will ultimately require you to share collateral with your prospects. If your channel partners don’t seem to be using the content that is available to them then you can be sure that they are not making sales either.

Training and Certification

Training is absolutely essential if you want to stay on top of the current products and solutions that are out there. If you notice that there is a downturn in the number of people who are enrolling in courses, then this shows that your company is no longer a priority for the partners that you work with. Studies have shown that less than 15% of partners engage in the programs that their vendors offer, so this is a key metric you need to be monitoring.

Demos

Most B2B products will require a demo during your sales cycle. When completed, you will see that the demos will stop appearing in your general sales activity. This means that your prospects have not progressed far in their general interest and therefore you need to investigate.

Customer Satisfaction

This element might be a much softer KPI because it is much harder for companies to get a read on their customer satisfaction rate. If you get a sense that your partner relationship is not as strong as it could be, or as strong as it has been in the past, then this is a sign something needs to change.

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