by Dale Taormino

Maybe it's something in the air, (perhaps the economy?) but quite a few of our clients are in the process of reviewing their partner base and taking a new look at how they segment and prioritize their partners.

Hence, I've been thinking about segmentation. No doubt it's a useful exercise. Segmenting partners in to groups helps clarify and crystallize a strategy around them - making it clearer and easier to execute on that strategy. Segmenting also is obviously helpful in understanding where to spend limited resources - where you say ‘yes' and where you say ‘no'.

That said, it can also be risky business. By its nature, segmenting involves stereotyping. (And you know what your mother told you about doing that) Segmentation is also is typically done on quantitative measures that don't capture the full picture. (Did your SAT scores reflect your intelligence and capabilities?)

I think we need a fresh approach to segmentation - certainly let's move away from the typical rearview mirror approach to a forward looking format (past POS data vs. forecasted sales). More important is understanding and incorporating the measurement of more qualitative, ‘softer' skills and qualities. These can be better indicators of a partner's relevance and ultimately their impact on sales. How you segment needs to relate to where you are - but also where you are going as an organization and where your partners are and are going as well. It also needs to reflect the complex and interlinked relationships between partners and their relative value add and influence on the end user customers decision making process. Simple, hierarchical approaches to segmentation will increasingly not fit the bill in delivering on channel objectives.

So, how do you segment your partner base? Have there been changes from how you did it in the past? What's been most effective in engaging and growing healthy and profitable relationships? Would love to hear your thoughts...