Bridging a Fiscal Year: Rip and Replace vs. Migration
Q: I created a program that is so much better for partners. How come I can't get any uptake?
Q: I created a program that is so much better for partners. How come I can't get any uptake?
A: It's not the new program it's that the program is new!
 *Photo Credit Kate Fallucca http://bit.ly/206FPF |
June 30 marked the end of the fiscal year for many. With this comes re-organizations, new budgets, new strategies, and new owners for old programs. Inheriting someone else's program can be a huge burden - it's tough to execute on someone else's vision and often times the measurements aren't clear cut so evaluation of how successful a program is becomes difficult. There are two schools of thought those of us in technology should relate to:
· Rip and Replace: the act of ending one thing and starting fresh with another.
· Migration: the act of phasing out one thing as another comes online. |
I favor migration. Although I believe it to be more tedious on the shoulders of the program owner, it's typically better long term and definitely better for the audience.
We recently surveyed partners and found out that on average, partners are managing nine (9) vendor programs. That's nine certification programs, nine marketing programs, nine account managers, nine technical information streams, nine different sets of offers and incentives. All on top of running a business (finances, HR, sales, strategy). Every time a vendor brings a new program online, partners need to take the time to stop and learn about it.
While launching a new program may seem like it's going to be the next great thing, the reality is, new programs ask a lot of partners.
As you begin to build your strategy for the coming year you'll come up with all kinds of great ideas for improving partner effectiveness. Before getting too excited about creating the next great thing, take time to look at the past and build a transition plan to ease the change and pave a smooth path for the partner.
**Struggling with what should stay or what should go? Don't be hard on yourself - how could you know if you're not in their business? There's nothing wrong with asking! Rarely do we see the question asked of the "program consumers" (usually partners) "What should stay and what should go?" We can help with this kind of research – just give us a buzz!**
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