Amar Babu
Managing Director, Lenovo India
Goals and Strategies
Lenovo believes that demonstrating strength of its product portfolio and their value-for-money features along with the right marketing also drives awareness and demand generation, thereby creating an effective distribution network. They have built a solid distribution network in India and closely work with Regional and National Distributors to manage its distribution network. They invest in their distribution network by offering appropriate incentive programmes to partners and also keep an open stance to evaluate options that provide exclusivity in certain markets for distribution, as and when the situation so demands. Lenovo plans to become the largest retailer in the PC business by March 2012 and for this they have built more than 800 Lenovo Exclusive stores in the tier-III and tier-IV cities to reach out to consumers.
Channel Strategy to strengthen and expand Channel Base
Lenovo believes that the most important way to motivate partners is to treat them as natural partners in profit. The key to developing a successful relationship with partners is to keep an open-ended communication channel to garner their feedback and then act on it. Partners always appreciate brands that provide ample support to their efforts in growing the business by providing them with incentives, and adequate training along with great products as well as marketing and after-sales support.
India being a large country, it has the IT community spread across the country embodying different sentiments. The macro-economic challenges may lead them to have specific tasks for that region. For instance, the channel partners based out of West Bengal may ask for special discount offers on the eve of Durga Puja, while partners based in Maharashtra may demand for special offers on the occasions of Gudi Padwa and Diwali.
Lenovo has been successful in realigning its strategies to match with business goals and this is supported by building a sound marketing programme around it to create awareness. By doing this, they have been able to grow a substantial channel base to generate positive leads and convert opportunities in specific segments of the market. By instituting an effective channel strategy to help strengthen as well as expand the channel base, Lenovo has been able to increase channel engagement to boost growth, profitability. Lenovo always maintains an open communication channel with partners as it helps them in garnering feedback from not only partners but also end-consumers.
Enabling partners to grow
Channel management is the process of creating a specific and sophisticated programme to satisfy the needs of end-customers within a specific channel in a positive manner. Amar Babu, Managing Director, Lenovo India, says, “It entails methods with which we communicate effectively and engage as well as enable partners to run a successful/ profitable business model to grow business. An effective channel management programme is devised by implementing the right channel programmes to drive, incentivize and reward partners for their efforts.” He further added, “In order to maintain a high rate of growth, we keep on meticulously mapping our strategies to match with our business goals. We have regular off-sites and workshops with our partners, CEOs and stakeholders where we communicate our business goals and strategies, encourage feedback and suggestions on enhancing our business. So, they are always in tune with our business goals and strategies. This goes a long way in building fruitful partnerships and they, in turn, are kept informed at every stage.”
When an organization is in the process of formulating impactful channel policies, Business goals, Strategic initiatives, Competitive scenario, Business guidelines, Ethical and Fair practices and Market coverage should be kept in mind. It is also critical to effectively communicate the above to all stakeholders (partners) involved, and drive them with suitable programmes.
Lenovo has become successful and trusted in the channel partner community by creating the right mix of communication, enablement and engagement policies for partners. Apart from this, Lenovo believes in implementing fair and ethical practices to grow its business and imbibing mutual respect between the principal and partner by treating them as a natural partner for profit.
